Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Martin good morning, Not sure where you get your information on Australian Sandalwood or how old your information is however, Australian Sandalwood is being trial/grown in the Northern Territory of Australia. The tree is a parasite and the 'root' stock is one of the mimosas (acacia). In fact, in this day and age one does not need an army of people to start production there is a machine which digs the hole, plants the treelet and I think gives it a drink before doing the next one. The initial work is certainly not labour intensive. Aust Sandalwood grows in lousy conditions which means most of the time it is not readily available to general tourists. This is fine by me as I have no intention of heading to the outback to look for a tree. I am quite happy to buy from the producer who is well known in Australian Aromatherapy circles or from a reputable supplier, of whom I know several. If I have to pay a lot for the oil I am happy to do so because it is sustainable, it does supply work to the outback areas where work is at a minimum and the oil does exactly what I need it to do. I do not work on the 'spiritual' side of aromatherapy as I do not understand it, however the oil is terrific for dry coughs, which is what I am currently using it for at present. I am getting over one of the atypical colds, which after the 'cold' has gone I am left with a sinus (minor) problem and an irritating cough. As my house now reeks of Aust Sandalwood I don't cough much at home. Take me outside and in airconditioning I cough very readily. From general discussion this side-effect will hang around for a while I think you will need to study more about the Australian Sandalwood tree. Our ABC ran a terrific article on Aust Sandalwood last year showing us a lot about the oil and tree. Maybe, just maybe, you should try and contact them and learn something. There are at least another two oils being researched at present. The Aborigines have been using the leaves and barks of many trees for many thousands of years. True, they might not have distilled them, but they did know that rubbing the leaves of certain plants on certain areas of injury gave the desired effect. To me that is another form of aromatherapy! Lighten up, Martin. Go out and smell the roses! You might find an open mind out there Regards Merinda Proud supporter of Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services To rescue Australian native wildlife in the Sydney met region phone 02 9413 4300 Find local movie times and trailers on Movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 Merinda, Not sure who this ABC is that you refer to, but that article sounds as if they have been sucked in by the hype from the oil producers. My information comes from the sources below which you can check for yourself. First, Santalum spicatum plantations *are not yet productive* as they are new. Virtually all the trees are currently being taken from the wild, from the arid regions of Western Australia. In such harsh conditions they can take over 100 years to reach the required size in order to produce enough essential oil to make commercial uprooting worthwhile. The trees *are not being replanted in the arid regions from where they are being harvested* due that slow growth rate. The plantations are in the wetter Wheatbelt regions hundreds of kilometres distant. Sandalwood is also not being successfully grown in the Northern Territory. The project was abandoned a few years ago as the trees (Santalum album in this instance, not S. spicatum) were found to be too slow growing to make commercial harvesting profitable. If you do not believe me, contact the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) in Western Australia. Ian Kealley, Regional Manager of CALM, confirmed this a few months ago for the research that Chrissie Wildwood did. I'd also refer you to the articles by Tony Burfield and Chrissie, This exposes all the misinformation given by the producers. With regards sustainability, much of that information came from Ian kealley of CALM. He is surprisingly open and admits that no sustainability studies have ever been carried out! There are dozens of other oils that can be used for respiratory tract problems, I suggest you try some of those instead of depleting your countries natural flora and lining the pockets of unscrupulous oil producers. Refer to: www.chrissie-wildwood.com 'Spotlight on the trade in wild plants' Articles on my web site on conservation and the links in them. Martin Watt Who will never " lighten up " as long as I am certain people are being lied to by essential oil producers and their distributors. http://www.aromamedical.com , Merinda <aromamerinda> wrote: > > Martin good morning, > > Not sure where you get your information on Australian Sandalwood or how old your information is however, Australian Sandalwood is being trial/grown in the Northern Territory of Australia. > > The tree is a parasite and the 'root' stock is one of the mimosas (acacia). In fact, in this day and age one does not need an army of people to start production there is a machine which digs the hole, plants the treelet and I think gives it a drink before doing the next one. The initial work is certainly not labour intensive. Aust Sandalwood grows in lousy conditions which means most of the time it is not readily available to general tourists. This is fine by me as I have no intention of heading to the outback to look for a tree. I am quite happy to buy from the producer who is well known in Australian Aromatherapy circles or from a reputable supplier, of whom I know several. If I have to pay a lot for the oil I am happy to do so because it is sustainable, it does supply work to the outback areas where work is at a minimum and the oil does exactly what I need it to do. > > I do not work on the 'spiritual' side of aromatherapy as I do not understand it, however the oil is terrific for dry coughs, which is what I am currently using it for at present. I am getting over one of the atypical colds, which after the 'cold' has gone I am left with a sinus (minor) problem and an irritating cough. As my house now reeks of Aust Sandalwood I don't cough much at home. Take me outside and in airconditioning I cough very readily. From general discussion this side-effect will hang around for a while > > I think you will need to study more about the Australian Sandalwood tree. Our ABC ran a terrific article on Aust Sandalwood last year showing us a lot about the oil and tree. Maybe, just maybe, you should try and contact them and learn something. > > There are at least another two oils being researched at present. The Aborigines have been using the leaves and barks of many trees for many thousands of years. True, they might not have distilled them, but they did know that rubbing the leaves of certain plants on certain areas of injury gave the desired effect. To me that is another form of aromatherapy! > > Lighten up, Martin. Go out and smell the roses! You might find an open mind out there > > > > > Regards > Merinda > > Proud supporter of Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services > To rescue Australian native wildlife in the Sydney met region > phone 02 9413 4300 > > > > > Find local movie times and trailers on Movies. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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