Ituni loggers look to cut value-added path to profits 

DPI, Guyana, Monday, April 15, 2019

Eighty-two members, of the Ituni Small Loggers Association, are on a mission to diversify their livelihood by adding value to raw lumber which will have a rippling effect on the community’s economy.

Secretary of the Ituni Small Loggers Association, Linden Duncan.

The loggers are optimistic that the operation will create jobs for scores of the nation’s youth in the community. Secretary of the Association, Linden Duncan related that markets for lumber are saturated and so there is a need for ingenuity. A more viable solution to the matter would be to supply markets demanding processed timber. The association will commence with mill-cut timber since it has a portable mill and an edger which was donated by the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF).

A proposal is currently being done which will be used to seek out a grant or a loan from small business lending institutions. “We want to start with some primary value-added to the logs because we understand that we will get more money and better value from mill-cut timber compared to what we are receiving right now from the raw timber,” he related.

The association will be approaching several lending agencies and will work with whichever company decides to accept its proposal. For those with no experience in logging, there are training opportunities available through the Forestry Training Centre. “So, it’s not just about going into the forest and cut wood, it’s about us developing and empowering ourselves in a rounded way, further down the line,” he said. The first hurdle is to get capital investment and once that is secured the association is ready to take logging to a whole new future in Ituni.

Story and image: Vanessa Braithwaite.