As people want more information:
Hello,
As mentioned in the post this new product is called Sakadama (SA in this name stands for South African). Sakadama is almost the same as Akadama in terms of soil composition, but our processing method creates a product that offers many advantages for the Bonsai industry. We are currently introducing this product around the world. Apparently the email addressed to your company did not get through as you indicated in our conversation. Therefore, hereby again the e-mail with information that I would like to offer you for consideration:
Sakadama has some major advantages over Akadama. It is mined in South Africa and processed into a finished product. Because the product is already doing well in South Africa and America, it has been decided to export it over the rest of the world as well. We already have interested parties in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and buyers in America, England, Spain and Italy. We intend to provide companies that purchase and/or consume in bulk and understand the benefits of Sakadama with this new product throughout Europe where desired. For the sale of this new product in a number of countries, including the Netherlands (where I live), I am the intermediary who provides information and puts through orders. Any sales go through me, but are only concluded directly with the African producer of Sakadama. The datasheet in English or Dutch can be obtained by sending me an e-mail:
info@overalreclame.nl
In short the benefits of Sakadama:
Like Akadama, this soil has a volcanic origin. It has almost the same composition as Akadama.
Sakadama is heated to 600 degrees Celsius. The product loses about 40% in mass during the heating process. Due to the heating to 600 degrees Celsius, Sakadama becomes a lot harder than the standard Akadama and therefore has a longer shelf life (1 to 2 times as long as Akadama are the current forecasts).
Sakadama retains 20% more moisture and promotes root growth and development of the Bonsai tree.
Another big advantage is that because Sakadama is harder, you don't have to remove the entire root ball when repotting. It ensures that the substrate can remain in the root ball longer to promote microbial activity.
Because Sakadama is harder, it has less breakage during transport.
Sakadama can be ordered per container of 2,000 bags.
The content per bag is 10 kilos (14 litres) and has a Dutch and English description (more languages will follow)
At he moment I am putting all my energy in promoting this product in Europe. Here the price per bag is € 6.95 (CIF) to the Port of Rotterdam. If people give me they're port of choice I can give them a price to this port (CEF) and also for the export from there to there businesses.
Because, as we expected, we have received quite a few (critical) questions from various potential customers, I have collected the information below which gives a nice overall picture and at the same time answers a lot of the questions we have received so far.
A response from one of our greatest experts in this field, Antony Smith (translated into Dutch). More information about his activities below.
The texture of soils or substrates is the foundation of any soil science. Consistency in texture is very important for Bonsai or any container plant. This is the reason we have 3 different classes. 1 - 3 mm for small trees, 3 - 5 mm for medium trees and 5 - 8 mm for large trees. The reason for this is that a small tree in a pot has less volume for growing media in the pot. Also, the root system has less room to grow and less moisture and nutrients to find. Therefore, the gradation of 1 - 3 mm helps to increase the surface area for the absorption of moisture and nutrients. Another reason is to get the particles between the roots to avoid large cavities that can cause root rot. Larger trees are potted in larger pots and therefore have much more surface area. Using too fine a mix achieves the opposite of what we want through less drainage and more water retention. This causes root rot. Bonsai professionals prefer to have all particles of the same size in any mix whether using Akadama, Pumice, Leca etc. Consistency is important to maintain the balance between air and available water for ideal root growth. A good example is that trees in compost or organic media have large thick roots and very few fine hair roots. This is due to too much water in the media not forcing the plant to search for water. So the lazy root system does not invest in many fine root hairs. In well-draining media such as Akadama, perlite etc, the plants are forced to search for available water and penetrate the media to find nutrients and water in the pores. In this way the tree develops a finer root growth. This is important because the fine root hairs absorb nutrients for the plant through the semi-permeable membrane. The more of this, the better the plant will thrive. In Bonsai we are looking for a fine root ball with little to no thick roots in the media that waste space and do not absorb the essential nutrients. Another point why Sakadama's longevity and hardness is important is because it keeps its shape longer. Akadama breaks down into mushy clay that then has no CEC value and hinders the absorption of roots and nutrients. The advantages of Sakadama with greater water holding capacity are twofold. First, the balance between air-filled porosity and moisture-holding capacity is balanced. Which ensures a high availability of vegetable available moisture. Unlike certain calcined substrates which do not transfer moisture to plants. 65% of the water is available to the plant. 68% is the amount of water the product can contain. Based on the (attached) datasheet, only 3% of the water is not available for the plant. The air-filled porosity balance is well balanced. The conclusion is that a balance between water holding capacity and air-filled porosity is important.
It is often asked whether there are significant people from the Bonsai industry who support this product. Below information from a number of people who commit to Sakadama:
Bonsai expert Antony Smith mentioned above has been closely involved in the development of Sakadama from the start. Even now, he is still busy collecting data from various tests with Sakadama. Besides being a Bonsai expert with plenty of experience, Antony is a super inquisitive man. I have attached his CV to this email in PDF format. I think this one speaks for itself. It is 14 pages long and I can imagine that not everyone will take the time to read it all the way through. That's why I've put together some highlights below.
2017 - Antony was one of the three finalists to be selected by South African Bonsai Association (SABA) to represent South Africa at the Japan 2017 World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF) conference, which was held at Saitama, Japan from 27 –
30 April 2017. Unfortunately, he did not make the final selection that time.
2019 - Antony was invited to the “UK National Bonsai Show” in Bury, Manchester UK (14–
15 September 2019) by the organizer Tony Tickle to present a demonstration alongside the internationally renowned Bjorn Bjorholm (USA), Rafael Torres (Spain) and Hugo Zamora (Mexico).
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/cjuk4z
https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/17895069.national-bonsai-show-held-bury-weekend/
https://kentbonsaiclub.weebly.com/uk-national-bonsai-show-2019.html
https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/uk-national-bonsai-show-bury-2019/4129
2019 - Antony was one of the judges of the show trees at the UK National Bonsai Show 14 – 15 September (Bury, Manchester UK) together with the other headline experts Bjorn Bjorholm (USA), Rafael Torres (Spain) and Hugo Zamora (Mexico).
2019 - Antony was selected by the South African Bonsai Association (SABA) to represent South Africa and Africa at the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF) convention to be hosted by the Australian Bonsai Association (ABA) in Perth, Australia in 14 –
17 October 2021. Due to COVID this conference has been postponed to October 2022.
2020 - In 2019 while in the UK Antony was invited to apprentice in Mallorca, Spain with internationally renowned Rafael Torres at his nursery “Bonsai Sense”. Antony spent a month with Rafael in February 2020 studying new techniques and furthering his Bonsai knowledge.
2020 - Based on Antony’s growing international reputation, he was asked to do an interview for “Bonsai Focus” about himself and his work in Bonsai and the Bonsai Pottery Field. The interview was published in the March/April 2020 (163/186) edition as a 4 page article, starting on page 12. Links to this edition:
https://www.bonsaifocus.com/en/single-issues/english/bonsai-focus-en-163-186
https://viewer.joomag.com/bonsai-focus-english-2020-2/0110523001581585466
2020 - Michael Lime Allen & Troy Cardoza recorded a 40 minute interview with Antony while at “The Trophy” in Belgium. Visit
https://bonsaimirai.podbean.com/e/antony-smith/ for the full interview.
2020 - The very high quality of the bonsai ceramics produced by Antony and Mavourneen (aka “Willow Bonsai Pots”) was acknowledged when they were invited as “Honorary European Members” of the European Bonsai Potter Collective (EBPC). They join a small select group of people who are part of the EBPC. They are the only honorary members who have been invited from the whole of the African continent. See
https://www.europeanbonsaipottercol...ropean-members-willow-bonsai-pots-of-s-africa for the announcement.
Together with a local mine and horticultural manufacturer, Antony started developing a new product (Sakadama) that would be based on the Japanese Akadama substrate. After more than a year of lab tests, data sheets and real world testing, a product was finally produced that was not only on par with the Japanese product but better in many ways. This product was released in August 2021 to the Bonsai, succulent suppliers, retailers and end users. A quality product at a reasonable price has never been available before. Antony developed this product to be a high quality, reasonably priced alternative to Akadama, so that more Bonsai growers could improve their growing mixes and therefore improve their trees growth and design potential.
Bonsai related memberships of Antony Smith
SABA (South African Bonsai Association) - Member 2001 to 2020 - Committee Member 2015 to 2016
BRAT (Bonsai Regional Association of Transvaal) - Member 2001 to 2020
ABA (African Bonsai Association) - Member 2001 – 2020
ABS (American Bonsai Society) - Member 2020 – Present
EBPC (European Bonsai Potter Collective) Honorary member - Member 2020 – Present
WBFF (World Bonsai Friendship Federation) - Member 2017 – 2020
Bonsai Addicts (founder) - Member
2015 – Present - Chairman 2015 – 2020
Black Scissors - Member
2016 – Present - Facebook Admin 2016 – Present
Furthermore, the following people commit to Sakadama:
Bjorn Bjorholm of Eisei-en
Bjorn is one of the best Bonsai artists in the world who studied in Japan and now practices in the US. His website (
https://bjornbjorholm.com/) and various blogs showcase his work. He is very well known in the Bonsai industry.
Andy Youtz of Superfly Bonsai in the USA
Another well-known name in the Bonsai industry. He has a company that sells the most diverse Bonsai related products. See also:
https://www.superflybonsai.com/
www.willowbonsaishop.com
