Marsse Tropical Timber

Our dearest Norberto G. Fernandez†, Berting, or Lolo Bert as fondly called by everyone has gone to meet his maker.

Lolo Bert was our trusted guardian, our founder Mario Sebastian’s Sr.† confidante, and our trusted steward of the tree farm. But he is much more than that. He is family.

He was always there for us. He not only watched us grow up, but he helped us grow up. He was there from the beginning of the farm when it was nothing but a barren land. With his green thumb, he took each and every seedling under his care. The towering trees of MARSSE would not have been standing today if it wasn’t for his almost superhuman horticultural talent. A plant cutting that you thought was already good for fertilizer, bring it to him, and in a month’s time, it will be sprouting new leaves.

Until his last days, when we would tell him to rest so we could take care of him instead, he would insist on tending to the nursery, even hiking with us during harvests, telling us that keeping himself active makes him happy and strong. Even during his last months, he was still smiling while picking up these wood scraps. This is how we remember him - our Lolo Bert always a beacon of strength smiling upon us.

To Lolo Bert, thank you for everything. Rest easy now. We love you.

Dear Customers and Friends,

For the health, safety and well-being of our customers, employees and communities, we are temporarily suspending the Sustainable Tree Farming Seminar until further notice. The program has been on hold for 2 years since March 2020.

We feel that the best way to serve you in light of Covid-19 is to closely follow the guidelines set by the Province of Pangasinan, our local municipal government and health officials.

We will announce in our social media channels when we will be ready to re-open the onsite seminar program and accept general public visits.

We encourage everyone to stay healthy and keep safe!

Thank you, and we look forward to serving you once again.

The little tractor that could. 💪🚜

Natural forests do not have pre-planned roads. This may be common sense to most of us but to some, it’s not. Large-scale logging - whether it’s legal or not - requires large pathways for large tractors. Trees are bulldozed to make way for colossal machineries, resulting in major disruption of the local flora & fauna - some of which will never grow back unless left untouched for decades. 🌳⛰🌲

To avoid this in our tree farm, we use the smallest possible tractor that will allow us to navigate through the manageable paths. These pathways were also pre-planned during the early years of the tree farm to ensure that there is enough space for each tree, & for human navigation. 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️

This is one of the ways we make sure that our harvesting remains low-impact. 🌱

Did you know that you are helping in the fight against global warming by buying from sustainable wood sources? 🌳

Trees naturally act as carbon sinks; they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to perform photosynthesis for nourishment. This then leads to the formation of new materials (trunks, stem, roots) where this excess carbon is stored. As the tree matures, the amount of carbon it can capture gradually lessens.

In sustainable tree farms, mature trees are harvested selectively. The harvested areas are then re-planted with new trees to keep the farming cycles going. In MARSSE’s case, the trees are already self-sustaining and have come full circle, re-growing on their own. This ensures a continuous and responsible supply of wood for consumers at the same time, and provides a steady mechanism for carbon capture.

🌱

We really miss the big Christmas parties we used to hold where we invited & met our farm worker’s family & children. Everyone would then spend the entire afternoon playing games, & feasting on the delicious meals everyone had prepared. ☺

This year, we had a solemn celebration before our holiday break. But just because our celebration is more intimate, does not mean it’s less special. In fact, this is the most meaningful celebration we’ve had because we get to look back & reflect on how our team survived this very challenging year. ❤

Without a doubt, we wouldn’t be here without your continued support. From the bottom of our hearts, we are genuinely grateful for each & every person who helped us this year. Thank you so much for staying by our side & believing in us. 🙏

From the entire SustainablyMade team, we wish you all a joyous & meaningful Christmas! 🎄🌟🎁