THE Ituni Small Loggers Association is gearing up to commence value-added production to make the livelihood of loggers more profitable as well as to create employment opportunities for youths in the community.

The Association currently has 82 members, and according to Linden Duncan, its Secretary, currently, the situation with markets in the logging industry can best be described as “more than challenging,” ever since Bai Shan Lin pulled out of Guyana.

The economy of the community was at the time blooming, but as of late, the situation is stagnated, he said.
“Right now, things are very slow, but we are managing. It would be far better if we are linked to a better market,” Duncan reasoned.

Rather than to continue supplying the same markets that demand raw timber, the loggers have decided that a viable solution to the matter would be to attract a different market that demands processed timber.

The Association is currently in possession of a portable mill, and an edger 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,” Duncan said.

The Association will be approaching several lending agencies, and is willing to work with whichever company decides to accept its proposal.

Duncan said the executives are more excited about the spin-offs they can get from the value-added operations, as there are scores of youths residing in the community who are unemployed. 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 cutting wood, but about us developing and empowering ourselves in a rounded way further down the line,” he said, but the first hurdle is to get capital investment, and once that is secured, the Association is ready to take logging to a whole new level in Ituni.