Press Release Detail

Keith Kedrayate is a mahogany landowner motivated by an aspiration to see his village thrive as a result of the empowerment and skills training that he is undertaking with the Ministry of Forestry.
Understanding the value of trees, the importance of reforestation and how to reduce and reuse wood wastes or harvesting residues from his forest is a completely new concept for Mr Kedrayate. He and his brother Soloveni, of Naimasimasi, Vugalei in Tailevu, were chosen by their mataqali (landowning unit) Rara to participate in a special training at the Ministry of Forestry's Timber Industry Training Centre.
Six of them who hail from Tailevu's Vugalei district have been training at the centre since March of this year.  Their land is located in Tailevu's Nukurua Forest Station.
The Ministry’s Training Division is conducting skills training and empowerment   of communities and individuals like the Kedrayate brothers. The training teaches participants to create value added products from waste wood as an alternative project to sustain them now and into the future. 
Mr Kedrayate expressed his gratitude to the Ministry for the opportunity to participate in a training which was centered on the needs of people, utilizing waste wood and especially economically empowering landowners. Despite having owned vast swathes of woodland, he said, villagers lived in humble cottages, some of which were still made of corrugated iron.
“We have lost so much over the years. We have the resources but we had no idea how to utilise them to uplift our living standards,” Mr Kedrayate said.
"For me, because I was nominated by my mataqali to come here for this training, upon my return, I want to make a difference in my community and the way we manage forests.
"Here at the Forestry Training Centre, I have learned basic skills training from sawing timber, machining and product-making using our natural resources in innovative ways”.
"Making money is not my primary priority at the moment. My main aim is to teach my fellow people how to improve their homes. This means teaching them to upgrade our dwelling construction with leftover or waste wood from logging, including the finishing.
"We have lost so much over the years from the waste of just one mahogany tree. From the skills learnt, I want to make a difference in my mataqali when I return,” Mr Kedrayate said.

Here at the Forestry Training Centre, I have learned basic skills training from sawing timber, machining and product-making using our natural resources in innovative ways. We have lost so much over the years from the waste of just one mahogany tree. From the skills learnt, I want to make a difference in my mataqali when I return. - Keith Kedrayate 

Forest Subsidy Scheme 
The Government, through the Ministry of Forestry is focusing on bringing some of the country's informal industries, such as wood carving and artifact production, into the formal sector and fully realising their potential in adding to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Forest Subsidy Scheme was reintroduced in the revised budget for 2021-2022, which was released in March this year, to promote cottage industries and make this a reality. 
A $30,000 allocation will go toward establishing small-scale forestry value-adding enterprises like wood carving and furniture manufacturing, which use various parts of high-value trees like mahogany and lesser-known species. 
The scheme was launched in 2015, but it had to be suspended in 2020 since funding needed to be redirected to COVID-19 operations. To date, there have been 19 recipients under this scheme. Every year, the Ministry of Forestry allocates a Forest Subsidy budget  to demonstrate the Government's commitment to ensuring that the whole of its development work is reflected in the lives of the people and communities it serves.

Training mahogany landowners with basic crafting skills 
At the Ministry’s Timber Industry Training Centre in Nasinu, landowners are being taught to make use of wood wastes or residues from logging operations and timber processing facilities to ensure zero waste from harvesting.
According to the Acting Director for Timber Utilization, Research and Development, Taniela Whippy, cottage industries empower forest-based communities to generate revenue and contribute to economic recovery while reducing waste from forests.  
Mr Whippy believes this cottage industry, which also generates revenue for the Government, has a promising future.
The landowners, Marau Ukeleles, and TABS Craftwood are three cottage industries now working with the Ministry under the Wood Utilization Programme,” Mr Whippy said.
For the landowners whose land is leased by the Fiji Hardwood Corporation for mahogany planting at the Nukurua Forest Station, the plan is for these landowners to utilise the waste from harvesting in their forests. 
"The participants provide their own raw material and our officers provide training for three months. We upskill them in making basic things that are in high demand. Coffin boxes, chest boxes, birthday keys, door panels, money boxes, home and outdoor furnitures and antiques, office tables and chairs are among the items they make," Mr Whippy said.
"We'll engage them for two years after their training in August, before allowing them to operate as independent cottage industries. We will also assist them in marketing their products or finding a market,” Mr Whippy added.
For others, like Tevita Kuruvakadua of Savu, Vugalei in Tailevu, he is proud to be at the Nasinu centre. Mr Kuruvakadua said a few weeks of training on how to operate the portable sawmill machines, as well as how to grade and treat timber and eventually create a product out of it, was eye-opening.
"I hope to start my own wood crafting business when I return to my village and sell my products at a reasonable price," he said.

Engaging Marau Ukuleles, TABS Craftwood
The Ministry is working with companies to determine ease of doing business while ensuring that both the private and public sectors contribute to the sustainable management of Fiji's forests. This is part of the Government's continued efforts to promote the private sector, which is recognised as the nation's engine for economic growth.
The Ministry is currently engaging with TABS Investment subsidiary companies, Marau Ukeleles and TABS Craftwood. The main manufacturing line of TABS Investment are guitar timber pieces as well as body components for musical instruments, and they have recently launched a local ukulele production line under the Marau brand.
According to Remisio Domodomolagi, Marau Ukelele's head machinist and production hand, the musical instruments are produced from mahogany waste wood off-cuts.
“The musical instruments were manufactured from mahogany waste wood off-cuts, to ensure that Fiji did not waste this high-value tree. So, technically, we construct our ukuleles from mahogany fall down materials to ensure that nothing goes to waste,” Mr Domodomolagi said.
Mr Domodomolagi added that the company has collaborated with the Ministry to promote cottage industries through the use of the Centre’s workshop and woodworking machinery. He also shared that he is one of the product of skills training at the TUD workshop.
Mr Domodomolagi stated that they relied on the Government to nurture and support their marketing efforts in order to help bring high-value returns for Fiji's valuable mahogany species. 
TABS Craftwood production manager Josese Cabealawa explained that they also specialized in adding value by producing furniture from export timber fall downs. Doors, stools, bench tops, and house furnishings are only a few examples of what they make, including venturing into Kit Homes.
Meanwhile, Mr Whippy added that the Ministry's goal of promoting the use of wood wastes and residues from harvesting regions and timber processing facilities, as well as developing innovative and value-added products, made working with TABS Investment a win-win situation, which not only benefits the company, but communities and the nation as well.