Thursday, February 14, 2013

Gaharu by Dr Eli

KUCHING: The 18/20 Point Malaysia Agreement must be defended as political legacy for both Sabah and Sarawak, said Borneo Heritage Foundation chairman Datuk Dr Jeffery Kitingan.

“If we don’t defend it as legacy, we and our future generations will lose. It is an important political legacy,” he said at the soft launching of Borneo Legacies Centre at Taman BDC Stampin here last Sunday night.

Jeffery, also United Borneo Front (UBF) chairman, was referring to the 18 points agreement (Malaya/Sarawak) and 20 points agreement (Sabah /Malaya) signed before September 16, 1963 – the official date Malaysia was formed.

According to him, Sabah has lost most of the 20 points after Umno came to the state and decisions are made by Kuala Lumpur which makes Sabah treated like a colony and not an equal partner in Malaysia.

“You (Sarawak) are still very lucky. So, don’t lose it,” he said. He also pointed out there was nothing sensitive anymore about the points in 18/20 Agreement, because everybody knew about it and had the means to know it.

The Borneo Legacies Centre owner Dr Elli Luhat said the 18/20 Agreement was one of the documents to be showcased there.
“To me, it’s a legacy signed by the country’s forefathers. If we don’t preserve it, it will be gone someday. If we don’t do this, I don’t think my children and grandchildren will know about it,” he said.
The centre is located at Lasan Denak, Lorong B4 Taman BDC which is also the house of Elli, chairman of DLT Group of Companies.

Elli also said the centre aims to preserve the ‘empurau’ fish, and ‘gaharu’ (agarwood), ‘belian’ (Borneo Ironwood) and rubber trees which he regarded as the indigenous fauna and flora of Borneo.
He pointed out the rearing of empurau, and planting of gaharu, belian and rubber trees can uplift the socio-economy of the Dayaks.

On another matter, he also informed the audience that his term as member of the Malaysia Rubber Board (LGM) which recently expired was not renewed.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/07/24/malaysia-agreement-a-political-legacy-jeffery-kitingan/#ixzz2KsuFiadJ

Monday, February 4, 2013

Gaharu Integration With Oil Palm

I had planted 10 gaharu trees in between my 4 years old oil palm. The integration started quite well.

Gaharu or agarwood (aloeswood, eaglewood) is a resinous, fragrant and highly valuable heartwood of Aquilaria species from the Thymelaeceae family. There are altogether 16 species of Aquilaria. The different species was found in different country.

However, the best known species that produce the gaharu resin are Aquilaria malaccensis and Aquilaria crassna. A. crassna is an evergreen tree of medium-size and can reach to a height of 15- 20m and a diameter at breast height of 40-50cm [1].















Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Gaharu Products

Gaharu Products (Produk produk gaharu)

Gaharu resin, oil and even gaharu woodchip can be turned into the following products:

1. Pure Agarwood Oil
2. Agarwood Chips
3. Agarwood Piece
4. Agarwood Chunk
5. Agarwood Crushing
6. Agarwood Stuffing
7. Agarwood Incense
8. Agarwood Tea
9. Agarwood Perfume
10. Agarwood Soap
11. Agarwood Lotion
12. Agarwood Cream
13. Agarwood Lip Balm
14. Agarwood Candle
15. Agarwood Shampoo
16. Agarwood Conditioner

Sunday, January 27, 2013

How much You can sell your Gaharu?

Agarwood Prices - Harga Gaharu

Agarwood Grade (Gred Gaharu) Origin (Tempat Asal) Price (Harga) Remark (Nota)
Supergrade Gaharu Sarawak RM9,000/kg Jun 2006, source: Malaysian-German Forestry Education Project
Grade A West Malaysia RM1,000/kg 1985, source: FRIM/UPM
Grade A West Malaysia RM14,000/kg 2008, source: FRIM/UPM

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Gaharu Oil For Prince William Perfume

Gaharu and the British royal family don't have anything in common until recently. But with Prince William wedding coming very soon, famous perfumer Kim Weisswange has been tasked to create a new royal fragrances specially for Prince William. And one of the ingredient is Agarwood or Gaharu.
Gaharu dan keluarga raja Inggris tidak memiliki kesamaan apa pun sampai saat ini. Tetapi dengan pernikahan Pangeran William, parfumis terkenal Kim Weisswange telah ditugaskan untuk membuat wewangian baru khusus untuk Pangeran William. Dan salah satu bahan yang digunakan adalah minyak Gaharu.

Read the article below.

Wedding perfumes fit for a princess and a prince

Kim Weisswange counts the likes of Madonna, Pierce Brosnan, Vivienne Westwood and even Britain's Prince Charles among her illustrious clients - but the Hamburg perfumer admits she was still completely shocked to be asked to create a fragrance as a present for the wedding of Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton.

"My heart nearly stopped beating when we got the call from the royal family," the 47-year-old says with a smile.

Weisswange, who was born in South Africa before moving to Germany, has over 20 years of experience in the industry and has decided on a clear and powerful scent characteristic of English lavender for Prince William.

Kate's perfume, on the other hand, will be warm and sensual, combining rose and magnolia essence for a more restrained fragrance.

"The scents should underline the pair's character and personality," says Weisswange.

The perfumer came to the British royal family's attention when Prince Charles noticed the scent she created for the wedding of another member of the nobility.

An order was subsequently received from a member of the British royal family for three fragrances on the occasion of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006.

The family member, who Weisswange refuses to name, has now commissioned fragrances for William and Kate's wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

Wedding scents are a speciality of Weisswange, who has also created perfumes for Flavio Briatore and Elisabetta Gregoraci.

It's important that the fragrances not only fit each person individually but that they are in harmony with each other, she explains.

Every detail of the upcoming wedding is being kept a closely guarded secret but as the perfumes are presents from a family member, Weisswange is allowed to discuss her creations.

Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, refused to confirm whether the perfumes would be used on the day, adding that it was unlikely as there is no official commission for royal wedding perfumes.

Weisswange went to university in the northern German city of Kiel before moving to Los Angeles in the 1980s where she trained to become a perfumer.

But it was while working as a make-up artist for Glenn Close on the set of The House of Spirits that her reputation for creating unique scents began to grow in Hollywood.

Although she has many elite clients and recently sold one perfume to a Chinese businessman for 50,000 euros (72,000 dollars), Weisswange also makes more affordable scents, including an eau de toilette that retails at 145 euros a bottle.

Weisswange operates with Hamburg company Capital Cosmetics and has been working on the royal fragrances for around seven weeks, mixing over 90 ingredients together in the laboratory.

The scents are appropriately named William and Catherine and come in respectively sleek black and white atomisers.

Prince William's scent is a combination of Norfolk lavender and agarwood, with the top-note affected by bergamot.

"It is dynamic and clear, a sporty and direct fragrance," says Weisswange.

Kate's is a softer rose and magnolia perfume with the rose essence used in memory of Princess Diana.

Not surprisingly, Weisswange refuses to reveal how much the royal family member is paying for the two fragrances.

"But I have to admit that in this instance it's more about the honour than the money," she says.

-- Courtesy of TimesLIVE. The contents was extracted from TimesLIVE archives dated Apr 2011.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Gaharu, the newest green gold?

Agarwood is perhaps the most prized non-timber forest product traded in the international market. The establishment of forest species producing agarwood is gaining attention at national and local levels as the resources from the natural forest are depleting over the years.

Planters see this type of plantation as green ‘gold mine’ of the future, if there is a breakthrough in inoculation technology. Agarwood (also known as gaharu, aloes wood, eagle wood, oud, chen-xiang, kalambak among other common names) is a fragrant wood that has been traded for a long time for its use in religious, medicinal and aromatic preparation.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Gaharu in Penang

GEORGE TOWN: “Gaharu man” Gurdial Singh has a mission in life protecting his playground by exposing poachers who chop down the precious agarwood trees.

“People told me that it is dangerous to be a whistleblower. But I can't sit still while poachers steal the wood,” he said.

The 52-year-old veteran Hash runner has been regularly tipping The Star off about the poachers, believed to be foreigners, since February.

“I felt swift action will only be taken after the matter is highlighted in the media. I'm not doing it for publicity,” he said.

Last month, he tipped off The Star and state Forestry Department after noticing that five trees had been chopped in a jungle near Taman Lembah Permai in Tanjung Bungah.

The department detained two Cambodian men and recovered gaharu wood estimated to be worth between RM100,000 and RM200,000.

Gaharu is used for medicine and perfume and fetches a handsome prize in the Middle East.

“My wife was initially upset that I had gone to the media. I want my two children and all children to grow up knowing the importance of the trees,” he said.

Gurdial, a factory general manager, said his “playground” was the forest as he has been blazing jungle trails with the Penang Hash House Harriers for more than two decades.

He has done hundreds of runs through forests in China, Hong Kong, Britain, Australia and Indonesia.

“Penang has the best hill trails. My favourite are the hills in Batu Ferringhi,” he said.

He started noticing that a certain type of tree was being chopped all over the island since 2010.

Knowing the local forests well, Gurdial knew felling was being carried out illegally on state land.

“At the time, I didn't know that it was the prized agarwood trees but I sensed something fishy.

“It wasn't until I stumbled upon the felling near the Penang Botanic Gardens last year that I realised the value of these trees and why they were being chopped,” he said.

The department formed two teams to track down those responsible for poaching in state forest reserves.

These days, the Hash network of about 80 runners are also on high alert for agarwood poachers.