Our Mahogany Farm in the Philippines is in the uplands of Negros Island, in the rural area of Kabankalan City. (See Philippines Paradise for interesting background information about the country and local area.)
A well-traveled concrete road connects the tree farm area with Kabankalan City. The farm itself is about a kilometer from the main road, accessible from several directions by a network of farm roads leading to and through the property. The 20-hectare farm nestles in a fertile valley among gently rolling hills. The entire perimeter of the farm is fenced. The property is crisscrossed by streams, which flow most of the year.
The farm consists of 4 separate titled properties of approximately 5 hectares each. Together they form one rectangular farm property of 20 hectares (or approximately 50 acres.) (1 hectare = 10,000 square meters). The land was resurveyed at the time of purchase in 1994, with lot plans and title deeds updated and in order. The property is free of liens and encumbrances, and ready for immediate sale.
A significant feature of the property is the presence of a year-round spring, sufficient for irrigating the entire farm if desired. There is a capture & storage tank at the spring, optimizing management of the crystal-clear spring water.
The Tree Farm’s supreme value is the 12,000 swietenia macrophylla mahogany trees that were planted during the 1990’s. In addition to the mahogany trees, the farm also contains a small number of other premium furniture wood species (such as acacia mangium and narra – pterocarpus indicus). Over the years, cash crops such as rice, corn, and coffee were successfully cultivated between the trees and in the farm’s open spaces.
Here are some video clips (from one of my visits quite a few years ago) of our mahogany farm in the Philippines, walking through the mahogany “forest.” (Apologies for the video quality – I was just using a Blackberry at the time!)