January 11th, 2009 fmorgan
Sorry for not writting for a while. In truth, I have been writing a lot, but it has been software for the company. It has been keeping me rather busy, and amused if the truth be known.
We have had several people contacting us making sure we are okay, which we appreciate and of course they are also interested in the effect of the earthquake on the trees.
First of all, we barely felt the earthquake. I didn’t feel it at all even though I was standing next to people who did. I did hear the gates rattle though. The most exciting thing we had happen was for a vehicle in the repair garage to shimmy sideways during the earthquake.
Nothing else in our neck of the jungle. We happen to in an area that is probably the most stable in all of Costa Rica. Normally we don’t feel much at all, if we do, it is from Managua, Nicaragua. In fact, at first we were concerned that Managua had had another large earthquake.
A few comments on the earthquake. If it wasn’t in January, or another part of the country, there probably would be no news - a 6.2 isn’t much. I can recall at least three that we have had since we have been here. The problem is the time of year and the location. Most of the time they are down at the border of Panama or near the beaches at Parita. This was in the mountains above the Central Valley. This area is very steep (unlike the coast, of course) and very deforested - and very populated. If it had been a 7.0, it would have been much, much worse.
The building codes of Costa Rica are very very good, but, people will cut corners and the inspections in the countryside are not what they are in the city. One thing however, most homes have a tin roof - even ours. This trend I hear started after the traditional clay roofs that you think of in Spanish construction killed many people in the earthquake in Cartago many years ago.
This earthquake as far as loss of life and property damage is the worst in a very long time I gather. Having a significant earthquake in January is a real problem. It is when the soils are the wettest. I know you have probably heard that the dry season in Costa Rica starts in December - well not on this side of the mountain. From December to about the middle of January is one of the wettest times of year. The land is saturated. If you take saturated soils, little rock, and deforestation and add an earthquake, you get landslides, which were the causes of loss of life.
Anytime something like this happens, the thought that goes through my mind is “Surely those who removed all the trees above their homes didnot realize they were dooming their family…” And my next thought is usually, “I wonder what things I am doing that are setting up disaster in the future for those I love.”
Though it isn’t healthy to always worry about the future, it also is not healthy to asssume there will not be dreadful consequences if we don’t consider the future outcomes to our actions. The most difficult ones are the actions that are like a time bomb. If, when you cut down a tree on a steep slope , immediately you had a landslide, no one would do it. But, what happens is that you took the tree and left the roots, and until the roots decay, the tree is still holding the slope together. But eventually (and this could be ten years and more for some trees) the roots will be gone - and then the slope will start to move. As you drive around Costa Rica, you can see slopes that have moved - usually about this time of year.
Posted in buying land, conservation, earthquake, finca, forest, landslides, resources, trees | No Comments »
June 20th, 2008 fmorgan
Due to our plantations, we are on a first name basis with MINAE, the ministry of environment. This can be an adventure in and of itself. MINAE has the responsibility to safeguard the forest and environment of Costa Rica. Like many government organizations, they are understaffed for the size of the job.
We truly try to follow all the rules of Costa Rica. This can be a real trial at times. Not because of the rules, but because of timetables.
Just to give an example, we recently hauled all of those great logs out of the river from the old bridge. Come to find out, before we could cut them, we had to have MINAE visit to verify - even though we sent them pictures. But we had to wait. We were already waiting for 13+ weeks for other permits! I thought we wouldn’t need permits for the bridge logs until it was time to transport the wood, but nope, before we cut it up too (Strange, the trees have been dead for years and years…).
Finally, MINAE notified us that they were ready to come and would meet us at the gas station in Monterrey. Our forestry engineer, Angie, and one of our wood experts went to meet with them and all went great. Angie asked, “What was the holdup?”
The answer, believe it or not, was that they didn’t have enough money for gas to come out and visit! Angie actually gave them some money for gas so they could return to their office, knowing that we would reimburse her.
I wish I had known so that we could have offered to pay expenses. MINAE has taken us up before on our offer to provide horses for them to inspect our properties, so why should this be any different?
Posted in MINAE, business in Costa Rica, forestry, resources, wood | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2008 fmorgan
It occurred to me some time ago just how wasteful specialization is in the lumber business. In the traditional manner, a logger will find a group of trees to cut. He will not want to work with a single tree because he has to haul his equipment and get set up, is not something he makes money on. Loggers make money in the amount of wood they can process per day and the quality of that wood. Loggers who handle large volumes end up with a very large capital investment and speed is everything.
A logger will generally only take up to the first limbs. Furniture makers love figured wood, but sawmills hate wood with knots. They want clear trunks, because figured wood is hard to work with for the sawmills and dangerous, too. A large knot, for example where a limb connects, can catch in the saw and send the log flying. The other waste is that sawmills only want certain lengths, 8, 10, 12, 16, etc. The widths tend to be in standard sizes as well, based on even sizes.
Because of this efficiency, a tremendous amount of each tree goes to waste. Any pieces smaller around than 8 inches are considered scrap and so are segments of wood less than 8 feet long (really 99 inches to allow for checking on the ends of the wood).
Since we have our own furniture factory, we can use a lot more of the tree. Cabinet doors, a very good market for us, use many small pieces of wood. We also make spindles for chairs and banisters with a lathe. This uses limbs and other short pieces of wood. For even smaller pieces, we also have a market for wood crafts, bowls, coffee coasters, etc.
When we harvest a tree, we don’t leave much scrap out in the field. What little is left is used as mulch around the remaining trees. Because of this conservation of the resource, we can get up to 40% more out of every tree.
Because of our size, we can grow trees efficiently, and because of the wood factory, use more of the tree. This means every tree is used to its maximum potential, helping to ensure the plantation wood supply that takes pressure off the rainforest.
Posted in business in Costa Rica, conservation, forestry, furniture, resources, wood | No Comments »