Koa On Maui

PHYSICAL FEATURES:
Acacia Koa (Hawaiian Koa) is one of the most beautiful and desired hardwoods in the world. Koa gives off a jeweled luster reminiscent of Tigerís Eye. It comes in a spectrum of sunset colors, ranging from light brown to deep red and brown hues. In terms of strength, weight, and hardness it is comparable to walnut. Koa loves to be worked, making it a favorite hardwood for craftsmen. One of the unique features of some Koa products is the ìcurlî, or three-dimensional wave-like quality of the finished wood. There is not a complete understanding of what makes some Koa curly other than it is sometimes formed as the ìmuscleî of the tree: the visible compression of the wood created by treeís resistance to wind and weather. Rarely is a tree one hundred percent curly; it is usually localized at a fork or ìcrotchî of the tree. Less than three percent of trees have curl. Acacia Koa differs in appearance between the Big Island and Maui. And the amount of Koa on Maui is a fraction of what grows on the Big Island, making Maui Koa the most rare of all.


HISTORY/GENERAL KOA INFO

Acacia Koa is unique to the Hawaiian Islands, growing nowhere else on earth. One of the first biological settlers, Koa formerly covered much of Maui and the Big Island with regal forests. It grows in related groves or ìfamiliesî in colder, higher altitude environments. Traditional Hawaiian cultures regarded the Koa as sacred and used the trees to make canoes, paddles, surfboards and furniture used by Hawaiian royalty. Koa takes its name from the Hawaiian word for ìstrength.î In 1800ís the majestic Koa forests were cut to clear the way for developments, farming and to make shipping crates. Because of decreasing numbers, the price of Koa has increased dramatically. Although Koa is currently hard to find, it is not endangered. It is the fastest growing of Hawaiiís native Hardwoods, increasing as much as an inch in diameter per year. Koa forests are coming back, but in the mean time Eco-Maui Koa is the only company able to provide Maui Koa to the market. With great environmental sensitivity, Eco-Maui Koa harvests dead and fallen Koa from the only known mature Koa forest left on Maui. Eco-Maui Koa brings you the rare Maui Koa while remaining dedicated stewards to the reforestation of the ìKing of Hawaiian Treesî.

Koa comes in a wide variety of colors and grains.

Jitindra is skilled at carving by hand!

Jitindras workshop is a site to behold!

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