Arcos Brasil illustrates the work we are doing to ensure the preservation of Pernambuco wood, which is the most exceptional wood species for creating our bows.
Bow makers through history have used many species of wood to craft bows including ironwoods, snakewood, brazilwood and ipe among others.
The discovery in the late eighteenth century of pernambuco wood, scientifically known as Caesalpinia Echinata as an ideal material for bows is credited to François Xavier Tourte. It is still a consensus today among the trade that pernambuco wood is unparalleled in its properties of strength, flexibility and sonority, keeping its demand on a constant rise. The following illustrates the work Arcos Brasil is doing to ensure the preservation this exceptional wood species.
With over 30 years of knowledge in conservation of pernambuco wood, Arcos Brasil, orchestrated from the very inception of the company a program of the species reforestation. With additional guidance from biologist Dr. Haroldo Cavalcante de Lima we have successfully grown hundreds of thousands of seedlings in our own nursery.
The vast majority of well over 200 thousand seedlings grown at our nursery were allocated for planting in areas where cutting is prohibited by law. More than 20,000 trees have already matured in our own private land.
Since 2004, a partnership with Aracruz Celulose, the world’s leading producer of bleached eucalyptus pulp, enabled us to further ensure the perpetuation of pernambuco wood. They have used tens of thousands of our seedlings in their own environmental forestry projects.
Arcos Brasil has distributed over 200,000 seedlings along the years to environmental public and private projects involving Banco do Brasil, Indigenous tribes, City of Aracruz’s government, INCAPER and Aracruz Celulose to mention a few. Long term is the key; the fruits of our efforts will only show results many decades in the future.