Siamese rosewood

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Giggle
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Siamese rosewood

Post by Giggle » April 12, 2021, 8:08 pm

My wife and I bought a piece of semi-rural land in 2002 with the idea that we'd put a house on it in the future. We paid what I thought to be a slightly high price for it, but my wife assured me that with a paved road, electric and water lines installed, it was fair. And, she said, it had dozens of special trees on it. I paid little attention to the trees remark.

We built the house in 2006, moved in, and have lived here since. The existing trees and many more that we planted have all matured and now provide great shade on the house. Some of them have become hazards, as we've witnessed two or three topple in massive windstorms over the years. A few needed to be removed.

Fast forward to early last month and a shady dude in a beat-up pickup truck came rolling through the village. After a long discussion with my wife and a few neighbors, it was decided that the guy would come back the next day and cut trees. Only we wouldn't be paying him, he would pay us. :shock:

He was after phayung, or Siamese rosewood, which required paperwork from the pooyai ban. As it happens, four of the five trees we wanted to remove were phayung, the special trees my wife referred to 19 years earlier. The guy and his crew removed the trees and transferred 45,000 baht into our bank account. 8) He claimed to work for a company that cuts Siam Rosewood all over Isaan, trucks it to Nakhon Phanom where it is shipped off to China.

Image

He was especially interested in the dark heartwood seen in the stock photo above. In all, I think he harvested 25 trees from our neighbors. He stopped by a day later and asked my wife if she was sure she didn't want to sell more. She wanted to, but I talked her out of it.

Image

Not a bad result for trees I supposed we'd have to pay to remove.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -cash-crop


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Laan Yaa Mo
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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » April 12, 2021, 9:35 pm

Gotta love those shady dudes. Can you grow more rosewood on the property?
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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by Giggle » April 12, 2021, 9:45 pm

Can you grow more rosewood on the property?
Sure, if you've got 30 years or more -- they grow very slowly.

Wiki sez:
The demand for furniture made from Siamese rosewood, chiefly in China where it is known as Hongmu, has led to an epidemic of illegal logging and trafficking, threatening the species with extinction and resulting in a war with poachers. In 2015 seven Thai forest rangers were killed trying to shut down illegal Siamese rosewood logging.

According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, "Rosewood prices started to spike with the increase in Chinese millionaires and the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2011, EIA investigators witnessed a rosewood bed for sale in China for one million dollars. Since then black market prices have rocketed, making Siam rosewood more valuable than gold."

Siamese rosewood is denser than water, fine grained, and high in oils and resins. These properties make them dimensional stable, hard wearing, rot and insect resistant, and when new, highly fragrant. The density and toughness of the wood also allows furniture to be built without the use of glue and nails, but rather constructed from joinery and doweling alone.
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AlexO
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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by AlexO » April 12, 2021, 9:49 pm

Giggle wrote:
April 12, 2021, 8:08 pm
My wife and I bought a piece of semi-rural land in 2002 with the idea that we'd put a house on it in the future. We paid what I thought to be a slightly high price for it, but my wife assured me that with a paved road, electric and water lines installed, it was fair. And, she said, it had dozens of special trees on it. I paid little attention to the trees remark.

We built the house in 2006, moved in, and have lived here since. The existing trees and many more that we planted have all matured and now provide great shade on the house. Some of them have become hazards, as we've witnessed two or three topple in massive windstorms over the years. A few needed to be removed.

Fast forward to early last month and a shady dude in a beat-up pickup truck came rolling through the village. After a long discussion with my wife and a few neighbors, it was decided that the guy would come back the next day and cut trees. Only we wouldn't be paying him, he would pay us. :shock:

He was after phayung, or Siamese rosewood, which required paperwork from the pooyai ban. As it happens, four of the five trees we wanted to remove were phayung, the special trees my wife referred to 19 years earlier. The guy and his crew removed the trees and transferred 45,000 baht into our bank account. 8) He claimed to work for a company that cuts Siam Rosewood all over Isaan, trucks it to Nakhon Phanom where it is shipped off to China.

Image

He was especially interested in the dark heartwood seen in the stock photo above. In all, I think he harvested 25 trees from our neighbors. He stopped by a day later and asked my wife if she was sure she didn't want to sell more. She wanted to, but I talked her out of it.

Image

Not a bad result for trees I supposed we'd have to pay to remove.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -cash-crop
You better hope that someone in the RTP or some other authority or someone who does not like you (heaven forbid) reads this and takes action or reports you. Absolutely illegal and you or your missus could be in for a free holiday with fish head soup as a staple diet. Not the kind of thing you want to put on a public forum.

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Laan Yaa Mo
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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » April 12, 2021, 11:06 pm

Giggle wrote:
April 12, 2021, 9:45 pm
Can you grow more rosewood on the property?
Sure, if you've got 30 years or more -- they grow very slowly.

Wiki sez:
The demand for furniture made from Siamese rosewood, chiefly in China where it is known as Hongmu, has led to an epidemic of illegal logging and trafficking, threatening the species with extinction and resulting in a war with poachers. In 2015 seven Thai forest rangers were killed trying to shut down illegal Siamese rosewood logging.

According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, "Rosewood prices started to spike with the increase in Chinese millionaires and the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2011, EIA investigators witnessed a rosewood bed for sale in China for one million dollars. Since then black market prices have rocketed, making Siam rosewood more valuable than gold."

Siamese rosewood is denser than water, fine grained, and high in oils and resins. These properties make them dimensional stable, hard wearing, rot and insect resistant, and when new, highly fragrant. The density and toughness of the wood also allows furniture to be built without the use of glue and nails, but rather constructed from joinery and doweling alone.
Interesting. Let's hope the shady dude does not return with shady friends and shady weapons. Your property might attract undesirables such as triad members. Tread carefully.
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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by rick » April 13, 2021, 12:14 am

Illegal to cut it without a licence, and also you were robbed giggle. One full grown tree is worth thousands of dollars

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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by Giggle » April 13, 2021, 12:34 am

Read the link at the bottom of the OP dated 8 Aug 2018
I'll post it again here for those who can't find it.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -cash-crop
The forestry law will be amended to allow precious trees grown on private property to be felled, sold or put up as collateral with the bank without permission from the authorities, said Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office.

The amendment will be made to Section 7 of the 1941 Forestry Act which provides a list of precious trees subject to state regulation even though they are growing on private property.

The state regulation stipulates that the owners of the land must seek permission from the relevant authorities if they want to cut down, remove or relocate the trees.
The paperwork was completed. How much for a half grown tree, rick?
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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by papafarang » April 13, 2021, 7:29 am

Giggle wrote:
April 13, 2021, 12:34 am
Read the link at the bottom of the OP dated 8 Aug 2018
I'll post it again here for those who can't find it.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -cash-crop
The forestry law will be amended to allow precious trees grown on private property to be felled, sold or put up as collateral with the bank without permission from the authorities, said Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office.

The amendment will be made to Section 7 of the 1941 Forestry Act which provides a list of precious trees subject to state regulation even though they are growing on private property.

The state regulation stipulates that the owners of the land must seek permission from the relevant authorities if they want to cut down, remove or relocate the trees.
The paperwork was completed. How much for a half grown tree, rick?
Sold by the cube, anywhere between 500,000 and 1,600,000 b. But without knowing the size of the tree you can't work out the price. But each half grown tree about (30ft tall× 30cm trunk)120,000b, full grown tree 1,200,000b. The game is you cut it down and put it up for bids , plenty of buyers around. The other thing is they will cut any tree down and pay you for it ,even crap wood goes off to make charcoal.
Hansa village clubhouse . Tel 0981657001 https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Han ... 5851?hl=en

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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by tamada » April 13, 2021, 7:47 am

"I love the smell of an endangered species being felled in the morning. Smells like... capitalism!"

With special acknowledgement to Lt. Col. William "Bill" Kilgore.

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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by rick » April 13, 2021, 7:55 am

Giggle wrote:
April 13, 2021, 12:34 am
Read the link at the bottom of the OP dated 8 Aug 2018
I'll post it again here for those who can't find it.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -cash-crop
The forestry law will be amended to allow precious trees grown on private property to be felled, sold or put up as collateral with the bank without permission from the authorities, said Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office.

The amendment will be made to Section 7 of the 1941 Forestry Act which provides a list of precious trees subject to state regulation even though they are growing on private property.

The state regulation stipulates that the owners of the land must seek permission from the relevant authorities if they want to cut down, remove or relocate the trees.
The paperwork was completed. How much for a half grown tree, rick?
See Papa's figures. Maybe your trees were a bit small......

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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by papafarang » April 13, 2021, 9:14 am

rick wrote:
April 13, 2021, 7:55 am
Giggle wrote:
April 13, 2021, 12:34 am
Read the link at the bottom of the OP dated 8 Aug 2018
I'll post it again here for those who can't find it.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -cash-crop
The forestry law will be amended to allow precious trees grown on private property to be felled, sold or put up as collateral with the bank without permission from the authorities, said Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office.

The amendment will be made to Section 7 of the 1941 Forestry Act which provides a list of precious trees subject to state regulation even though they are growing on private property.

The state regulation stipulates that the owners of the land must seek permission from the relevant authorities if they want to cut down, remove or relocate the trees.
The paperwork was completed. How much for a half grown tree, rick?
See Papa's figures. Maybe your trees were a bit small......
Must have been tiny for 45,000... Hang on did he say four trees ? A 15 foot tall just 6 in diameter is about 30,000b. Worth their weight in gold. So now its possible to cut them , plant on spare land and in 30 years your children win a jackpot .
Hansa village clubhouse . Tel 0981657001 https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Han ... 5851?hl=en

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Re: Siamese rosewood

Post by papafarang » April 13, 2021, 9:19 am

tamada wrote:
April 13, 2021, 7:47 am
"I love the smell of an endangered species being felled in the morning. Smells like... capitalism!"

With special acknowledgement to Lt. Col. William "Bill" Kilgore.
Farming them will help preserve natural forests from being decimated .
Hansa village clubhouse . Tel 0981657001 https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Han ... 5851?hl=en

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