Crelicam™ is an international supplier of ebony, and yet much more. Located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, our company has set a new standard of socially and environmentally responsible business around the country’s forest resources. We are committed to cultivating a better future within Cameroon by producing high-quality ebony products at our factory, and by supporting scientific research and replanting efforts that help safeguard Cameroon’s forest resources.
Crelicam™ is an international supplier of ebony, and yet much more. Located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, our company has set a new standard of socially and environmentally responsible business around the country’s forest resources. We are committed to cultivating a better future within Cameroon by producing high-quality ebony products at our factory, and by supporting scientific research and replanting efforts that help safeguard Cameroon’s forest resources.
— OUR MISSION —
Cultivating a Healthy Forest Economy in Cameroon
Crelicam specializes in processing West African ebony (Diospyros crassiflora Hiern) for makers of musical instruments. Our wood-processing operation is central to a broader company mission: to cultivate a vibrant and ethical economy around high-value Cameroonian forest products. We believe that the path to a more sustainable future is dependent upon a responsible economic driver that ultimately must serve three stakeholders: the people of Cameroon, the natural environment, and the business itself.
Since our transition to new ownership in 2011, Crelicam has undergone a remarkable transformation that demonstrates a new standard in responsibility. We are committed to providing clients with quality wood products, respecting the environment, and improving the livelihood of Cameroonians.
— OUR VALUES —
Responsibility begins with full respect for the law and a zero-tolerance policy for corruption. It means using GPS traceability for each tree extracted in order to maintain supply chain transparency. It includes investing in appropriate technology and employee training. Through our partnership with the Congo Basin Institute, it also means investing in basic scientific research to better understand ebony’s ecology as we replant for the future.
At Crelicam, investing in the livelihood of our employees, their families, and the local community is essential. By improving working conditions and wages, and providing skills training, tools, infrastructure and employee benefits, Crelicam has become a thriving workplace. Beyond the mill, we are also investing in forest communities by helping them to plant ebony for their long-term future. Through our partnership with the Congo Basin Institute, and at no cost to participating communities, agroforestry experts and researchers provide villages with ebony starts, as well as fruit and medicinal plants, and teach basic propagation techniques for greater self-sufficiency.
We believe that ethical business is an essential component of cultivating a sustainable forest economy and that Crelicam is uniquely suited for this task. Ebony is perhaps the world’s best-known tropical species, but unlike other well-known species, global demand is comparatively low. This is due to ebony’s excessive weight and tendency to crack when cut into large pieces, which has prevented it from being used to make furniture or millwork building materials. Instead, ebony is used primarily for smaller products such as knife handles, arts and crafts, and musical instrument components. These factors, together with our investments in tooling and training at our mill, increase our yield through better processing capability and the ability to reach other markets outside the musical instrument industry. This allows us to make more from less and generates greater economic value within Cameroon.
Ownership Partners
Since 2011, Crelicam has been co-owned by two respected companies in the musical instrument industry: Madinter, an international supplier of woods used for musical instruments, and Taylor Guitars, an industry-leading guitar manufacturer. Crelicam’s two principle partners are Madinter co-owner Vidal de Teresa, and Taylor co-owner Bob Taylor. Longtime industry peers and friends whose respective companies have done business for years (Taylor buys wood from Madinter), they are bound by a shared passion for promoting greater sustainability in the musical instrument industry. Each brings complementary skill sets to Crelicam’s operation: Bob Taylor has led the ongoing improvements at the Crelicam sawmill, while Vidal de Teresa oversees much of the work involving Crelicam’s legal compliance and other forest management policies, including relationships with our forest supply partners in Cameroon.
Madinter is a leading supplier of wood, tonewood products and other components for guitars and other musical instruments. Co-founded by Vidal de Teresa in 2001 and headquartered in Cerceda, Madrid, Spain, the company’s distribution covers more than 40 countries across five continents, and its client base includes the music industry’s most reputable guitar brands. Madinter is committed to the highest standards of responsibility in its management of wood resources, from the development and implementation of sustainable forestry practices in its supply chain to the establishment of sustainability protocols in manufacturing and waste management. Through its work, the company strives to preserve the future of all wood species that are used in building beautiful musical instruments around the world.
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Taylor Guitars is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of acoustic guitars. Co-founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug, the company is based in El Cajon, California. Taylor’s transformation from a small guitar shop to an industry-leading guitar manufacturer is a great American success story. The company’s refined approach to crafting guitars has spawned many innovations and established new standards of quality. In addition to Bob Taylor’s decades of expertise in creating a world-class guitar production facility in the U.S., Bob also designed Taylor’s second production complex in Baja California, Mexico, which produces hundreds of guitars per day.
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— AWARDS —
Explore the Ebony Project
Taylor Guitars has developed an immersive multimedia experience to chronicle the story of Crelicam ebony, the transformation of the Crelicam mill, and the pursuit of groundbreaking research into ebony ecology. You’ll also learn more about the innovative community-based agroforestry program that is on the way to planting thousands of ebony trees over the next several years.
EXPLORE
