Rubber wood furniture Kerala

• Rubber wood is sturdy and robust
• Rubber wood is eco –friendly
• Rubber wood furniture last long

Rubber wood is obtained from rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) which is abundantly grown in many parts of South East Asia including India. The rubber tree is cultivated on a large scale and in many houses on small scale to harvest the latex.

The rubber sheets made of this latex is fairly costly and is the source of income or additional income for many households in Kerala. The technology is so advanced that in modern day constructions, Kerala kitchen cabinets are made of rubber wood.

India is the third largest producer of natural rubber of which 85 per cent is grown in Kerala and the rest in North-Eastern States.

Kitchen cabinets made of rubberwood look modern and elegant

The tree after its productive years was cut down and the rubber wood was not considered to be of any use until recently. Now it is known that rubber wood can be processed and made stronger and can be used for making strong pieces of rubberwood furniture.

Rubber wood after processing is light coloured. It can be stained with different colours i.e., from its original colour to dark. It has got very good density and screws and nails used for fixing the furniture do not come out easily and therefor longer life for furniture.

After felling, the tree is sawed, and treated with some chemicals to preserve it. Rubber wood is susceptible to the attack of fungi and insects due to the absence of hard wood. To prevent this, the wood is treated with chemicals like boric acid, Copper Sulphate, Potassium or Sodium Dichromate, Arsenic pentoxide etc. Seasoning of the wood is done by conventional kiln drying and vacuum drying to reduce the moisture content to 10%

Processed rubber wood will have Light colour, attractive grain structure, good strength properties, good working, machining and finishing properties and good staining properties

Rubber wood furniture is called environment friendly furniture as the tree is felled after it served a useful purpose. It is difficult to differentiate the dark colored rubber wood furniture from traditional teak wood furniture.

Furniture made of teak and rosewood are considered to be of higher quality, but rubber wood is slowly making its presence felt with its good density and other qualities. The rubber wood rate is lesser than the price for teak and rosewood. It is affordable to many who cannot afford teak and rose wood.

Among all the wooden furniture, rubber wood furniture is establishing its place in the Indian furniture market.