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   Thailand 's fine selection home decor - Handcraft from nature

About Wooden material

Wood

Wood is one of the most important and valuable natural resources available to man. Since time immemorial man has resorted to wood for his four basic needs: food, housing, clothing and medication. Wood is also an important material for the manufacture of simple vehicles, household utensils, decorations, furniture and many other things connected with human culture and beliefs. Wood used in making handicrafts in Thailand can be put into two groups as follows:

1. Softwoods. These woods, also known as conifers or evergreens, come from trees that grow well in the mountains of northern Thailand such as some species of pine trees. They are light and manageable.

2. Hardwoods. Trees that yield these woods are generally deciduous and have broad leaves. There are quite a number of them in Thailand, for example teak, para rubber, mango wood, rain trees etc.. These woods are both strong and durable; therefore, they make excellent multipurpose construction timbers, furniture, tools and equipment. They are also used for carving.

Mango Wood

Mango Wood comes from the same kind of tree (Mangifera spp.) as the popular tropical fruit. It is widespread around South East Asia - including Thailand - with the widest variety of species found in Malaysia. Mango trees can reach a height of up to 80-100 ft with a trunk diameter of around 3 to 4 ft. The wood at the centre of the tree - the heartwood - can be pinkish, light or dark brown, or golden with occasional dark streaks running through it. It has a relatively coarse interlocking grain and is fairly easy to work with, particularly when finishing and polishing.The heartwood is vulnerable to fungal attack, so all of our handicrafts - be they decorations, ornaments or gifts - made with this material are treated to eliminate this problem. It also withstands kiln drying very well, making it a fairly quick process to produce a workable piece of wood from a ‘green’ log. The use of mango wood as a raw material in the production of Thai handicrafts gained momentum relatively recently as a result of two factors. Firstly, the depletion of natural teak stocks in Thailand gave rise to a need for a suitable alternative. Although softer than teak, mango wood was found to be easily carved and painted (or otherwise treated), as well as being attractive in its own right.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a natural plant in Thailand and has had a special place in Thai daily life from time immemorial. Many rural people in Thailand have, since the old days, built their houses and made their household utensils from bamboo. This "wonder" plant can grow anywhere, weather any kind of climate and has many good qualities: all of its parts are useful: root, shoot, leaves and stem. As regards its stem, it can be split into strips which can be bent or twisted, yet do not break very easily; besides, when made into any shape it is pressure-resistent, i.e. able to retain its original form after hard handling; hence an ideal material for basket making. There are many species of bamboo in Thailand that are good for basket making; for example Paid Seesuk, Pai Saang, Pai Liang, Pai Seenual, Pai Ruag, Pai Hea etc (Pai is the Thai word for bamboo). The most popular is the first which is of the BAMBUSA BLUMEANA family, growing in every part of Thailand not in forests but on low plains, preferably in sunny areas near water. Country people also like to grow this kind of bamboo as fences around their houses.

Rattan

Unlike bamboo, this plant of the PALMAE family grows naturally in forest areas where the climate is both hot and damp with heavy rainfall. In Thailand it is mostly found in the south, for example in Surat Thani, Songkha, Ranong, Krabi and Pattani provinces. Although its stem is pliant like bamboo's and very suitable for basket making, rattan is considerably tougher, stronger and more durable, hence very precious to this craft and very important regarding its economic value in Thailand. As many as 40 species grow in this country but the most abundant is of the CALAMUS family whose sub-species which are very popular for basket making include red rattan, Omad, Kalong, Horn and Chumporn.This speciality matterial has good in unique texture ability to produce high-end furniture.

Coconut

Coconuts belong to the PALMAE family with Cocos nucifera Linn as the scientific name. The origin is presumed to be the Malay Peninsula and New Guinea area. Thai people consider the coconut tree the "tree of life" as a great deal of their subsistence, food, shelter, facilities and clothing comes from this plant. Every part of the coconut tree is useful. Its top is a kind of vegetable while its unopened flower cluster when pierced will yield sugar sap or toddy. Its fruit can be consumed as food or used as an ingredient for desserts-the white meat can be eaten fresh or shredded and crushed to obtain cream for curries or sweets. Its dried meat or copra can be pressed for oil which serves as fuel in the north or as the main ingredient for making soaps, toothpaste, oleomargarine, cosmetics, medicine and other food products. Fibres processed from coconut husk are used in the making of rope, brushes, nets, brooms, doormats, and carpets; they are also used as filling for mattresses or car upholstery, and as material for packing and growing plants in. Coconut shells can be made into household utensils, ornaments, musical instruments and used as fuel or burnt to suppress undesirable smells. The leaves can be turned into food wrappers or containers while its stems can be made into baskets or brooms. Finally, the trunk, when over 60 years old, provides timber for house construction or raw materials for a number of household utensils. Coconuts grow in almost every part of Thailand as they are not difficult plants needing constant attention and care. However, they prefer loose sandy soil with high mean temperature and relative humidity; consequently, they grow very well along the southern and eastern coasts in many provinces including Choomporn, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Prachuap Khiri Hhan, Trat, Rayong and Chanthaburi.

Reeds

Reeds belong to the grass family which is biennial and grows easily. Thai people have long made use of this plant making mats for sitting or lying, and other woven articles for home use. The two kinds of reeds used for Thai handicrafts are as follows: 1. Local Reeds or kok rangka This kind of reed has a triangular-shaped stem with hard and brittle skin. So another name has been given to it, kok samliam which is descriptive of its appearance as samliam means "triangular", kok being the name for "reed". It grows wild everywhere and mats are made from its stems but they are usually short-lived and have thus been produced mostly for the home. 2. Kok Suer The term suer means "mat", so this type of reed is widely accepted as good for making mats. It is a leafless variety, growing well in swampy and muddy areas especially in the eastern provinces like Chanthaburi. Trat, Rayong, Chachoengsao, Nakhon Nayok and Prachin Buri. This grass also has a descriptive name-kok klom which indicates that it has a round trunk or stem. Its qualities include a glossy stem, green outside but white inside, and a tough texture. In addition, it grows rather tall, more than 1.50 metre in height, and is thus very suitable for mat making. Although mat making is common among Thai people as mats are made in every region from various local materials, not necessarily reeds, it has long been recognized that the best mats are from Chantaburi Province.

 

Lac (coating material)

Lac is the resinous substance from lac trees which grow well in open forests with a sandy sub-soil. In Thailand, the most popular lac is the Melanorrhoea usitata species of the ANACARDIACEAE family which is found in abundance in the northern provinces of Thailand especially in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son where the resin is called nam huk. Lac also grows sparsely in the northeast where it is called "mai namkiang" locally. This natural resin or latex when applied to the surface of wood, bamboo and other materials gives a beautifully glossy protective coating, effective against heat, water and chemicals.

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