Who We Are
IPCI-Canada, founded in 2002 as the Pau-Brasil Conservation Project, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of Caesalpinia echinata, a Brazilian tree commonly known as pernambuco or pau-brasil. The heartwood of the pernambuco tree has been used for making violin bows for over 250 years but its habitat in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest has come under increasing stress and the species’ survival is threatened.
Working in close partnership with other national branches of the International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative, the specific activity of IPCI-Canada is the development of a major publication on the conservation, restoration, and repair of stringed instruments and their bows. While the book will provide instrument- and bow-makers with the most comprehensive source available of conservation-minded techniques, its sale is also a major fundraising initiative in support of the IPCI’s broader research, reforestation, and educational activities.
For more information on the programs being funded by the IPCI click here.
IPCI-Canada is based in Montreal, Quebec, and is hosted by Wilder & Davis Luthiers Inc., who provide it with office space and administrative services.
IPCI-Canada Board of Directors:
- Tom Wilder, President
- Emanuel Euvrard, Vice-President
- François Malo