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The result is that the average African citizen involved in the forestry and lumber industry
in Africa never participates in the large profits available. Lacking capital and a method of
exporting the wood themselves, their only choice is to sell to the local domestic markets in Africa.
The emphasis is on maximizing yield, not quality. The local markets are controlled by the exporters;
they keep the prices artificially low in the local markets (highly expensive woods such as sold by
Trees From Eden are often sold by the foresters and sawyers to these local markets for less than
American foresters are paid for White Oak). The African lumber destined for export works its way
through a maze of government and private middlemen, each of which receives considerable revenue for
having their place in the chain.
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Using our contacts and presence in Africa, Trees From Eden works directly with the forester
and the sawyer. We pay them far more for the lumber than they can receive from the local markets,
in exchange for following our instructions on quality, harvesting methods, and processing.
For example, our lumber is all quarter sawn and rift sawn, which is seldom done elsewhere in Africa
because it does not deliver a maximum yield. In this way, we create an alternative for the forester
and sawyer, who are no longer forced to sell their lumber to the local market for the artificially
low prices. The photos in this document are all taken from some of our frequent trips into the
forests of Cameroun, accompanying the local forester and sawyer to the harvesting site.
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Once the wood is milled, we are able to skip many of the layers of middlemen within the country,
paying all required and legal licenses and export fees and bringing the wood in a container directly
from Cameroun to Georgia.
As a result, we can pay the owner of the trees and the sawyer much higher prices for their work than
they would get from the local market, putting more money in the hands of these working men, and further
assuring our quality. Rather than taking advantage of the poor in Africa, we are working with them to
offer significantly greater opportunity than they have now, giving them direct access to the world market.
Another benefit of our business method is that we are able to sell this wood at a lower price to our
customers, because we have not paid for all of the middlemen and other extraneous costs within Africa.
By purchasing lumber from Trees From Eden, you are playing a part in a business model that is explicitly
empowering microbusinessmen, such as the local sawyers and foresters you see here.
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