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The Cycle Begins
when seed is gathered from mature specimens, known as Mother Trees. These are tress that have been allowed to grow to their full height and are over 30 years old. The seeds are gathered in the tree tops and then brought back to the nursery to begin their life of being nurtured to grow into mature trees.

After three years
the young Pulai trees are able to stand alone. The farmer continues to have an incentive to protect the trees as he will benefit from a share of their value on maturity. As the People's Forestry project is in its early days, Pulai trees from gardens, derelict rubber plantations are also sought out and farmers paid for a tree that up to now had no economic value to them.
 
The leads
are then inserted into the slats, joined together and then the pencils cut to shape, foil blocking and varnishing. Erasers may also be inserted.

the
Life Cycle
of Fantasia's
Pulai tree

Under a unique co-operative
arrangement between the forestry  management company and local farmers, local landowners are given seedlings and money in exchange for clearing scrub-land within their existing landholdings and paid an income to tend the baby trees. As a native forest tree, Pulai needs to grow in the shade of other species, so farmers are helped to plant coffee and other crops to shade the young trees. This gives the community a welcome additional source of income to fund development.
 
  The wood
is now ready to leave the Forest Mill to begin its journey into Pencil Slats. The logged Pulai is transported to the sawmill by rail or cart where it is rough sawn into pieces. These pieces are transported to the pencil slat factory for milling into pencil slats, followed by impregnation with waxes and drying.