Furniture maker goes into reforestation

The local producer of upholstered reclining/rocking chairs has ventured into a 25-year reforestration program with the government as his way of helping reforest the bald mountains of the country and assuring the supply of raw materials needed by his furniture business in the long term.

Businessman Antonio dela Cruz Jr., president of Jade Agri Forest Corp. has been granted a 25-year forest lease on 2,200 hectares of the denuded forest lands in Sta. Fe, Zambales which he plans to convert into an eco-tourism project if he finds any interested joint venture partner.

Of the 2,200 hectares leased to his company, dela Cruz said he had reforested 200 hectares to hardwood species like gmellina, acacia and eucalyptus, which are harvestable after 15 years, by which time he expects to come up with production of hardwood furniture. Dela Cruz obtained his forestry lease agreement in 2003.

Right now, dela Cruz uses marine ply for the production of his Easy Boy chairs (reclines/rockers with variations of massage chairs) in another company called Kim Philip Marketing Corp.

Dela Cruz said he embarked on the reforestation program because "there were not too many willing to invest in such costly ventures and I want to help in regreening the country’s bald mountains again."

Having grown up in Tabaco, Albay, dela Cruz is familiar with the lush forest covers and abundant wildlife in his youth. "Now we don’s see covers on our mountains anymore. Our topsoil is lost to erosion because there are no roots to hold the soil anymore. Our rivers get polluted by eroded soil," he said.

The cost of reforesting is P40,000 per hectare and at 200 hectares, dela Cruz said he has spent quite a huge fortune on his leased forest area. "I have hired 10 forest guards (or one forest guard for every 20 hectares), subdivide and secure through some form of virtual fencing the property to ensure that not everything is lost in the forest fire," he said.

At one visit to the site, dela Cruz said he met some rebels who asked for financial support from him. But he told them that he can only earn from the project after 15 years but for the time being, he asked them to protect and secure the area from forest fires and other accidents.

The cost of maintaining the planted trees is also staggering with only a few water sources to get from and the steep terrain to transport the fertilizers, pesticide and other gardening supplies, he said.

He said the government encourages investors like him to get into eco-tourism. "Putting up huts or lodging facilities like those in the rice terraces involves huge cost which is why I want to look for a partner," he said.

Last year, he said, he tried to inter-crop cassava in the forested area. "I will know if I succeeded by October, when I harvest," he said.

At the tip of the mountain where his forestry lease sits, one gets a breathtaking view of the China Sea. "The site is very much like the Tagaytay highlands," he said.

Dela Cruz said although he stands to earn from the reforestation project after 15 years, his current main concern is complying with the requirements of the lease agreement by pouring in additional investments to the concession area.

Aside from Kim Philip, Dela Cruz also has a fresh fruit import business called Choice Harvest Marketing Inc., that imports the fruits from all over the world and consigns the fruits to all the supermarkets of SM.