Fado is a Portuguese musical style renowned for its expressive and profoundly melancholic character, recognised by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The word fado comes from the Latin fatum, meaning destiny.
Forests are a part of our cultural heritage, and to mark the intertwined connections of forests and culture, FSC Portugal put on with a stage show and fado performance using guitars made entirely of FSC-certified products.*
The event took place in Óbidos, a small town north of Lisbon, and showcased how forests give us both timber and recreational resources: the books we read, the stage of the concert hall or theatre we enjoy, the instruments of the bands we love — all come from the forest.
The event took place in two parts. In the first, three famous Portuguese actors, Alexandre da Silva, Tiago Aldeia and Pedro Górgia, staged a theatre performance about protecting forests through responsible consumption.
The second part was dedicated to music, fado in particular. Two leading musicians — Diogo Clemente and Tatanka — received gifts of an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar made entirely of FSC-certified wood and cork from Portugal. The guitars received FSC project certification, bringing together several materials to create one elaborated product.
It proved yet again that culture can create awareness of how our everyday actions can change the world for the better. The full video of the performance is available here [Fado played starts at 53.35 min].
FSC-certified guitar makers
USA-based makers Martin Guitar have created the first acoustic guitar that is 100% FSC®-certified and the only plastic-free guitar in production today. The gig bag is made from sustainable hemp.
Meanwhile in Brazil, Musician and maker Lucas Mortari Montysuma uses leftover FSC-certified wood from a local company to produce his painstaking handmade guitars . The company Agrocortex works with forest management in the Amazon. The instrument was named Bravo, after the indigenous tribes of Acre.
Guitarist Nicholas Weber explains that he only works with FSC-certified wood to make his guitars for his company Tonewoods. Based in Valencia, Spain, Nicholas selects his suppliers carefully and also encourages companies that don’t yet have certification to follow this path.
*The Portuguese Fado event was organised as part of Forest Week (previously called FSC Friday) which is an annual global campaign. FSC and more than 1,000 major brands worldwide celebrate their collective sustainable forestry efforts and encourage consumers to take sustainable forestry actions. Planning and preparation for the 2022 campaign, has begun. It will run 20 to 30 September 2022. To learn more or participate in the campaign, please contact info@fsc-uk.org.