Editor note: Before the wood becomes a chair, it is a tree. Before the tree, a seed in a nursery. Before that, two decades of slow decisions about how to bring a piece of cattle pasture back to life. This is the part of MasayaCo that no showroom can show you. So we drove out to the farm.
"Planting a tree is like caring for a child. You protect it, nurture it, and watch it grow."
— Noel Lopez
Long before MasayaCo's FSC®-Certified teak becomes furniture, it begins as a seed in soil tended by patient hands and decades of knowledge.
The first property, La Gavilana (Spanish for "the hawk"), was 42 hectares of cattle land in southern Nicaragua when MasayaCo acquired it in 2007. It was the first tree farm in what has since become a larger network of more than 1,300 acres and 1.3 million trees planted across MasayaCo's reforestation work. This piece focuses on La Gavilana and the cluster of farms managed alongside it: about 220 hectares and 270,000 trees today. The forest is approximately 90% teak, with native cedar and African caoba.
Measuring a young trunk at La Gavilana. Growth as a matter of record.
We sat down with Noel Lopez and his son Bryan, who lead the forest management team, to talk about what it actually takes to grow a forest.
A Conversation With Noel and Bryan Lopez, Forest Managers
How did this project start?
Noel: I was the owner of the land when I first met Aram in 2007. We were running cattle on it. We realised quickly that the soil was ideal for teak, and I'd been working in teak plantations for 27 years by then, so the opportunity was clear.
About a week after our first conversation, Aram came back to me with the idea of becoming partners in transforming the land. By 2008, we planted the first 25 hectares under MasayaCo. The land sits about 15 kilometres from Sapoa, close to the Pacific coast and not far from San Juan del Sur. White-faced monkeys move through it. Howler monkeys. Small wild felines. It's full of life.
The project grew from there. Today MasayaCo manages around 220 hectares across multiple farms along the same route.
Can you walk us through the teak growing process?
Noel: Everything begins with the seed.
We place teak seeds in boxes filled with sand and soil. Water them during the day, cover them at night so the seed can break open. They alternate between sunlight and moisture until they germinate.
Once they sprout, we plant two seeds per bag in the nursery. When the seedlings start to grow, we select the strongest one and remove the others. The young tree stays in the nursery for about two months. When it reaches roughly 30 centimetres, we move it to the field for planting.
After about six months we can see which trees have taken root and which haven't. The ones that didn't, we replace. It's a mindful process. You don't rush it.
A young teak at Noel's height. Years of care ahead before it becomes furniture.
What does a typical day in the forest look like?
Noel and Bryan: It depends on the season.
In the dry season, we focus on pruning and maintaining the fences that protect the forest from nearby cattle. We prepare soil. We manage new shoots so the tree can concentrate its nutrients in the main trunk.
In the wet season, the focus shifts to planting. The rainfall does the work. Planting requires close attention, because the depth of the seed is critical. Plant it too deep and it suffocates.
Our field team is around 18 people across the different properties: La Gavilana I and II, Los Cocos, La Senelia, La Fortuna, La Mancuerna, Linda Vista in Sapoa, La Esperanza. Each farm has a manager. We all work closely together.
Even on Sundays, a lot of us still come out to the forest. It's a place where you never stop learning.
How does sustainability guide the way you work?
Noel and Bryan: The main goal is to bring the forest back after years of cattle ranching, and to give something back to the environment while we do it.
Part of the land is protected as a natural reserve. Native flora, returning wildlife. The forest provides habitat, protects the soil, and supports the surrounding ecosystems.
We avoid practices like large-scale clearing. The focus is on protecting and gradually expanding the forest cover. Every decision is made with long-term regeneration in mind.
We also keep looking for ways to innovate. Beehives, for example, to support pollination and enhance the trees' flowering cycle. It all comes down to restoring balance.
What is the most beautiful part of working here?
Noel: Witnessing the transformation.
What was once open pasture has slowly become a working forest. You can feel the difference. The freshness in the air. The return of wildlife. The quiet rhythm of nature establishing itself. Year after year the landscape gets richer, more alive.
Some of the trees are now over 17 years old. When you stand among them, you can see the full trajectory of that change. What you plant today is an investment in a future you may only fully appreciate with time.
There's a deep satisfaction in being able to say: I planted this tree, and now it stands as part of a living forest.
Noel Lopez. Twenty-seven years of teak knowledge before he planted his first MasayaCo tree.
What is the most important thing about managing a forest well?
Noel and Bryan: Care.
A young tree needs protection and attention, almost like a baby. You have to watch for pests, guide its growth, give it the conditions it needs to thrive. When a tree is cared for properly from the very beginning, everything else follows.
Through careful monitoring and ongoing management, the forest grows healthily and sustainably. The project produces high-quality wood, but it also protects the soil and supports the surrounding environment.
Working alongside MasayaCo has always been grounded in respect. For the land, for the knowledge behind the work. We feel part of this, and it's something we carry with pride.
What has the forest taught you?
Noel: Patience and balance.
Nature shows you that everything has consequences. When you care for the land, it gives back. When you neglect it, the system suffers. Over the years I've fallen in love with reforestation. Being in the forest, planting trees, watching them grow. It creates a deep connection with nature.
In the end, everything comes down to balance and respect.
Where cattle pasture stood twenty years ago. Now: forest.
From Land to Legacy
The project continues to grow. Between 23,000 and 25,000 trees planted each year. More than 270,000 at La Gavilana already rooted in the soil.
At the heart of it is the hands-on work of Noel and Bryan and the team they lead. Their stewardship has been essential to the forest's livelihood, grounded in consistent, intentional effort that goes well beyond the land itself.
What began as open pasture has gradually become an ecosystem. Returning wildlife. Enriched soil. A growing canopy that will support generations.
Long before a piece of furniture reaches a home, the story begins here. In the quiet, dedicated work of planting, caring, and letting a forest grow.
By Paola Luconi G. and MasayaCo Editorial.
Interviewees: Noel Lopez and Bryan Lopez, MasayaCo Forest Managers.