Archive for May, 2007
This magnificent trip has come to an end. Kathy, Dave and I flew out from Sydney today (or was it yesterday?). Tim, the lucky dog, couldn’t get out until the next day so he was going to get in one more day of sightseeing.
Want to share a few more fun Australian tidbits:
1. Exit signs at the airport are “way out” signs.
2. Australian wine is hot! Australian beer is not.
3. When “bugs” are listed on the menu they are really sand crabs. Who knew?
4. Only tourists actually order kangaroo for dinner.
We want to give a big thank you to all of our new Australian friends. Every single person, with the exception of ONE not-so-friendly cab driver, was a complete and absolute pleasure and we would be happy to reciprocate if, and when, any of you would like to visit Iowa, or Hawaii for that matter. The entire group agrees that we would all go back in a heartbeat. The people, the culture, and the environment apparently agreed with each of us.
Before our flight left, we all enjoyed a walk on the walkway along the beach in Bondi. The scene was breathtaking and once again, lucky Tim got out there early enough to see a pod of about 50 dolphins. We did a little more sightseeing, including a visit to a Whole Foods copycat store–Macro Whole Foods. Then we had to leave for the airport.
It is now 8:00 pm and we are in St. Louis waiting for our flight. A 2 hour delay!!!! Not a good way to end such a fabulous trip but what can you do? Everything else was so perfect.
May 23rd, 2007
Due to some technical challenges, we are a little behind in our blogging. We have just landed in LA! Home sweet home! Well…sort of. More to come on the blog as we have time.
Tuesday morning we started the day at our last tea tree plantation. In order to get there, we had to take a ferry across the river and then a dirt road back to the farm. This plantation is now the largest tea tree plantation in Australia. This is not an organic tea tree farm but they do also grow lemon tea tree (although not truly a melaleuca). However, the grower is having difficulty securing a market for the lemon tea tree oil so has not been actively harvesting this product.
We toured the plantation, taking in the beautiful surroundings. This grower had loaned out his harvestor to another farmer so he was not currently harvesting or distilling.
Before heading further South to Sydney, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and some typical Australian treats courtesy of the growers’ wife.
The highlight of the day (no offense John!) was stopping at the Billabong Koala & Aussie Wildlife Park. We got to see a ton of native Australian critters including koalas, kangaroos, snakes and more. The coolest thing was getting to hand feed the kangaroos. Have to admit that I never thought in a million years that I would hand feed a roo! Having just come from the tea tree paddocks, the whole snake thing was way to real. In fact, Tim had to break into his Crodocile Hunter impersonation for a tea tree video.
The drive to Sydney wasn’t quite as grueling as the previous day but was still a long 4.5 hours. We entertained each other by playing car charades. Again, we are confident that our host might believe we are indeed, a very special group of people.
Unfortunately, we did not arrive in Sydney until after sunset but we did have a chance to check out the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House-both beautiful sites to see. After checking into the hotel, we went out for our final dinner together as a team. Although it was too breezy on the coast to eat out doors, we had a unbelievable view of the harbor and excellent seafood to boot!
May 23rd, 2007
As predicted, the day started out with a very long drive inland to meet with a grower of eucalyptus radiata. I am convinced our host (and driver) may think we are all crazy after about 4 hours of car time with us and many very interesting conversations.
Some very interesting key learnings about Australia today:
1. Fish and chips is NOT the same everywhere. Tonight Mindy and Kathy had the best fish and chips that they have had on this journey.
2. We had a question regarding how the water drains in Australia. We have confirmed that it drains in a counter-clockwise manner.
3. Also, roundabouts are way better than stoplights.
The long trip was well worth the drive to meet with this grower. The planting, harvesting and distilling of eucalyptus radiata was very different than what we all expected. This farm has approximately 3000 hectares with 150 of this being planted with certified organic eucalyptus trees. This is a relatively new farm, existing for only 9 years. They converted to organic in 2001.
The plantation is unique in that it doesn’t appear to be planted in straight rows of any kind. This was due to being contour planted. The trees are harvested when they reach about 3 meters and 2-3 in. in truck diameter. After the harvest, the trees are allowed to fill back in for another 2-3 years before they are harvested again. Surprisingly, because of the harvesting method, the eucalyptus trees look more like bushes than trees because they are never allowed to reach a full height.
A very interesting looking harvestor is used for eucalyptus. This harvesting equipment, similar to the equipment used for tea tree, allows the farmer to harvest with only one person and one piece of machinery. This particular grower had one of the most interesting distillation processes that any of us had ever seen. Cube shaped steam distillars were utilized. The baskets from the back of the harvestor are filled and then set directly into the cube shaped distillars. No boiler is utilized in this process and instead, the water boils in the bottom of the distillar creating the necessary steam for the distillation process. Yields range from 1.5-2%.
The grower also discussed with us that eucalyptus globulus is not typically used to produce essential oil here in Australia. Instead, it is used heavily in the lumber industry. The production of eucalyptus globulus essential oil is almost all done in China where it is a by-product of the lumber industry.
From here, we again had another long drive back towards the coast. This 3.5 hour drive was a curvy, windy drive back down the mountains that were covered with a thick, lush forest. We did get to see a few more kangaroos and are still holding out for lots more tomorrow.
We will be visiting our last plantations tomorrow and then heading to Sydney where we will be departing from on Wednesday.
May 21st, 2007
Today is Sunday in Australia. A bit of a quiet day to be honest. It was difficult to find an open coffee shop in the morning and even more difficult to find a restaurant for dinner. We ended up eating at a place called the Workers Club. Interesting place…a dress code that required both Tim and Mindy to remove their hats. It was either that or Dominos “take away”. A few more fun facts that we learned today:
1. Australians call swimming suits “swimmers”.
2. Tim always carries what is called a fanny pack whenever he travels. In Australia “fanny” is a word that is used to describe a particular part on a woman’s body. We decided we wouldn’t call it a fanny pack any longer.
The morning started with a trip to our host’s family farm where we got to be part of the tea tree harvest. The harvest of tea tree is kind of unique to watch. One reason is that a specialized harvestor has been created to make the process as efficient as possible. In order to eliminate the need for an extra tractor and wagon, the harvestor is equipped with its own wagon. Once full, it is emptied directly into the mobile distillation units. As in Europe, Mindy had the opportunity to ride along for a bit of the harvest in order to get a birds eye view of the process.
An interesting tidbit that we discovered is that the spent material from the harvest is sold to the landscape industry for mulch, bagged, mixed with soil and sold all throughout Australia for landscaping purposes. In some cases, the mulch can be worth even more than the actual tea tree essential oil to the farmers.
From there, we had a little extra time to make our first visit to the beach and even more interesting, to the tea tree lake. The lake has a unique story. There are numerous tea trees growing around the lake. Throughout history, people came to know the lake as one that offered healing benefits. People would swim it and their skin and hair would become healthier. We knew this story prior to our arrival at the lake but nothing could have prepared us for the real deal. The water is literally the color of tea tree. Over time, the tea tree oil has leeched through the soil into the water giving it a reddish brown color. 
As we previously mentioned, it is early fall in Australia and most people are no longer swimming. But for us Iowans (plus one crazy Hawaii dweller), we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a dip in the very chilly but therapeutic waters of the tea tree lake.
Tomorrow we have a lot of travel time. We will be heading South, and inland, to visit an organic eucalyptus grower. From there, we will head back towards the coast and further South yet. Sydney is our final destination on Tuesday.
May 20th, 2007
Key Australian learnings for the day:
1. Gambling is a popular pastime in Australia. Slot machines are called “pokeys”.
2. Tim Tams are a popular biscuit in Australia. They are a tea biscuit coated in chocolate and quite tasty.
We started this morning in Lismore in northern New South Wales. We had a short 30 minute drive to the Bungawalbyn River Valley where we visited the grower of our Aura Cacia tea tree oil. The farm is set in a pictorial setting along the Bungawalbyn River, which is the heart of tea tree country in Australia. Tea tree distillation goes back nearly 100 years in Australia with the original tea tree coming from wild harvested material. The first cultivated tea tree started in this region in the mid-60s with the farm we visited having the distinction of being one of the first ever and highest recorded harvest ever.
Tea tree is grown in a typical row crop fashion with one of the biggest differences seen through weed control. Sheep are utilized for this in Australia. Not only do they control the weeds but they also supply an organic fertilizer. The added benefit to the farmer is the extra $$ from the sheep wool. The only other fertilization that is used is compost, which has been found to be more productive and produce higher yields then chemical fertilizers (and better for the environment).
Tea tree plants are productive for 15-20 years. Each plant is harvested annually. Before harvest, the trees are approx. 5 feet in height and are shorn to within 4-6 inches from ground level.
Tea tree is machine harvested with a convertor cotton combine that utilizes a 2 row corn head picker. Harvest season lasts approximately 2 months – May through June. The plants are harvested directly into a portable distillar and then transported to the main distillary. Tea tree is relatively easy to distill–lasting only 2 hours. The harvest goes on roughly 7 days a week, 8 hours a day. Tea tree yields about 1% of oil which is roughly half of what lavender and peppermint oil.
Tea tree is the #3 selling oil for Aura Cacia due mainly to its popularity as a topical antiseptic/antimicrobial oil. Tea tree became popular in the United States in the late 1980s/early 1990s quickly developing a reputation for its therapeutic properties. It is one of the few oils whose sales aren’t driven by the aroma of the oil. Tea tree has a strong medicinal aroma and is not considered to be particularly attractive. It was interesting, however, to enjoy the pleasant, fresh scent from the leaves of the tea tree plant.
One of the highlights of the visit was hearing about and meeting the growers’ family and kids. This farmer has 11 year old twin boys (Mindy has twin boys that are 5) and a 7 year old son. Mindy and the farmer had a great time sharing tales of what it is like to experience twin boys. One of the best stories involved the boys, a trampoline, and a 15 foot high roof. After hearing this story, Mindy decided that she needed to experience this because if she was at home, her boys would have made her do the same thing.
On the way to visit our organic tea tree supplier, we headed through the Australian Bush-30 miles on an unpaved, one lane road. Farms were few and far between but we did see lots of kangaroos (”roos”)!!!! We saw dozens of roos, which unfortunately run quickly away as you drive towards them. But one roo was just as interested in us as we were him and posed gracefully for us to snap a photo.
We eventually arrived at our organic tea tree plantation. This farm includes both Bush tea tree and cultivated tea tree. The Bush tea tree is hand-harvested and the cultivated tea tree is machine-harvested. Organic tea tree is in short supply because in certain areas it is difficult to effectively produce and yields can be much lower than conventional tea tree oil.
This evening we are having dinner with our hosts’ parents. We are very much looking forward to an authentic Australian dinner.
Tomorrow we will be visiting more tea tree farms to view a harvest and distillation in process.
May 19th, 2007
Q. Wow! What an amazing story you’ve told after just two days!! I enjoy the tidbits on the culture. I’m curious if the host tree for developing sandalwood trees is an Acacia species as it is for Santalum album. I’d also love to hear more about the distiller – how long does it take for the oil to be distilled? Keep up the good work!
Your fan in western North Carolina,
Peg
A. It has been great fun so far and I am glad to hear you are following along. Yes, you are right. The host trees for sandalwood in Australia are the same as what are used in India-acacia trees. Numerous different species of the acacia tree are used as hosts throughout Australia. Good question on the distillation! It can take up to 12 days to steam distill sandalwood essential oil.
May 18th, 2007
Today was the first “normal” day we have had so far. We started at a reasonable hour…8:00 am and even better…finished at just after 5:00 pm. For the first time in several days, we are all sitting down to dinner right now rather than eating airport food and munching on snacks out of our bags.
Key learnings in Australia today:
1. People who live outside of America wonder why we cut our food and then move our forks back to our right hands. We discussed this at great length over lunch.
2. A veggie pastie is a typical Australian meal that is like a turnover but with no sweet stuff in it.
3. You can’t get a dark beer in Australia.
4. Many restaurants are BYO (bring your own). Very different than the US!
Australian Certified Organic
Our first meeting today was with one of the most prominent organic certifiers in Australia (Australian Certified Organic)–accounting for 75% of all organic certifications in Australia. They are responsible for certifying manufacturers, processors, growers, retailers, etc. Today in Australia there are no domestic standards for organic products. However, ACO has created their own personal care organic standards but feel that they are too strict at this time. A sub-committee of manufacturers have assisted in developing these standards.
ACO also assists farmers with becoming NOP certified. One of the key learnings during the meeting is that farmers have so many hoops to jump through regarding all of the different certifications that they need to be able to sell a single product that sometimes they just say it isn’t worth it to them.
Potential Supplier Visits
After traveling South a few hours down the coast, we had the opportunity to meet with 2 new potential suppliers. The first one was a co-op of approximately 50 growers/producers of lemon myrtle oil. This co-op is struggling with trying to develop a market for this particular oil. The oil has a beautiful aroma but is a relatively unknown oil. This co-op is constantly looking for ways that they can make this a marketable product. They are producing their own finished goods in order to demonstrate the effective qualities of lemon myrtle. 
They also are selling the leaves to the fresh floral market in order to generate revenue. In the end, however, they are farmers and would be most interested in selling an oil in bulk.
After leaving the lemon myrtle co-op, we met with a macademia nut oil producer. This was an interesting oil to learn about. This company produces and markets macademia oil for both food and cosmetic use. The most exciting thing about the macademia oil is that it is non-staining and perfect for the massage/spa industry. It has many benefits including being a light oil, quick absorbing, and minimal concerns regarding rancidity issues.
Dinner is just arriving so we are going to go for today. Tea tree harvest and distillation is on for tomorrow.
May 18th, 2007
It is 1:00 am and we just finally arrived at our hotel for the night. We started the day at a very early 5:00 am and had an exciting day full of wonderful sandalwood knowledge and fabulous Australian people. Then we had to catch a flight back to the East Coast of Australia. Throughout the day we were able to pick up on a few more tidbits of Australian culture:
1. No one that is from Australia actually drinks Fosters. They consider it to be just an OK beer. Good information to know so you don’t look like a tourist when ordering a beer.
2. When people say “I need to go to the loo” this means make a bathroom visit. Who knew on that one?
3. In Australia, you never say that you are ordering something “to go”. Instead it is “take away”. Very subtle differences but makes a world of difference at 6:00 am when you are just trying to get a coffee “to go”!
Forest Products Commission
The day started with a meeting with 2 gentlemen from the Forest Products Commission who play a vital role in ensuring sustainable Australian sandalwood. The FPC is responsible for commercial harvesting, regeneration, marketing and developing the sandalwood industry – both in plantations and in natural resource areas.
Currently, all Australian sandalwood that is harvested comes from natural or wild stands. The FPC is working with commercial organizations and creating sandalwood plantations. However, harvesting and regeneration of natural sandalwood stands is sufficient to meet market demand into the foreseeable future.
Sandalwood is dependent on nutrients and water from host trees to survive and grow. The picture to the right shows a younger sandalwood tree nestled up against a host tree. One of the reasons that the FPC is involved in the production of sandalwood in Australia is that it is no longer regenerating naturally at a sufficient level to sustain the species. The near extinction of a little marsupial called a woylie is largely responsible for this. The woylie would act similar to a squirrel in that it would take sandalwood seeds, bury them, and then forget about them and in doing so, accidently “plant” more sandalwood trees. Due to predator pressures, these little guys are no longer doing that job. As a result, the FPC has stepped in and taken this responsibility on.
The FPC contracts with local people, in fact half of the contracts have been awarded to aboriginal tribes, to harvest the wild sandalwood. Historically, these people were called “pullers” because they would literally pull the sandalwood trees out of the ground. Today, specialized equipment is used and the trees are instead “lifted” out of the ground in order to minimize any damage that might occur to the tree or the surrounding environment. For every tree that is removed, the “lifters” are responsible for planting 12 new sandalwood seeds. Regeneration rates range from 27-47% depending on rainfall and other environmental factors like feral goats, who like to munch on both the sandalwood tree and the host tree.
Once the sandalwood is harvested, it is then sent to Wescorp (who we visited with yesterday). As we mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Wescorp is responsible for the processing and distribution of sandalwood on FPCs behalf.
I think it is safe to say that we were all in awe of the very clear and concise sustainability program that the FPC has put into place.
Aura Cacia’s Sandalwood Distillar
From the meeting with FPC, we went to tour the farm and distillary where our sandalwood oil is produced. Our producer contracts with Wescorp for a certain annual amount of sandalwood chips to use in the production of sandalwood essential oil. The oil is steam distilled and then sent directly to Aura Cacia. Until just recently, our producer was the first and only supplier of steam distilled sandalwood oil. A co-extracted method utilizing hexane was the other alternative. Following the distillation process, the spent material from the distillation is then returned to Wescorp and shipped to other customers throughout the world for incense production.
It is now almost 2 am and we need to meet for breakfast around 7:45 and then off for another action packed day.
May 17th, 2007
Q. There have been a number of stories in the news lately about water shortages in Australia, farmers selling and transferring water allocations, etc. Are you seeing the effects of this on your visit?
Alan, IA
A. Your information is correct, Alan. There is definitely a water shortage currently in Australia with some areas being hit harder than others. In fact, the front page of today’s Courier Mail (an Aussie newspaper that we picked up at the airport) indicated that this is the worst drought in history. My understanding is that we will see the effects of this shortage first hand at the end of the week when we visit the tea tree plantations. Tea tree requires a significant amount of water in order to generate expected yields. The tea tree oil yields have been significantly lower than expected as a result of this drought. We will follow up more on this issue as we go.
May 16th, 2007
After way too much time on airplanes, we arrived in Perth today and successfully connected with our buddy, Tim. With one hour to shower and make it to our first appointment of the trip, there was no rest for the weary. Perth is a beautiful city situated on the far West Coast of Australia and has a population of approximately 1.5 million people. The total Australian population is approximately 20 million and the majority of that is concentrated in a just a few metro areas. A few key learnings that have occurred so far:
1. Napkins are not called napkins in Australia as they are at home. Thanks to one of our kind co-workers back in Iowa, we were given the heads up that the only napkins that Australians are familar with is sanitary napkins. Therefore, if you ask for them in restaurants, one will receive very confused looks. Serviettes is the official name for the “napkin” here in Australia.
2. White coffee means with milk. Duh? Now that is one that we Americans should adopt.
3. They drive on the left hand side of the road here. This takes a considerable amount of adjustment and we still feel funny when making corners.
Now, down to business…T
Today our first visit was to Westcorp, the sole processor/manufacturer of sandalwood and sandalwood products in Australia. Tomorrow morning we will meet with the Forest Product Commission and then will provide a complete overview of the sustainable sandalwood production in Australia and all of the key parties that play a role.
History
Just to provide a brief overview, sandalwood (santalum spicatum) has been being grown in Australia since 1945. Up until 1965, it was the largest export for Australia. Up until 1996, the Australian sandalwood market was languishing but in 1996, Australia began to see the opportunity that existed for them regarding the lack of sustainable sandalwood (santalum album) production in India and Indonesia. 
As a result, Australia is now producing 2,000 to 3,000 tons per year of santalum spicatum. In order to share a piece of sandalwood history with us, one of the employees at Westcorp told us about a shipwreck that occurred in 1908 with a boat carrying sandalwood trees. A piece of the sandalwood from this shipwreck was later located in 1996 and believe it or not, after having been in the ocean for all of those years, it was determined that the piece of the sandalwood tree did in fact still contain oil. Utterly amazing! As you can see, sandalwood is a force to be reckoned with.
Westcorp Overview
As previously mentioned, Westcorp is the sole manufacturer and processor of Australian sandalwood. Westcorp is responsible for producing sandalwood powders that are used for producing incense, sandalwood chips that are given to distillars for the production of sandalwood oil (the picture on the right are Aura Cacia sandalwood chips that will be soon sent to our distillar) and other sandalwood products either for carving or marketable sandalwood products.
Overtime, the players in the Australian sandalwood production have become much more efficient at using as much of the tree as possible. Currently they are using 82% of each tree that is harvested. This compared to approximately 30-40% in previous years. One of the most current uses that they have developed for the sandalwood market is that of the sandalwood nut or seed. These seeds are high in protein and are believed to offer anti-oxidant properties.
Although not the perfect sandalwood for carving, you can see by the wooden goblet image that some carving out of Australian sandalwood does occur. Problems associated with carving spicatum is that it is not as strong of a sandalwood as album is and it is difficult to keep the wood from splitting.
General Sandalwood Info
Generally, it takes anywhere from 20-50 years to harvest a sandalwood tree. This is the main reason for the high cost of sandalwood essential oil. The roots of the sandalwood tree are the most valuable. As you move up the tree towards the top, each limb or branch becomes less valuable due to containing lower oil content.
There are 2 types of wood: green wood and dead wood. Currently, 50% of the green wood goes into the production of sandalwood essential oil. Yields are approximately 1.5% – 2%. The balance of the green wood goes into producing powders.
Coming Tomorrow
The day starts for us at 5:00 am tomorrow! We will be meeting with the FPC and then traveling to our sandalwood distillary. We will be discussing everyone’s role in the sustainable production of Austalian sandalwood as well as specifics regarding spicatum. Stay tuned!
May 16th, 2007
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