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Special Tanzania
HOPE GLIMMERS ON THE HORIZON
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One year ago, we did an introductory article on Tanzania. In that article we mentioned that this country from the South-East of the African continent is not one of the main pioneers. On the contrary, the country is still poor and, amongst other things, faces major problems in the area of forest management. Forest felling is a widespread practice, certainly because the needy population is only too happy to use wood (and charcoal) to meet its own energy needs. Scaling down donor dependency
From an economic point of view, according to Flanders Investment & Trade, Tanzania is certainly one of the biggest East African countries, but there is nonetheless only limited trade. At any rate, one hopeful sign is that the Tanzanian government is striving for industrialisation and strong economic growth with the help of the second Five Year Development Plan (FYDPII). That should give the country middle income status by 2025.
The mining and export of soil resources (especially gas) should also help to achieve that aim. At the same time, the government is trying to scale down donor dependency and encourage foreign investment, especially in the agriculture sector. The major Tanzanian economic sectors are agriculture, financial and commercial services, trade, tourism, and production. The agricultural processing of sugar, beer, cigarettes, and sisal rope accounts for a large part of Tanzanian industry. In addition, diamond, gold, and iron mining, salt, sodium carbonate, cement, oil refining, shoes, clothes, wood products, and fertiliser also form a major part of industry. The main exports are gold, coffee, cashew nuts, and cotton. The main export partners are India, China, Japan, Kenya, and, yes, Belgium. In particular, Tanzania imports a lot of consumer goods, machines, means of transport, industrial raw materials, and crude oil.
We can nevertheless state that scores have initiatives have started up to give a glimmers of hope on the horizon. Projects such as the community forest management in the district of Kilwa, for instance, where community forest management and the execution of forestry strategies help to preserve more vegetation and create a habitat for biodiversity. Or there’s the Mpingo project Rainforest Projects, where the NGO, together with partner FSC, has set up a system of sustainable forest management and is responsible for planting new trees.
Such initiatives are essential, even though about 45% of the country is still covered by woods. 45% sounds a lot, but you have to realise that only a small part is exploited in a commercially responsible manner. Unfortunately, deforestation still continues at a rate of about 91,000 hectares a year.
Also according to the FIT, problem areas for investors include the lack of qualified workers and sound management, the difficulty in obtaining work permits for expatriates, poor infrastructure, and a faulty electricity supply. Most investments are in mining, tourism, the gas sector, and property.
Wood sorts from Tanzania
If you mention Tanzania, most people won’t know which sorts of wood come from this country. The country has more to offer than the classic ebony, mahogany, and sandal wood.
Wenge/Panga panga/Mpanga
Did you know, for instance, that the splendid, but very expensive wenge is also obtained in Tanzania via the closely related panga panga? We often assume that it originates from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but Mozambique and Tanzania in particular are major suppliers of panga panga. You might think of a different sort of wood if you hear the name Mpanga, but that’s simply the Tanzanian name for panga panga. The properties of wenge are well known. This wood is a light shade of yellow-brown when it is freshly sawn, but once it is exposed to light it soon turns a darker shade of brown. The difference between wenge and panga panga lies in the pores of the wood, which with panga panga are sometimes filled with a yellow substance (this is never the case with wenge). Panga panga can also have a somewhat lighter colour than wenge, something which is caused partly by the fact that this wood turns light under direct sunlight. The grain is rough, but this hard sort of wood is easy to work into narrower strips and patterns.
On quarter-sawn wenge you notice a regular pattern of black and brown streaks, whilst flat-sawn wood blazes in an attractive shade of brown and black. When wenge is used outdoors, it has to be treated with a surface repellent because the dark-coloured constituents dissolve in water and can cause stains.
Muhuhu
Much less well known than wenge and panga panga is the wood sort muhuhu, which is also used in the parquet sector. In addition, we should also certainly mention muninga, although it is used much less for parquet. With muhuhu, which is also found in Kenya, the fresh heartwood is clear yellow-brown. When this wood is exposed to the light, it turns dark-yellow brown to green-brown. The sap, which can be 15-30mm wide, has a yellow-white colour. Muhuhu is very hard and heavy and quarter-sawn wood shows a pale yellow to mustard-coloured streak pattern, whilst the flat-sawn wood displays a somewhat vague flame pattern. Whilst sawing or planing this wood, you will perceive a pleasant and aromatic scent of sandal wood.
In Europe, muhuhu acquired a reputation as a parquet wood after tests in Great Britain showed that both flat and quarter-sawn wood are not only highly durable, but also they age very evenly without the surface cracking or becoming rough. Since you cannot nail the wood, it is used mainly for mosaic parquet, which can be glued directly onto stony subfloors. Muhuhu parquet is not only suitable for use in homes, but also in buildings with high traffic or in companies where fork lift trucks are used.
Muninga
Muninga belongs to the padauk sorts, but outwardly and in structure bears a closer resemblance to Asiatic padauk than the orange-red African padauk. The colour of the heartwood is light to golden brown with red to purple streak pattern. When this wood is exposed to the light, the colour turns deep golden brown with purple-red shades. The maximum 40mm wide sap of muninga has a whitish colour. The structure of muninga is generally even without any striking pattern.
Due to its favourable properties and often beautiful exterior, muninga can be used for various applications of all kinds. It serves well as building wood both indoors and outside and in ship building. Fresh wood is used for furniture, turning, joinery, woodwork, and as veneer for decorative purposes. Since this wood swells and shrinks very little, it is suitable for musical instruments and precision tools. Furthermore, it is also suitable for floors (pedestrian traffic), staircase steps, doors, window frames, etc.
Afzelia
We can also give a mention to the much more widely known afzelia. The various sorts of afzelia are known mainly for their excellent properties, but in practice doussie is the best. The various sorts can be distinguished by the different colours of their constituents, but in terms of anatomy the various wood sorts are quite difficult to distinguish from each other. Depending on the growth conditions, the properties of the wood can vary somewhat. The heartwood is dark yellow to reddish brown in colour. The sap is pale yellow and 30 to 50cm wide.
If we consider the applications, you have to say that afzelia, despite its outstanding properties in terms of durability, strength, chemical-resistance, stability, and outward structure, is suitable for lots of applications. It is used for window frames, windows, doors, floors (strips and parquet), sports floors, cycling lanes (including in the open air), joinery indoors and outside, construction wood, thresholds, staircase steps, benches (outdoors and in public buildings), garden furniture, sports equipment, carriage and bodywork construction, bridge decks, ship decks, flood gates, vessels for chemical products, and such like. Moreover, afzelia is ideal for turning and sculpture.
Major sources: Houtinfo.nl and Flanders Investment & Trade
