"If I was in a room with Bark House bark wall coverings, I would know that I had found a place where I belong.”
Carol Sanford - Lead Disruptor in Regenerative Business Development
Our mission is to elevate the power of the regenerative process from the Blue Ridge Forest through the Bark House Factory and Original Bark Wall Finishes to Designers.
First, people connect with the bark wall finishes. The massive panels of bark connect people to the forest, perhaps a memory of sharing time with a loved one there. A personal connection is a good place to start from.
Then, the bark wall finishes were designed and specifically manufactured to be carbon-negative, utilizing zero water in direct manufacturing, and biodegradable at the end of their use. This means we are managing carbon in the atmosphere, stewarding water, and building clean soil. Making the panels means we are upcycling forestry waste. The income we invest supports struggling loggers and landowners in improving their forestry practices and remaining connected to the land they love. Our bark wall finishes support clients in continuing the mission of promoting forest health.
Right Fit Jobs
In this area, right-fit jobs mean keeping generational farms intact and supporting small logging crews to do good work in the forest. It means expanding financial opportunities in an economically distressed community. One hundred percent of the material we procure is sourced in Appalachia. We’ve trained over a thousand loggers across 5-states, representing 45 counties who can earn 3-times the pay for up-cycled bark as for the tree alone. Right-fit-jobs keep the local people in contact with the forest and the natural systems that they appreciate.
Honoring Forests And The People Who Live and Work In Them
Our manufacturing processes honor the strategy of trees that produce clean air, contribute to clean streams and water systems, hold the soil intact and produce nutrient-rich soil. Because we use solar and hand-processing, our poplar wall panels hold more carbon than all our manufacturing produces. We use zero water in direct manufacturing, do stream-bank restoration projects, and stream clean-ups. We monitor watershed quality reports. Our pure manufacturing means that the exterior shingles will bio-degrade and build clean soil. In the manufacturing world, these accomplishments are immense.
We believe that the best design is regenerative and supports living-legacy projects. The processes we employ support our clients to invest in quality on a different level – to invest in pure beauty – to invest in a future where forests are healthy and climate systems are in balance.
Safe, Healthy Materials
Bark House Poplar Bark Interior and Exterior Wall Coverings earned the world’s first Cradle to Cradle PLATINUM level certification. In 2018, the PLATINUM level was the most stringent material health certification on the market. This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material re-utilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility.
Community-Volunteer Focus
If you’ve followed us for a while, you know all the community projects we’ve been involved with or led. You can read about the impacts in our EmBark Blog. Currently, we are working with ForestHer on the Impact and Evaluations Committee to understand and document the impact ForestHer NC is having on private land conservation in North Carolina and the Workshop Planning Committee to develop and implement workshops, training sessions, and field tours for women landowners and natural resource professionals. Bark House is proud to be a woman-owned forestry business.
Regenerative Aim
Our regenerative aim is not an add-on program, a side-line or a part of who we are. It is at the core of how and why we do business and aligns with the following Guiding Principles:
Every action is taken in consideration of its role in our whole-system.
Our products are crafted in their purest form to present the natural diversity of the Appalachian forest. Their making supports prosperity and diversity. Cleaner water, carbon sinks, and clean soil are by-products of our work.
We aim for future generations to live their fullest lives in celebration of the great Appalachian forest and forest community.
“If I was in a room with Bark House bark wall coverings, I would know that I had found a place where I belong.”
Carol Sanford – Lead Disruptor in Regenerative Business Development
Our mission is to elevate the power of the regenerative process from the Blue Ridge Forest through the Bark House Factory and Original Bark Wall Finishes to Designers.
First, people connect with the bark wall finishes. The massive panels of bark connect people to the forest, perhaps a memory of sharing time with a loved one there. A personal connection is a good place to start from.
Then, the bark wall finishes were designed and specifically manufactured to be carbon-negative, utilizing zero water in direct manufacturing, and biodegradable at the end of their use. This means we are managing carbon in the atmosphere, stewarding water, and building clean soil. Making the panels means we are upcycling forestry waste. The income we invest supports struggling loggers and landowners in improving their forestry practices and remaining connected to the land they love. Our bark wall finishes support clients in continuing the mission of promoting forest health.
Right Fit Jobs
In this area, right-fit jobs mean keeping generational farms intact and supporting small logging crews to do good work in the forest. It means expanding financial opportunities in an economically distressed community. One hundred percent of the material we procure is sourced in Appalachia. We’ve trained over a thousand loggers across 5-states, representing 45 counties who can earn 3-times the pay for up-cycled bark as for the tree alone. Right-fit-jobs keep the local people in contact with the forest and the natural systems that they appreciate.
Honoring Forests And The People Who Live and Work In Them
Our manufacturing processes honor the strategy of trees that produce clean air, contribute to clean streams and water systems, hold the soil intact and produce nutrient-rich soil. Because we use solar and hand-processing, our poplar wall panels hold more carbon than all our manufacturing produces. We use zero water in direct manufacturing, do stream-bank restoration projects, and stream clean-ups. We monitor watershed quality reports. Our pure manufacturing means that the exterior shingles will bio-degrade and build clean soil. In the manufacturing world, these accomplishments are immense.
We believe that the best design is regenerative and supports living-legacy projects. The processes we employ support our clients to invest in quality on a different level – to invest in pure beauty – to invest in a future where forests are healthy and climate systems are in balance.
Safe, Healthy Materials
Bark House Poplar Bark Interior and Exterior Wall Coverings earned the world’s first Cradle to Cradle PLATINUM level certification. In 2018, the PLATINUM level was the most stringent material health certification on the market. This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material re-utilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility.
Community-Volunteer Focus
If you’ve followed us for a while, you know all the community projects we’ve been involved with or led. You can read about the impacts in our EmBark Blog. Currently, we are working with ForestHer on the Impact and Evaluations Committee to understand and document the impact ForestHer NC is having on private land conservation in North Carolina and the Workshop Planning Committee to develop and implement workshops, training sessions, and field tours for women landowners and natural resource professionals. Bark House is proud to be a woman-owned forestry business.
Regenerative Aim
Our regenerative aim is not an add-on program, a side-line or a part of who we are. It is at the core of how and why we do business and aligns with the following Guiding Principles:
Every action is taken in consideration of its role in our whole-system.
Our products are crafted in their purest form to present the natural diversity of the Appalachian forest. Their making supports prosperity and diversity. Cleaner water, carbon sinks, and clean soil are by-products of our work.
We aim for future generations to live their fullest lives in celebration of the great Appalachian forest and forest community.
“…you are looking at a product that is almost a sacred thing…people are being honored with right-fit jobs, forests are being honored with sustainable forestry, and the buildings that use these materials are being honored with safe, healthy materials.”
Bill McDonough, Author and founder of Cradle to Cradle
“…if I was in a space with Bark House bark wall coverings, I would know that I had found a place where we belong.”
Carol Sanford, Author of “Regenerative Business Series”
“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest
makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something,
that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so
wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”
Robert Lewis Stevenson
Stay Connected
Sign up here to receive email updates about products, promotions, & stories
