Okay so have you ever heard about Moon Wood?
- Kamila Lemanska
- Jun 2, 2021
- 3 min read
When you hear the words "moon wood" the immediate reaction is, "what?". This is the same reaction I get every time I get the chance to speak about it.
When I was doing research for my design project for my BA in interior design I had stumbled upon a youtube video about moon wood. I found it extremely fascinating and actually based my final project about this specific wood. I had done more research about it and found Dr. Erwin Thoma, who had dedicated his whole life educating people about the benefits of this wood and even founded a company which builds homes, hotels anything you can think of out of it.
What is it? Well "moon wood" is timber which is cut down during a particular time in the year and month which synchronises with the moons phases. Just as tides move accordingly to the moons phases, so does sap in trees. During this magical time, the sap in the tree is at its lowest. Once the tree is cut it is left at an angle upside down to allow any remaining sap and water to drip out and thus creates "moon wood" which creates an almost indestructible kind of timber which is resistant to splits, infestations, fungi and warping of the wood. Of course the method of drying and storing the wood plays a big role in how the timber will perform. Nevertheless the construction method and way the wood is fixed together create this elite material. Dr. Erwin Thoma founded this method of connecting the wood together without using any toxic glues or chemicals. This specific way of construction creates the most durable material which can withstand earthquakes or even fires.
I could go on and on about moon wood but the real reason I am writing about it is to shine a light on a healthier living. We have little understanding of how toxic the materials we use to build our homes and furnish them are. So do I want to tell you that all these years of world development were pointless? Yeah I think they were. Why overdo and change something that had worked for thousands of years and cause harm to our bodies. Ever since human kind has existed we used wood to survive. And for some reason we have left this and turned to toxic materials.
To put in retrospective, almost all products in our house are not decomposable or used from healthy and non harmful materials. They all collect dust horribly and are simply not natural. Moon wood however does not collect dust, which I mean is a game changer for asthmatics and allergic people, a huuuuge difference. And it's sustainable!!!!
I can't begin to even list the many harmful products we have in our households and use in our everyday life, but if you take a moment to think about all the chemicals in your room right now it just shows how true this statement is. This is actually why Dr. Erwin even formed the company as his children were constantly ill and once they moved to a home built of natural wood, the illnesses were gone.
I don't want to scare or cause any distress but this is a thing to think about if you are someone who constantly battles with illnesses or fatigue and are in the position to build your own home. Sometimes the best remedy is nature.
If you're like okay cool but what about the cost? The actual build and construction of the home takes a couple of weeks - so cost cut there. There is one construction crew which takes care of all of the element - cost cut here too. The house is sustainable, the walls breathe during summer (free air con) and during winter (keep warmth in) - cost cut here too. There are minimal to none when it comes to maintaining the house - costs cut. If you look at the bigger picture than you save along the way.
It might not be cheap at first but it will pay off later on. Could you put a price tag on your physical and mental health? There are so many benefits to this material that Dr. Erwin best describes on his website here https://www.thoma.at/wooden-house/wood100/?lang=en. I highly encourage everyone to read more about this and consider if you have the chance during building your new home. Even a small thing like flooring or walls would do such a difference already. I got so into this that I bought Dr. Thoma's book which he published in 2015 and read it in one day. The only thing I can't figure out is, why no one is speaking about this??
This is the youtube video that started it all for me:
some other sites worth reading:
As well as Dr. Erwin Thoma's book
A future with natural wood 2015
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