African Blackwood Conservationion Project

B: Mission (10,000 characters) Dalbergia melanoxylon is listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and the African Blackwood Conservation Project has been the only long-term planting project for its conservation. Given the exquisite nature of the wood itself (manufacturers and artists consider it irreplaceable), as well as its impressive history, we are committed to its long-term survival so that future musicians and artisans can continue to benefit from its exquisite properties. Its use has been verified in the historical record for the past 5,000 years. Beams hewn of blackwood can be found in the temple of Pharaoh Ramesses III, constructed around 1186 BC. Furniture a... read more B: Mission (10,000 characters) Dalbergia melanoxylon is listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and the African Blackwood Conservation Project has been the only long-term planting project for its conservation. Given the exquisite nature of the wood itself (manufacturers and artists consider it irreplaceable), as well as its impressive history, we are committed to its long-term survival so that future musicians and artisans can continue to benefit from its exquisite properties. Its use has been verified in the historical record for the past 5,000 years. Beams hewn of blackwood can be found in the temple of Pharaoh Ramesses III, constructed around 1186 BC. Furniture and carvings were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun and European Renaissance artisans relied on the wood for the magnificent cabinets that they produced. (See: https://www.blackwoodconservation.org/5000-year-history/) The African Blackwood Conservation Project is a combination of efforts by a team in the US which raises money for the project and their colleagues in Tanzania who have taken on the work of growing seedlings and sponsoring replanting programs. One thing that has lain a solid foundation for the work is the fact that the family which implements the work in Tanzania has a long history of environmental work on Mt. Kilimanjaro that goes back for several generations. Each generation has passed on the expertise, enthusiasm and cooperation needed to design and implement programs that are germane to the local needs of the people and the proper protection and maintenance of the ecosystem within which they dwell. Michael Iwaku Chuwa was the father of Sebastian Chuwa, Tanzanian founder of the ABCP. He was an herbalist who was familiar with numerous plants in the Kilimanjaro watershed and well known for his ability to prescribe remedies for many local maladies. This knowledge was passed to Sebastian, who followed in his father's footsteps. By the time he was 8 years old, Sebastian was already cultivating a garden and selling the produce. After college, Sebastian procured a job as a conservationist at Ngorongoro National Crater. In this work, he collected 44,000 specimens, discovering two new species which were named in his honor and also established an herbarium at park headquarters. Sebastian's work for the conservation of African blackwood was featured in a Nature documentary called "Mpingo, The Tree of Music" This was one of the first calls to the international community to make it aware of the diminishing stocks of the tree in the wild and the necessity to take action to renew its declining populations. The video documented Sebastian's efforts to cultivate blackwood seedlings in a nursery setting, which, up to that point, had been considered quite difficult. (See Nature video on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUcW1dRH2XQ&t=19s). When James Harris, who used the wood in his Ornamental turning, saw the documentary in 1996, he decided to take action and contacted Sebastian to offer his help. He and his wife, Bette, collected the money that made it possible to establish a tree nursery in Mijonweni, south of Moshi, Tanzania. They named the program the African Blackwood Conservation Project, and it has been operational ever since. Elizabeth Chuwa, Sebastian's wife, is a teacher and has worked hand-in-hand with Sebastian and her fellow teachers to help establish additional tree nurseries and institute educational programs in many school of the area. The US directors take no remuneration for their work; all money collected is sent to support the project work in Tanzania. We believe that the primary reason the program has been successful is because the partners who run the physical project in Africa have a deep intellectual knowledge and experience in conservation work, widespread connections throughout northern Tanzania and, as noted above, several generations of family commitment to the cause of the environment. Cyril and Michael Chuwa (Sebastian and Elizabeth's sons), now run the program. Both are college educated and Cyril is additionally taking conservation-oriented courses at Mweka College of Wildlife Management in Moshi, to eventually attain a PhD in environmental studies.