Our Commitment to the Environment
We love and respect our environment and are aware that our growth depends heavily on the manufacturing of wood, which is why we create practices that respect the earth. Our efforts are focused on being as sustainable as possible, which is why all of our logs come from responsibly harvested forests and are certified by the Nicaraguan Forestry Department.
Santa Ana Madera’s main goal with regards to our sustainability practices can be summarized in one word: reuse. From some of our buildings made from old sea containers that are equipped with back-up solar power, to our sawdust used as a key element for composting systems, we focus our efforts and creativity into reuse to ensure nothing goes to waste.
Our Reforestation Project
Just as we benefit from our ecosystems, we pride ourself in giving back to it.
Working hand-in-hand with the Nicaraguan Forestry Department, Santa Ana Madera has planted or contributed to the plantation of thousands of trees in Nicaragua—over 100,000 in fact—a figure that we intend to grow with each passing year. Our future reforestation projects include purchasing old cattle pasture areas that have been entirely stripped of trees to turn them back into beautiful forests, with 100,000 new trees planted in the next several years.
Solar + Hot-Air Processing + Repurposing
All of our logs and timbers are processed on site in our sawmill and then kiln dried in our solar and hot-air kilns—and we focus on a complete life cycle of our products to ensure all of our raw material is used so that nothing goes to waste by reprocessing and then repurposing the wood.
For example, after processing, we gather all the remaining longer pieces and reprocess them to create elegant wood floors. We will repurpose the shorter wood pieces for small decorative items. The pieces that unable to be repurposed are turned into charcoal which later on, along with our sawdust, is gathered and used as an organic fertilizer for composting systems.
Our Community
We pride ourselves in our output and commitment to our community – whether in construction, or our wood or iron works – all of which is a testament to the incredible Nicaraguan skill, passion and flavor of our Santa Ana Madera team members. For this reason, we focus on developing carpenters and blacksmiths from our own local communities, which is why we commit to employing around 300 people from in and around the communities surrounding Rancho Santana.
Over the last several years, we have placed a great emphasis on prioritizing our employees’ physical safety and health by working on improving workplace conditions and safety equipment, as well as providing all of our personnel with regular medical checkups for general physical and mental wellbeing.
Beyond employment opportunities, we aim to contribute to the growth of our communities as well by partnering with and replying on local providers, whenever possible.