Kiaat - Hand Crafted Doors

Our unique hand crafted wooden doors are imported from South Africa where craftsmen use the age old method of mallets and chisels to produce a technique no machine is capable of reproducing.

The material used is a hard wood known as “kiaat” which has a distinctive grain. Since the reddish brown heartwood is resistant to borer and termite and also polishes well, it is made into furniture, curios and implements. Kiaat also produces a rich resonant sound, which lends itself to the manufacture of musical instruments. It has been used over the centuries to build “dug-out” canoes and boats, due to the wood not shrinking or swelling much.

The brilliant red sap also gives it the common name “bloodwood” and is traditionally known to have magical properties for curing problems concerning blood. It is also used for other medicinal purposes such as ringworm, eye problems, malaria and a host of other ailments.

The sapling, or young plant is used to contrast against the darker more mature timber to produce lighter areas such as the tusks of the elphant.