Tall coconut varieties have been largely replaced in other parts of the world with dwarfs and hybrids which are more economical in terms of coconut production. These varieties are quick to yield, have a shorter life span and are too short to yield a good grade of timber. By the time our African Talls are ready for culling they are 60 years old and stand 90 feet tall.
From each log we cut four planks from the outside which is our crop of hardwood. Our logs are cut to 7' length to maximise the yield of hardwood. As a general rule the hardwood planks are 1" thick except where the logs are particularly wide in which case we can sometimes cut one or two of the planks to 2" thickness. Care is taken to make sure that our hardwood planks are truly hard and do not encroach into the softer centre. The width of the plank depends on the girth of the trunk and is usually 4-5"
The hardwood is used for flooring, furniture, window frames, doors etc. It is very hard and carves well.
The softer, core timber comes from the centre. Left in the form of a post, it makes interesting chunky furniture and bed posts or it can be turned on a lathe. Usually we saw it into planks and sell it locally as a cheap and versatile soft-wood type timber.
We make it into desks.
All our timber is air dried for two months in stacks down to an average moisture content of 17% prior to sale.
Untreated coconut timber is resistant to pest infestation.
