Teak: One of Indonesia's natural wonders

As anyone looking for Indonesian antiques or quality furniture will be aware that jati (teakwood) is the wood to go for and is in short supply. A friend of mine bought a tree in Lombok last year and had to fly over there to supervise a guy cutting it.

Teak used to grow in forests in north Bali but they have been almost exhausted. People now look to Lombok and other places for teak and another expat friend of mine said he wouldn't mind planting a teak tree forest because it is a good long term investment. You buy cheap land in the boonies and the trees are hardy, taking care of themselves. Teak trees take 50-60 to mature and even so, after 25 years you will have a nice asset, that is of course if the locals don’t cut them down when you are in Kuta.

Teakwood had an assortment of natural healing properties. The fruit is a diuretic and the oil from the seeds helps to cure eczema and helps hair growth. The leaves help to stop bleeding and heal wounds. Teak bark is an astringent, it causes constriction, purifies the blood and gets rid of worms. It is also helps cure bronchitis, dysentery and diabetes.

Teak wood is high quality all the way, being tough and durable, able to stand high humidity without warping and its natural oils keep worms away. Teak is another wonderful natural product with an array of uses.