Careful harvesting of didgeridoo sticks:
the Naiuwa approach

Harvesting didgeridoo sticks can be damaging to the environment, because every intervention by man into nature is damaging. We are part of nature. Alright, I agree with you, not (always) the best part. Termites are also part of nature, and they also damage the trees by eating out the heart of it until the tree dies and not all and every tree they eat is good for didgeridoos, to be didgeridoo-centric. If the trees are harvested in a good husbandry manner, as it is always the case in small scale harvesting, only the most suitable trees or branches will be cut, leaving plenty out for other contenders such as birds and small marsupials and reptiles to hide or nest.

In an article titled Con artists muscle in didgeridoo market in "The Age", 17/01/2003, David Hancock writes about the good practices of the traditional harvesters:

"The art of harvesting a yidaki took generations for Aboriginal people to perfect. A traditional harvester will walk over his country, patiently tapping the trunks of small eucalyptus or the branches of larger trees to select suitable wood. Indigenous artists around Katherine usually harvest between six to 10 stems a week."

And he writes about the bad practices of some commercial operators:

"Commercial harvesters operate freely around Katherine and Darwin, often cutting stems on pastoral properties and public land - many areas by the Stuart Highway and popular camping spots have been denuded of small eucalyptus.

Some commercial harvesters operate on Aboriginal land in secret or pay a token royalty, or supply grog, to traditional owners for permission to cut trees.

Commercial harvesters use four-wheel-drive vehicles equipped with trailers, quad-bikes and chainsaws. One person can harvest up to 80 stems a day. Areas in the Edith Valley, north of Katherine, were found to be virtually clear-felled."

We are proud that our didgeridoos are original aboriginal , i.e. genuine, termite hollowed didgeridoos; harvested in a good husbandry manner, crafted and decorated by local Aborigines. The Naiuwa brand didgeridoos are top of the id musical instruments decorated with an unequalled threefold technic of burning, painting and dotting. The burnt-in decoration by Ngamu-Kari blends perfectly with the natural colour of the wood on Aboriginality didgeridoos.

Here is a description from a competing site about the harvesting methods employed by the Naiuwa family:

"Naiuwa's didgeridoos are cut beyond the lush Atherton Tablelands in Queenslands remote Far North in the traditional way.
Naiuwa and his sons delve deep into the bush in to collect sticks, staying out for three days at a time, sharing an activity which has gone on for thousands of years, telling stories about the country and sharing the rich cultural knowledge of the elders.
When they find a tree showing signs of termite attack, the branches are tapped with an axe and listened to. Naiuwa has developed an ear for hearing the tiny sounds of the termite mud inside becoming dislodged and running down the ant channels inside the branch and when this sound is heard, it is a sure sign that the limb may be ready for harvest.
If the branches are hollow then two cuts are made to remove a wedge to see if it has been eaten hollow enough. If it is at the right stage then the branch is cut and dragged to a clearing to be collected on the return trip.
Naiuwa is careful not to take more didges than he needs and never to cut branches that are not yet hollow enough unlike many cutters involved in today's booming tourist trade. Many of the didges sold to tourists in Australia's resorts have not been gathered with this respect in mind and have to be bored out extensively. This produces a didgeridoo without the ant channels inside, greatly reducing the richness of the playing experience of the finished instrument."

I could not put it better myself ... but obliged to add that this good-husbandry type of harvesting is supplemented with a first id craftsmanship and a feeling for an appealing artistic finish. This is the secret of the Naiuwa didgeridoos' world-fame.