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RAFT'S STEPS IN SUSTAINABILITY

RAFT'S STEPS IN SUSTAINABILITY

THE FIRST SOLAR POWERED KILN IN INDONESIA

“Yogyakarta has got sunlight from morning to night, they’ve got a massive natural resource. We weren’t happy to do what other firms are doing - burning fossil fuels to dry the timber and then calling it green!” - Mick.

Raft is the first company in the world to use solar powered kilns in Indonesia to dry its sustainably sourced, FLEGT certified teak. Using the sun’s energy to heat the kiln and computer aided efficiency, this technology dries timber with up to 80% less energy input from traditional carbon heat sources such as oil, gas or electricity.

“With innovative data and experience, we hosted site visits and informed a study conducted by professor Gerry Harris from the University of Melbourne into the feasibility of the use of solar powered kilns in Indonesia. This data was then passed on to PHD students in Indonesia working in conjunction with the ACIAR project (The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research).” - Toby Gard, Head of Indonesian Operations at Raft Furniture

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

NORTH LONDON ROOTS

Raft is proud to have its very own factory in North London. Mick Quinn grew up in Neasden with his single mother and brother and celebrates the opportunity to be able to create jobs in North London and put something back into the local community. Equally, Raft’s factory in Indonesia provides jobs to local artisans and has contributed to the local community in more ways than one.

PROJECT CHILD INDONESIA

In 2018, the Raft team in Indonesia took the opportunity to work with Project Child Indonesia and put some timber to good use. They provided 100 handmade desks for the children of the Sekolah Pantai and Sekolah Sungai schools in Yogyakarta, which focus on teaching children about basic health and the environment. You can read more about Project Child on their website.

THE GO GREEN EVENT: PLANTING TREES

Trees are so important because they are air purifiers and stand as our biggest natural allies against the climate crisis. Revegetating and tree planting after the eruption of Mount Merapi in October 2010 was a priority. The Go Green event was on 10th April 2011 in the district of Umbul Harjo, Sleman, Yogyakarta. This is approximately 8km to the south of Mount Merapi's peak. There was significant damage to natural surroundings at this distance. On the day the Raft team were among 1,650 people who contributed to the planting of 5,004 new trees of various species.

THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT MERAPI

The eruption of Mount Merapi had consequences that can never be understood unless you lived it. Our team in Indonesia were hit hard by the natural disaster and are still feeling the impact of it today. With many losing loved ones and their homes, this eruption was a dark time for Raft. We supported every individual.