Carving a Future: 10 Lessons for Sustainable Woodcarving Enterprises

Carving a Future: 10 lessons for sustainable wood carving

Based on 10 years of research by a range of organizations, this episode introduces 10 "wise practices" or lessons which are useful to take into account for the development of carving enterprises. Woodcarving adds more value to wood than the timber industry, and often creates more jobs and income - yet throughout the world, government Forest Departments support to woodcarving enterprises is often very limited. This is surprising, given the high value and large scale of woodcarving in some parts of the world. Balie, Indonesia, for instance, exports US$100 million worth of carvings per year and Kenya - US$20 million per year. Carving can also make significant contributions to household income. The town of Sahranphur India, for example, has 50-60,000 wood carvers. Kenya too, has an estimated 60,000 carvers, who support 350,000 dependents from their trade.

Production Credits

Camera, script and direction:

• Tony Cunningham

Editing:

• Gary Burke

Production Function; Music:

• Mpingi Drummers

Narration:

• Michael Loney

Permission to use from:

• People and Plants International