Pipers Can Help the “Tree of Music”

In a first-of-its-kind arrangement, The Voice, collaborates with the Mpingo Conservation Project to connect Highland pipers with a way to help the tree that has given them so much for so long.

The mpingo tree has been called the “tree of music” since the heartwood of the mpingo is the source of African blackwood, the wood that has been the traditional staple of bagpipe making for the past one hundred years and the desired material for other woodwinds as well.

Blackwood harvests in Tanzania and Mozambique are experiencing over-exploitation in the form of rampant illegal harvesting, changing land use, and lack of planning that threatens the future commercial viability of blackwood. Pipers can do their small part for this large issue by purchasing a choice from two exclusive T-shirts that proudly show their support for conservation programs designed to preserve this very important timber. Proceeds from the sale of each shirt will be donated to the Mpingo Conservation Project, which promotes sustainable and socially equitable exploitation of mpingo timber.

“These kinds of donations can often be worth several times their face value,” says project coordinator and MCP founder Steve Ball. “They allow us to take advantage of new opportunities and support the local communities here [in Tanzania] in different ways.”

“While doing research for the article ‘Blackwood Down,’ I discovered that instrument quality African blackwood is at greater risk than most pipers realize,” says editor of The Voice Vince Janoski. “Some of the larger pipemakers may have healthy stores of wood on hand for a while but smaller makers often must rely on the open market for their raw wood, a market that is fast becoming depleted of instrument quality wood. The Mpingo Conservation Project provides programs designed to enhance local African economies supported by mpingo harvests, as well as ensure the long term sustainability of this timber. I’m pleased to give pipers a chance to ‘return the favor’ so to speak to the tree that provides the raw material for our art.”

Blackwood for musical instruments must be harvested from straight, mature trees aged 50 to 70 years or more. Economic changes and illegal activity in miombo woodlands, the areas of mpingo growth, threaten the longevity and overall quality of the timber harvested. Future generations of instrument makers will be thankful for supporting the sustainable growth of the “tree of music.” Order your shirts in The Voice store by clicking the images above.