Components of this project include:

A lumber yard:

This has been established in partnership with the Timber Industry Training College (TITC) in Lae at their sawmilling and timber processing facilities. Here participating village operators deliver and sell their timber according to a published price schedule that reflects the market demand for a wide variety of marketable species of rough sawn timber. Initiatives are now in progress to expand the marketing and valued added opportunities for timber produced by village sawmills.

Shake Production:

The production of a timber roofing material called shakes has been incorporated into the V.E.T.P. on an experimental basis. Shakes are produced by first cutting timber into uniform short lengths then splitting them into thin pieces with a hand tool called a froe. The split pieces are then pressure treated at the TITC facilities resulting in a high quality, long lasting roofing material. Advantages, in addition to the durability, are that shakes utilise timber which does not fetch a high price when used to produce sawn timber; also, shake production is providing additional employment for villagers around Lae and is serving as an alternative to imported sheet iron roofing. More than 1600 bundles of shakes were produced for the roof of the Kamiali Training Centre and Guest House in addition to the 50 cubic meters of sawn timber that were produced by the villagers of Lababia.

Field Extension Services

Qualified VDT forestry personnel work closely with participating operators to establish logging plans, measure and mark trees, prepare logging set ups, record and monitor production, and provide logistics and equipment maintenance assistance.

Training Programmes

Participating operators receive training in small sawmill operations, mill maintenance, timber grading, sustainable forest management, business management and bookkeeping.

Loan Programme

VDT, in partnership with donor organisations and commercial lenders, provides assistance to qualifying operators for the securing of loans required to establish and operate small scale eco-timber businesses.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Forest Certification:

VDT's work within the V.E.T.P. parallels its participation in the national, regional, and global dialogues on forest certification as advocated by the FSC ( see more details below.) As a result of the work of FSC, producer and consumer countries around the world are now working to establish and implement their own national