Product Information

At GHH we use Albizia wood for a large section of our toys. This has many sustainable benefits as Albizia falcataria is one of the fastest-growing trees in the world. It is a species of wood used largely for fuel in the humid tropics.

Albizia is a large deciduous tree with a thin, very broad crown of dull green foliage, biparentally compound leaves with numerous small, oblong leaflets and narrow, flat brown pods that split open. It is widely planted in tropical counties and becoming naturalized.

Growth records of this “miracle tree” on good soil and high rainfall are as much as 7m in height in little more than a year, 13-18m in 3 years, 21m in 4 years and 30m in 9-10 years. Then growth slows to a maximum of 45m and short life of about 25 years. In plots, the most vigorous trees increased in trunk diameter about 5-7cm per year. A height of 15m and diameter of 30cm have been attained after 4 years, in Hawaii. The state champion tree in Hawaii measured 33.6m high 9.1m in circumference at breast height and 50.9m in crown spread. This pioneer, light-requiring tree produces abundant seeds in lightweight pods blown by winds. It spreads in to clearings and has become established in abandoned sugar cane fields in Hawaii and the tea plantations in Sri Lanka where it is used as a natural wind breaker by tea farmers. This makes it a great natural and sustainable resource in Sri Lanka that can help boost the national economy if used right.

The texture quality of Albizia wood has an attractive short and strait grained appearance and when sealed has a smooth satin finish with an amber hue. It is an extremely light but tough wood making it a perfect candidate for children toys.
The images below show Albizia in its raw state and the beautiful quality it has when finished as a natural wood toy.

 

Alstonia

We also use Alstonia wood to manufacture certain toy components here at GHH. There are many different varieties of Alstonia. The most common type found in Sri Lanka is called A.macrophylla. It is this which we use to make our products.

Sri Lanka’s climate is the perfect environment for Alstonia to grow. Trees are sourced around plantations scattered over the whole of Sri Lanka. The tree grows to a height of 20-25m and has a very straight trunk. The wood is a light yellowish white and has a straight and shallow grain. Alstonia has been suggested and used for many plantations and home gardens due to its fast growth and ease of establishment that make it an exceptionally
environmentally friendly material.

Value Addition

We refer to the process of transforming a product from its original raw state to a beautiful finished product as “Value Addition”. It is achieved by first determining what attributes consumers want in their products. Our design team then works closely with our manufacturing staff to develop new and exciting toys which can be manufactured using the machinery in our workshops. Material, design, colour, finish and packaging are just some of the areas we look at to insure high quality value addition in our products.The images below show Alstonia when finished as a wooden toy.