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<title>Luxist - Comments for Diamond Teak's Eco-Elegant Designs</title>
<link>http://www.luxist.com/2009/09/03/diamond-teak-eco-elegant-design/</link>
<description>Luxist Comments for Diamond Teak's Eco-Elegant Designs</description>
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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Comments on Diamond Teak's Eco-Elegant Designs]]></title><link>http://www.luxist.com/2009/09/03/diamond-teak-eco-elegant-design/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.luxist.com/2009/09/03/diamond-teak-eco-elegant-design/</guid><description><![CDATA[Teak is not native to Central America, and, in fact, old-growth native forests are often destroyed in order to establish teak farms, since the trees are easy-to-cultivate cash crops.  Accordingly, a mission statement claiming a desire to "protect the environment" through Central American teak farming is more than a little suspect. ]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brad]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sep 3rd 2009 6:24PM</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Comments on Diamond Teak's Eco-Elegant Designs]]></title><link>http://www.luxist.com/2009/09/03/diamond-teak-eco-elegant-design/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.luxist.com/2009/09/03/diamond-teak-eco-elegant-design/</guid><description><![CDATA[They plant on "degraded" cattle farms and are actually re-foresting, see below:<br><br>"Costa Rica’s bio-diversity includes 5 percent of all known species in an area the size of West Virginia. yet Costa Rica had some of the fastest deforestation rates in the world, so there was a desperate need to offset this environmental destruction. “The reforestation effort in Costa Rica has done a great deal of good,” explains Kevin Yardley. “But if you look at El Salvador or Haiti, countries that are 99% deforested, they have little prospects . . . A country without trees has no future,” he states. The Yardleys’ environmental spirit led them to envision a way to protect the environment while creating jobs to empower the local community. According to the Costa Rican Ministry of Natural Resources, Diamond Teak is having a positive impact in Costa Rica through their reforestation efforts.<br><br>In 1992, Diamond Teak bought their first degraded cattle farm and began planting teak. In addition to farming teak, they have planted seventy other species including endangered native trees such as mahogany, purpleheart and cocobolo rosewood. Their 12 plantations protect more than 1000 acres of primary and secondary jungle and provide safe havens for an incredibly diverse selection of flora and fauna."<br><br><a href="http://diamondteak.com/about-diamond-teak.html" rel="nofollow">http://diamondteak.com/about-diamond-teak.html</a>]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[JPS]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sep 3rd 2009 6:34PM</pubDate></item></channel></rss>