Beginning with a small investment in early 2011, along with other investors, in a Brazilian company established to purchase a plot of land in the Paraña area of Brazil, our investment in Brazil Forest has grown. We made a second, similar, investment in another company and then bought a forest outright.

Brazil Forest is a programme developed by the SLB group who already have over twenty five years of experience in the forest industry. They purchase plots of land in the Paraña area of Brazil and plant eucalyptus trees. These trees are fast growing and a first cut can be made after four years to provide wood to local paper mills. A second cutting is done after eight years – again for paper mills – and the final cut takes place at the end of twelve years to provide timber for construction.

By taking wood from commercially established eucalyptus forests, the Amazon rainforests are protected. This is the idea behind the Brazil Forest concept. The forests are managed in such a way as to provide for animal welfare and to contribute to the natural regeneration of forest by promoting an equilibrium of flora and fauna. We have been lucky enough to visit the forests twice now and it is wonderful to see the primary rainforest mixed in with the eucalyptus plantations. This allows the primary forest to flourish and continue to grow without being harmed.