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Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal of Honduras

The Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal is a unique business venture based on the harvesting of naturally fallen (not chopped down) mahogany trees in Honduras. The concept of allowing natives to harvest fallen trees as a business is rather impressive in terms of its resourcefulness, and in a country where poverty is high, any means of providing jobs is welcome. Since harvesting already-fallen trees neither damages the environment nor depletes natural resources, parlaying it into a small industry is not only clever but environmentally soundùa sharp contrast to virtually all other tree-harvesting operations worldwide. Mahogany wood is already quite limited due to natural disasters such as forest fires and destructive practices such as illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture, and its restricted availability makes it a valuable commodity (Nebbe & Hunger, 1999, p. 26-1). Furthermore, since mahogany is a relatively upscale wood, obtaining it free and then selling it is potentially highly lucrative.

If fallen mahogany trees in Honduras were abundant and easy to move, the cooperative would likely be earning huge profits on its efforts. This is not the case, however, since mahogany is fairly rare to begin with and naturally fallen mahogany trees are scarce; even more daunting, the effort to move them is substantial. The areaÆs steep and rocky terrain poses a serious impediment to logging activities, and the best time for logging is when the weather is worstùduring the rainy season, when storms take down more trees and softer soil causes them to be uprooted more easily (Nebbe & Hunger, 1999, p. 26-1). In order to harvest the trees, the cooperative needs to disassemble them one by one, situating a hand-sawmill nearby to cut the tree into logs. Positioning the hand-sawmill can be difficult due to the steep terrain, and the search for a suitable location for it can take considerable time (Nebbe & Hunger, 1999, p. 26-1). Disassembl...

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Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal of Honduras. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:10, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712479.html