The Forestry Community:
A Life of Dignity in a Bountiful Forest

Since 1995 these five communities from the area have joined together to give life to a project in which they take rational advantage of the resources the forest offers. The process has not been easy for the members of the community, but it is a process born from the vision of achieving cooperative and self-sustaining development.

The forestry community identifies itself as a model of cooperative development for communities who live in the forests and as a response to the problems of people who live in poverty amidst the natural richness that surrounds them.

Despite this, few community have taken on the task of sustainably managing the forests in which they live, which would resolve in part their critical situation. This process is slow, but it is secure-the results move the community towards a life of dignity in a well-ordered and bountifully productive forest.

An Example to Imitate

Because the area was very exploited in the past, the Yuscarán communities were left with a heritage of deforestation and soil degradation. Nonetheless, Yuscarán and specifically the community of Laínez have begun to be mentioned as a model forestry community on a national level.

"The work of the forestry community has improved the homes, the employment infrastructure, the income and thinking of the people in how to manage their income, the capacity of the people to put themselves forward, their vision of development, and the solidarity and unity of the community," asserts Andrés Solórzano, president of the Honduran Federation of Agro-forestry Cooperatives.

Given the dominant agricultural culture of the communities that live in this sector, the people have integrated elements of fish farming and animal husbandry to their activities of managing the forest.

According to Andrés, a consciousness has been created in the people that they can manage the resources correctly and achieve irect benefits to the community. He says, "Our achievement is that the people feel that they are managing their own property. Although we know that it is a resource of the State, the community feels it is theirs."

The plan of management includes reforestation, taking advantage of the wood, protecting the forest, integral farms and activities of resin extraction. From that base the community can add other activities of development for the communities.

"The plan of management says how much wood would be taken advantage of in one year. In the case of Yuscarán, the forest has been very exploited, leaving only the bad trees that the industry doesn't want to take out. The soil is degraded. What we do is to take out the wood of the trees that are malformed, twisted or that have no future. The trees with a future are left, trees that are seed bearing and that are growing well. The cut wood is then processed for wood, toothpicks and is put on the market," explains Andrés.

In the same way, he explains that after preparing the soil for reforestation, they install nurseries themselves and doing rounds in the summer season for fire control.

"In relation to the reforestation, there are areas where we first experiment with natural reforestation. We are working to restore the areas that were cut and the areas that were designated for cultivation and then abandoned. These areas are left alone for one year to see if in the winter there is natural reforestation. If not, then the following year we plant nurseries in the rainy season to restore the area," he adds.

Andrés also makes sure that each family in the zone is putting into use what he calls "integrated farms," where an area is set aside for cultivating the majority of their food (basic grains, vegetable and fruits).

Long-term Vision

The people of the communities have begun to have a long-term vision for the management of the forest. They have put into place a plan to sell finished products and their hard work for self-sufficiency is beginning to bear important fruit.

"We are at the point of installing a workshop to manufacture prefabricated houses. We already have the models and we have the people trained. We lack the equipment to begin to make the houses, but we hope that at the beginning of next year we will have everything ready," said Solórzano.

The communities want to reap the benefits of production, but at the same time to make housing that is economically accessible to the poor. "We have models of practical houses that we can manufacture in one week and sell at low costs that begin at 8,000 lempiras (about $500) depending on what people want, with a guaranteed lifespan of 40-50 years."

"We have this capacity in the communities. We only lack the equipment, but already the people are prepared and we are waiting a little. Someday we also plan to build furniture. The idea is that the wood leaves us as a finished product," he expressed.

Social Response

The investors in this process are sure that the communities have taken ownership of the project. The development of the community has been evident and the people have changed their mentality in relation to the forest, to the point that in the last years the migration of the young people to the city has been reduced significantly.

"The youth had no aspirations before. Today the youth leave the community for the purpose of study or for work with better possibilities of pay, because they can find employment here now with the management of the forest," asserted Andrés.

According to the calculations of the community, the migration of young people looking for work in the city has been reduced 90% since 1999, when the project went into operation.

"Now the people have an awareness of what the forest is worth, because it is almost not a personal interest, but a common interest for a better situation for all of us. We have worked to make this sustainable," he concluded.

Outside Perception

The former director of the Honduran Department of Forestry Development, Rigoberto Sandoval Corea, knows the experience of Yuscarán and he qualifies as positive the changes the project has generated in community benefits.

"It is a very positive experience that is financed by Germany. We see the results clearly," he expressed. "A community that in the past had absolutely nothing now has a very different life."

Sandoval Corea indicates that although the deforestation and the degradation of the soil is very great, he can already observe the process of recovery. He asserts that there can be no doubt that these communities are now completely different.

"There have been many advances and much progress. Furthermore, the forestry project is having an impact on the town council itself. The forms of organization and the skills to analyze and see the problems in a community forum has enable the community to deal with town problems," he explained.

Sandoval expresses that the living experience in Yuscarán is easily replicated in other communities. A minor investment can offer the strong possibility of giving a qualitative and quantitative jump in the quality of life and capacity of the community.

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