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Submission: James Cook
As far as I know, I'm the first volunteer to work with the Padre Fabretto Association, and I'm certainly the first to work with them in the areas of forest management assessment and planning and silviculture.
My primary goals for this trip were to assess the land capability to grow forest products and compare the capacity to the current level of forest utilization; assess the manner in which the various forest stands, individually and collectively, are being managed and make recommendations for improvement; and train the forest technical staff of the Association so that they might more efficiently and appropriately manage their lands.
The major accomplishments of the assignment fall in two general categories: assessments and training. The assessments I completed for the Padre Fabretto Family Association (PFF) included the overall management and coordination of PFF forest lands near Cusmapa, the suitability of establishing a Permanent Plot system for forest inventory purposes, and the specific components/guidelines of the management that they are doing in their pine forests.
The training provided to the forest technicians covered three main topics and several minor ones. The primary training efforts addressed the use of a prism (a point or plotless method) for gathering forest inventory data, basic inventory principles, and a method for assessing the adequacy of existing regeneration. We also devised field data sheets for each field training exercise in English and Spanish.
The purposes of the project included the revision and evaluation of the overall management of PFF forest land; evaluation of the individual parcels of PFF forest lands and their management; summary development of the productive potential and any site limitations of the forest land base; beginning stage development of a field manual for the forest technicians, in particular for inventory and forest measurement; preliminary evaluation of the possible impact on forest management for part of the area around Cusmapa as a Protected Area; and the training of forest technicians in basic forest inventory techniques.
The Padre Fabretto Family Association has as their primary function the operation of children's centers at which they provide hot lunches and after-school programs for approximately 1500 kids daily, 300 of which are in Cusmapa. The center in Cusmapa is unique in that they own approximately 1000 acres.
I conducted three training sessions for the forest technicians employed by PFF, including Josh Lynn, their forest manager. Five technicians, plus Josh, attended each session. The sessions included both classroom and field components. Because inventory principles are part of the foundation for the other two topics, three classroom lectures of approximately ninety minutes and two three and a half hour field training exercises were completed.
Though all attendees had completed a three year program at INTECFOR (Technical Forestry Institute) near Estelí, their understanding of forest principles and technical skills clearly is in need of additional training. The use of the inventory techniques taught, if applied soon, could result in: more extensive and accurate stand data (stocking, heights, age, growth rates, etc.); more accurate determination of the best time to conduct thinning; better tracking of their total forest resource; more prompt and precise determination of the need for artificial regeneration (i.e. planting); and more efficient use of the technician's time.
The assessments completed were the most important part of the assignment in my opinion. Working closely with Josh and the Forestry Project data, the Project was provided a big picture assessment of the potential of their forest land, some problems in wood flow that are likely to manifest within five to ten years, the adequacy of their forest inventory data, how to efficiently and appropriately gather the information they need, and the silviculture they are practicing. Some of these opened their eyes to some needs and longer term problems of which they were unaware.
It would clearly be useful to the PFF Forestry Project, to the center at large, and to the community of Cusmapa for the Forestry Project to increase their level of utilization of the wood-based resources in their forests. My opinion, based on compiled data, is that PFF could easily double their level of wood use and not be in danger of over-cutting. That is, the forest would still be growing more wood per year than they would be utilizing. However, the capacity of the sawmill is an important limiting factor, because it is, roughly speaking, operating at only fifty to sixty percent capacity. This is in part due to mechanical breakdowns, which occurred twice in the twelve days that I was there, and in part due to the institution and the individuals themselves. Thus, the harvest level cannot increase unless a change occurs correcting either of these two problems. For either scenario to come to fruition, a different "approach" to management of the sawmill, thus increasing its output, would be necessary. If this happens, then the wood could be sold to other buyers, which is not likely due to the remote location and economic conditions in the region. The alternative would be to increase the output from the carpentry shop.
This latter option is attractive because it would represent a greater amount of value-added production and thus do more to further the economic development of the community. Josh is currently working to expand the outlets through which these finished products might be marketed. This is in its infancy and is an area that could be assisted by a volunteer in the near future; however, the practical limitations (quality control, meeting order deadlines, limited transportation in and out of Cusmapa, etc.) of the situation deserve paramount attention before a large effort is undertaken in this area.
For this reason, a forest business oriented assignment that would focus on the sawmill operation and the office/accounting activities that support it should have high priority. Though it is uncertain if such an activity will actually bear fruit, follow-up and additional training is clearly warranted and would be welcomed.
This was my third FTF volunteer assignment, but the first for me in a small town in a remote area. This provided me with an opportunity to see first hand how the majority of the population lives. This was very informative and beneficial to me personally. It also opened my eyes a bit more as to the limitations that development will have in areas away from the larger cities.
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