ROSEWOOD TREE WITH EVERY GUITAR SOLD – GUITARIST MAY 2018

The Dutch guitar brand Homestead, which recently put itself on the map with three signatures for the Vreemde Kostgangers (Boudewijn de Groot, Henny Vrienten and George Kooymans), wants to contribute to the sustainable construction of guitars. Like many builders of acoustic guitars, the company, which has its guitars made in Indonesia, makes extensive use of the wood type rosewood; Homestead even uses this tropical hardwood as standard for the sides and back of all its models.

Gift
In January 2017, rosewood was added to Appendix 11 of the CITES list of endangered species. This means that the origin of rosewood must be substantiated with all kinds of additional certificates to prevent illegal trade from cutting down more trees than is permitted in the context of responsible forestry.

Homestead came up with the idea to contribute to the other side of the sustainable use of rosewood by ensuring that more rosewood trees are added. The company does this by giving away a young rosewood tree for every Homestead guitar sold.

Name Plate
Last March, the first hundred trees were planted on the grounds of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in Sumedang on Java. The planted trees are approximately two and a half meters high. The technological institute will make the forest suitable for students with the young trees, who can prepare their lessons in the shade. The number of trees will of course be expanded based on the number of guitars sold. A plaque with the name of the buyer will be attached to each tree. So all Homestead customers can visit and view their own tree. The young trees are cared for by the employees of the institute. With this initiative, future generations will also have access to Javanese rosewood. www.homestead-guitars.com