This Swazi man gave all that he had to give

His name is Phillip.

He is a neighbor to our Kufundza Carpentry Center manager and he had a big, bloodwood tree on his property – bigger than any bloodwood tree that we have found on Project Canaan. We use bloodwood trees to make the beautiful charcuterie boards that we started selling in the fall of 2020 through www.khutsala.com  (we sold 500 of them in 2020!). The tree gets its name from the red sticky sap the pours like blood when the bark is cut.

 

In order to make charcuterie boards we must first find the exotic (not protected) bloodwood tree, which are usually up the mountains and through the bush – not accessibly for a vehicle. Below is a photo of some of Denis' guys who had to build a steel frame to carry an estimated 800-pound tree down the mountain. If you go to the end of this blog you can watch the video of the same. It’s grueling work.

 

I have also been looking for larger trees to make table tops and coffee tables to see locally and through Khutsala, but hadn’t been able to find large enough trees here. One day our carpentry Manager Sanele told me that he had found a BIG bloodwood tree on his neighbor’s property and he had asked the neighbor about the tree. Sanele said that it was the tree that the family used to sit under during the heat of the day when they used to work on the farm, but those days and most of that family were long gone.

When Sanele approached the man, Phillip, about the tree, here is what he said, “You may have that tree. I would like to give you that tree as a gift and to support the Swazi children that you are caring for. One day that tree will die and fall down, just like this one I am leaning on, and then it will not be useful to anyone. But if I give you this live tree, you can use it to make beautiful wooden items to sell, and while the tree will die, the children will live. That is why I am giving you this tree. Oh, and there is a big mahogany tree over there that I would also like you to have.”

 

Wow. I have never heard of anything like this before. While we have support from our local community because we are employing almost anyone and everyone who is willing and able to work, this was a different kind of support. This was thoughtful, caring and wise and he was giving us something that did have significant value. That big tree could still provide shade from the scorching sun, and he could have sold it to us for money, but instead he  chose to give it to us as a gift. Sanele thanked him profusely and we went together to meet Philip the next day.

I grew up in Northern Ontario and my dad taught me to LOVE trees. I love working with wood, just as my dad did, so it pains me to cut down trees. But please know that we do it carefully, thoughtfully and use as much of the tree as we possibly can (table tops, charcuterie boards, trivets and coasters). In addition, when people purchase our charcuterie boards this year they will help us plant many more bloodwood trees for the next generation. Details to follow in the fall.

So, I drove to Sigceneni and spent most of the day with three guys cutting down a giant tree with a small chainsaw (if anyone wants to donate a big one or two we would welcome them!), and then cut it in to moveable pieces. The next day the JCB (backhoe) and tractor with trailer made the 7-mile journey to load up the wood. When it got back to Project Canaan is was then loaded in a truck and driven 100+ miles to a sawmill to be cut into planks. 

While all that was happening, our guys had to build a much bigger sun wood-drying kiln (13 yards long) to dry the wood quickly so that we can begin our work in the weeks ahead. Just this morning I took these photos of the beautiful wood that has been harvested and cut. After it dries our guys will plane it, I will spend many fun/dirty days at the shop drawing out each charcuterie to make best use of the colors, grains and live edge, then they will be cut, dried again and then fumigated. The entire process takes many weeks to make a single charcuterie board, but each one is made with love by the Kufundza team (including Nokwanda and me).

These particular boards, made of bloodwood and some with mahogany, will also be sent with love from an old Swazi man who didn’t have any money to help the children, so he gave us what he had - the biggest and most beautiful bloodwood tree we have ever seen. Phillip gave us hope.

This is what the mahogany looks like.

Is there something in your life that you could bless another person with, even if it isn’t money? Look around you and give someone a gift of love, and perhaps even hope, today.

Our goal is to ship another 1,000 boards in early May via seafaring container, which will arrive at our Georgia warehouse for August sales. Please start thinking about corporate gifts or an extra special gift from www.khutsala.com this Christmas. If you have questions about these products, please contact julie@heartforafrica.org

Live from Eswatini … thankful.

Janine

This first video is the guys carrying a big tree down the mountain on Project Canaan.

 

This second video is Sanele climbing the tree (with the help of a human ladder) to cut the next branch off. Enjoy!