The CMFN, EOMF and IMFN co-hosted a delegation visiting Ottawa from the African Model Forest Network (AMFN). For this visit, the AMFN had meetings at, and toured, Temple's Sugar Camp in Lanark County. Their principle interest for the Canadian visit was to gain new insights into developing their own non-timber forest product (NTFP) industries by learning about the Canadian experience.
Leanne Elliott from CMFN outlined several NTFP projects being conducted by Model Forests throughout Canada including the cultivation of blueberries and other berry crops, mushrooms and other forest edibles, eco- and ethno-tourism development with South American indigenous tribes, and the production of a Goods from the Woods Directory.
Mark Richardson, EOMF's General Manager, described the local maple syrup industry as well as how and why using forest certification is an effective management tool. We were pleased to learn many of their surrounding forests in the Congo basin are FSC-certified - so were asked to also describe the Chain of Custody Certification process. We also touched on some potential opportunities around the development of other NTFP's such as wood turning.
The gracious and friendly African delegates described that most of their NTFP management is performed by women cooperatives, or 'platforms', that come together from surrounding villages to work on projects that utilize 'waste' wood gathered from the jungle floor. One ongoing project that has proven the model, is turning gorgeous exotic wood pens for the export market. Facilitation of the machinery and training was enabled by the Lac-Saint-Jean Model Forest in Quebec who has had a long-standing working relationship with the french-speaking countries represented in the African Model Forest Network. Another initiative involves the cultivation of heritage foods from their forest locales - including Giant Snails - once a popular staple among their ancestors. Our guests came from Cameroon (home-base for the AMFN), the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. Now that we share coordinates, we also hope to share and transfer more knowledge with them into the future as needs and opportunities arise.
