DILI, 27 october 2021 (TATOLI)- AI- ba Futuru- Partnership for sustainable Agroforestry (PSAF) distribute certificates to 10 lumbermen for the completion of Ai ba Futuru’s first training for safe and efficient tree felling and chainsaw milling.The certificates were handed over by Dulce Gusmão from the EU, Director General of Forestry, Coffee and Industrial Plants from MAF, Raimundo Mau, and Rainer Schellhaas, GIZ country coordinator.
Following the statement released from the EU, the ten lumbermen have been improving their skills on how to safely and efficiently fell a tree and how to use a chainsaw mill with guiding bars during their training.
It is said that The lumbermen will have the opportunity to rent out chainsaw milling equipment from Ai ba Futuru and directly work with them in the field after completing their training.
“The European Union is proud to support this training initiative that helps the chainsaw operators to improve their skill and knowledge on how to better operate the chainsaw machine to minimize the lost during the harvesting and cutting wood so they can improve wood processing efficiency’’, said the representative of the Delegation of the European Union, Dulce Gusmão.
The GIZ country coordinator, Rainer Schellhaas is proud that the lumbermen can tur locally fallen trees into more than higher quality compared to free-hand milling.
“I am very happy that through these training lumbermen can turn locally felled trees into more and higher quality boards compared to free-hand milling. Thanks to this increased efficiency, fewer trees need to be cut to make goods such as furniture while local timber will become economically more viable compared to imports.”, said Rainer Schellhaas, GIZ country coordinator.
It is said that, Over the next months, Ai ba Futuru will train a total of 80 chainsaw operators from Manatuto, Baucau, Viqueque, and Lautem. This training will contribute to increasing the productivity and with that the income of the lumbermen while also strengthening the local timber production sector.
targeting 4,000 marginalized households in 40 selected Sucos. It will increase the area under agroforestry in Timor-Leste by 6,000 ha, planting a total of three million trees. Targeted participants benefit from production increases, better employment opportunities, and improved market access, thus generating higher income.
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