The Sustainable Story of Mango Wood

Here at Maravi we love Mango Wood, it has a beautiful colour and look and makes great pieces of furniture. The best thing about it is that it's sustainable. So we thought we would dedicate a blog post to Mango wood as you our customers love it as much as we do.

What is Mango Wood?

Mango wood is durable and long-lasting and has a beautiful unique grain pattern. It is naturally light brown in colour with a hint of yellow, and is great for bringing warmth into interiors, without a darkening effect on decor. The wood can also be stained, oiled or painted for colour, but our favourite transformation is a burnt wood finish. Because mango wood is extremely dense and hard, it is an excellent material for furniture, kitchen accessories and storage boxes.

Where does it come from?

Mango wood is derived from the Mango tree, which is a fruit bearing tree belonging to the genus, Mangifera. Although Mango wood is very popular, the tree is largely cultivated for its fruit and is native to South and Southeast Asia, with the highest concentration of Mango trees being found in India.

The tree itself can often grow up to 30 metres in height and can fruit for over 300 years if left undisturbed by nature or man.

Is Mango Wood Sustainable?

Known much more widely for its fruit, Mango trees also yield beautiful and valuable wood. The wood is considered very eco-friendly, as most Mango plantations harvest the trees for wood after they have completed their useful fruit-bearing lifespan.

There are many reasons why the Mango tree is so popular by those who simply love being green. One of the main reasons however, is that they reach a good felling size before most other trees, so they are quickly replaceable at a rate of every seven to 15 years.

What’s more, it is the culture to harvest Mango wood for construction and furniture almost as soon as it is cut down, as rotting wood tends to release large amounts of carbon dioxide. As Mango wood is similar to endangered species such as teak, the usage of Mango reduces the risk of endangered trees from becoming extinct.

Maintaining Mango Wood Items

For the most part, mango wood furniture is incredibly durable and water resistant. If you live in a dryer area or a cold area, our advice is to keep it moisturised with regular furniture polish, but other than that, your mango wood items will simply grow more beautiful with age and should last for generations.