Improving lives with value added wood, Costa Rica

Dear Donors:

ASIREA continues working on developing value added products to be able to sell melina in the local market. This includes one of our collaborators is taking a class in furniture design. Viviana is learning how to design innovative furniture ideas  for new markets. With the program INKSCAPE she will create a finished product we plan to sell.  This week a local wood shop is designing doors made of melina to promote new wood products! 

At this point, its all about developing better products than can compete with the many cheap wood imports and plastic furniture Costa Rica being flooded with! Drying the wood is only a step on the way, but a vital one! We continue fundraising to be able to build our wood dryer. Whenever you can help- please do!

Here we are combining the social theory of value chains for wood products with the economical reality of our country. Costa Rica is much applauded for our conservation efforts: we have over 52% of the country covered with trees. But so much is left to be done with how to manage and create economical alternatives for rural communities with these new forests and reforestation efforts. Help us by continuing to donate to our cause. We will not give up until we close the cycle of wood production-drying-product sale- better prices for farmers. When farmers recieve a better price, reforestation will become a popular -and sustainable economic activity- in a world that really needs green solutions! 

Thank you for your constant support! 

Links:

• Our facebook page

Hello everyone!

I wanted to touch base with all of our donors about how our project is going.

Our solar dryer is being designed by the Technological Institute of Costa Rica. In the design we have to make decisions about using solar energy versus ordinary energy which we have to carry from about 100 meters away. We need energy to move the fans that make the air circulate inside the dryer. 

We also are starting to sell our first dried melina wood. We visited a group of organized furniture makers recently and they are interested in buying directly from us, as is a local furniture factory. Our ecologically produced wood is a plus for all involved because it assures final buyers that the wood not only is legal, but it is also produced locally, by small farmers. 

Since we do not have our own dryer yet, we have to outsource the drying- which costs about double doing it ourselves and does not achieve the quality we hope to achieve. Still this is very positive, as we are now identifying future clients for our dry wood.

ASIREA is one of the few farmers´organizations doing this in Costa Rica. Our dream is to be able to pay better prices for our value added wood to farmers. If farmers percieve this is a good business, they will plant more trees. More trees means more carbon is fixed from the environment, and local climate is protected. More jobs are created in our rural areas, hopefully, our children can return from the city and work as profesionals in local businesses doing design, marketing and administrative work. 

You are part of this social construct, this change. Thnks so much for walking near us. We hope to have even better news soon. Donations are still super welcome, until we achieve our goal.

Have a great week!