Sandalwood
Forest
Marayoor
is the only place in Kerala with a natural growth of sandalwood
trees. The sandalwood factory run by the Forest Department
is of tourist interest.A reduced rainfall is more suitable
for the growth of the best types of sandalwood trees from
which good quality oil can also be extracted.
Compared to the neighbouring states like Tamilnadu and Karnataka
(especially the forests of Mysore), Kerala has less acres
of sandalwood forests. Kerala's share of sandal wood trees
is confined to Marayoor and a few forest areas in Wayanad
hills. |
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Sandalwood
sculptures
They
are a little expensive, but they carry with them the fragrance
and memories of a rich land. The sandalwood sculptures of
Kerala are popular souvenirs : icons of Ganapathy - the elephant
headed god, the trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, little
snake boats, elephants...
Handicrafts emporia across the State offer a range of such
sculptures in sandalwood. A sample of our craftsmen's skills,
these artefacts capture the expressions, features and proportions
of the subject, the golden colour of the wood adding to the
richness. Sandalwood retains its fragrance for years, a sprinkling
of water on the article can perfume your room for days together.
Price varies with the size and complexity of carving. The
rate begins from four hundred rupees onwards. The sculptures
of nearly 5 foot height are sold for Five hundred thousand
rupees at the SMSM Institute, Thiruvananthapuram.
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Sandalwood-It's
Precious Heartwood
The most valuable part of the sandalwood tree is the
scented heartwood. If the tree establishes itself
in a favorable location it will begin forming the
heartwood after 10 years of growth. At that point
the girth of the tree will be about 9 inches and its
height 10 feet. After 20 years the heartwood begins
to form rapidly and reaches its prime in the 50-60
year range at which point the tree will be about 2-3
feet in girth, and upto 60 feet high. The trees having
reached this stage and considered ripe for harvest
are uprooted not cut, as the roots are highest in
oil content. The appropriate time for doing this is
just after the rainy season so as to reduce labor.
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In
the sandalwood depot the remaining sapwood is carefully removed
by people skilled in this type of work. Extreme care must
be taken so that all the precious heartwood remains intact.
After all the processes are completed the wood is separated
into heartwood, branchwood, chips, and powder for auction.
Even the sapwood containing a tiny bit of fragrance due to
its proximity to the heartwood will be auctioned off. The
wood is auctioned off from these sites twice yearly.
Due to its high value sandalwood is exploited by thieves and
smugglers. They have developed many ingenious means for transporting
the wood to people willing to illegally traffic in this commodity.
Penalties for detection of illicit trading in it are severe
and the government is making restrictions on the purchasing
of sandalwood even more stringent. Once a company has purchased
it through legal channels, careful records must be kept as
to how it is being used so that when officials check the records,
the amount purchased and the amount sold match.
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Commercial
tree : Price and market trends
Sandal wood means money! Buyers are willing to pay as much
as Rs 9 lacs per tonne for sandal wood. While sandal oil fetches
nearly Rs 18,000 per kg! Till now in India a major hinderance
for cultivating sandal wood were tough government laws. But
these laws have now been liberalised
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Sandalwood
oil / Perfume
An
inevitable cosmetic of the elite, the sandal oil called
the "liquid gold" is a popular perfume . Most
of the government handicrafts emporium in Kerala have this
item for sale. One such is the SMSM Institute, Thiruvananthapuram,
where you can buy 50 ml oil for Rs.1243/-. Sandalwood oil
produced by a few private agencies are also sold here, after
testing its quality by the government's research cell.
Sandalwood oil is extracted from the roots and wood of sandalwood
(Santalum album).
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About
the tree
Sandalwood is a small evergreen tree attaining a height
of 40-50 feet and a girth of 3-8 feet. Mature specimens
are covered with a dark brown to reddish bark. The smooth
trunk of young trees turns rough with age and exhibits deep
vertical cracks. The leathery leaves display a range of
greenish colors. The purplish brown flowers are small and
unscented. There is little externally that calls one to
notice the sandalwood tree as a specimen containing the
prized aromatic heartwood whose virtues have been sung for
several thousand years. The tree can grow under a variety
of environmental conditions but produces the finest heartwood
amidst the dry rocky/hilly terrain of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
States, and Kerala States where the famed "sandalwood
belt" is located. It is in this region that most of
the remaining natural stands of sandalwood are to be found.
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Sandalwood
has a lot of medicinal values. Its use in treatment of skin
problems is legendary. When applied to the forehead in the
form of a paste it has a cooling effect and is used to bring
down fevers.It is an excellent moisturizer .Traditionally
sandalwood has been used for treating digestive complications
arising from diarrhea, nausea, colic and gastritis. |
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. Sandalwood
