A training organised by the Forest Smallholders Project of the European Forest Facility (EFI) in a small village of the Lampang Province north of Thailand has provided women with the skills they need to engage in family timber businesses and play more diverse roles, thereby contributing to more sustainable livelihoods.
In the late 1980s, the Government of Thailand imposed a logging ban in all natural forests. Together with the depletion of forest resources, the ban led to a drop in domestic supply. The Government therefore looked for ways to involve the private sector and in particular local communities in generating alternative wood supplies. Changes introduced in 2019 in the law governing forestry may finally promote reforestation efforts.
In Lamphun province near Chiang Mai in northern Thailand a 20-year-old wooden house is being demolished. The workers are dismantling the house piece by piece, rescuing all teak wood. Currently there is a booming domestic market for reclaimed timber in Thailand. It is increasingly contributing to the local economy and has become an important source of livelihood for household businesses in the wood sector.
Since 2016, the European Forest Institute (EFI) has been supporting wood-based micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in four Mekong countries to operate legally and sustainably. Under its Forest Smallholders Project, EFI has been testing solutions to MSMEs’ key challenges in pilot projects. Lessons learnt from these pilots are documented and disseminated nationally, regionally and internationally. Through its support to MSMEs, the Project promotes gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the forest sector.
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Somporn Khongthanakrittakorn
Agus Djailani, European Forest Institute