Dave Bates reports on the Dalmann Tool Appeal
At a time when charities are increasingly modelled on corporate businesses, we are never really sure how much of our donations reach the intended recipients, so it was a pleasure to join in with other dealers in an appeal to collect tools and equipment, to be taken directly from the UK to Sofala Province in central Mozambique under the stewardship of TCT Dalmann, who are a part of the conservation company Produto Naturias, whose forestry concession is on the periphery of the 25,000-hectare Gorongosa National Park (gorongosa.org).
As reported in WWC 74, the idea came from Rob Wilson, owner of Dalmann UK, who contacted major dealers asking them to promote a request for customers to donate tools and equipment – anything from turning and carpentry tools to power tools and building equipment.
And the result was staggering.
Where we anticipated a few boxes of tools, the donations ran into several pallets, and it was the same story from all the participating dealers. No money changed hands (not even to the importing ports in Africa due to ministerial influence).
Dalmann UK funded the collection of the pallets and the transport of a 20ft container to Mozambique and TCT Dalmann (TCTD) are organising the distribution and training to the local community.
A strong foundation
TCTD owner Ant White and his wife Pat commented on the success of the campaign: ‘The timing of this initiative and generous support from our UK partners could not have been more perfect. With the opening and/or repair of national and rural roads and the increase of traffic by locals and tourists, a viable and sustainable market is in the offing.‘ The range, quality and number of pieces of equipment and tools has set a strong foundation for us to engage and partner with Park national de Gorongoza and make meaningful contributions to the creation of a sustainable movement in the creative training of the upcoming generation of young people in rural Mozambique. Without this start-up assistance, the initiation of the planned programme would have been extremely unlikely. Start-ups are expensive endeavours, so the presentation of all the goodies in the container blew away any opposition from the sceptics.
‘In anticipation of the arrival of the container we did an experimental preselection of a group and have in fact started the training of 10 young adults, a mix of men and women. It was no surprise to see these learners get stuck in and they have already shown some of their latent skills. ‘The hope is that once established, local and provincial governments will be able to see the benefits of the initiatives and offer some support.’
‘I would add – and Dalmann agree – we could not have done this without GMC and the readers of your woodworking magazines’
Sustainability
TCTD’s mantra is both simple and laudable:
a sustainable contribution to poverty relief coupled with managed activities that contribute to the protection and sustainable use of their natural assets and environment.
The TCTD business and activities include timber and forestry, agriculture, tourism, community and environment, mining – too many activities to list here but a browse of their website is a fascinating read.
With the donated tools and equipment, their efforts are dedicated to the following projects:
- The ongoing training of general carpenters who after training will return to the community to make furniture and build homes, improve doors, windows, etc.
- Using the building tools to reinvigorate the training of artisans and so contribute to a successful project that was launched earlier: the making of fire-cured bricks to build permanent housing.
- Woodturning training. Ant sees this as having huge scope, so wide that he can see this becoming a serious mini-industry within the community.
- A huge boost to generating a sustainable beekeeping industry.
- A robust commitment to reforestation.
Reforestation
As users of timber for our hobbies or businesses, we are all rightly concerned that our wood is sustainably sourced; an easy phrase to trot out and printed on almost every product we consume nowadays, but timber, like our food, should and can be truly sustainable if managed correctly.
TCTD have long been engaged in a robust commitment to reforestation but there is more to it than taking a spade and a clutch of saplings into the bush and waiting for rain. The Catapu concession has a wide and diverse range of wildlife and game that the saplings need protection from. The worst of these are the goats, which any goat owner will understand!
The training and the tools and equipment fit in here because by using the fall-off timber (waste) tree cages can be made. With the training and the supply of tools and fall-off timber, the replanted trees will have a much better chance of survival.
Training in carpentry
In terms of the collection of suitable materials from the forest, the natural resources are vast and offer
a wide range of raw materials for woodworking. The carpentry curriculum will include:
- Hand- or pit-saw sawing along with the commercial operation.
- The methods and importance of air drying, with an introduction to the kiln operation.
- The conversion of raw material into commercial products
- Good building practices to enhance local dwellings.
- The making of roof components, doors, windows and frames
- The fabrication of good quality household furniture.
- Using the arterial routes (rail and roads) to develop a viable and sustainable market.
Training in woodturning
As above, in terms of the collection of suitable materials from the forest, the natural resources are enviable. Oh for a chance to wander into the concession with my Landy and saw to harvest the dead trees left behind by loggers of the past or those killed by forest fires resulting from wild beehives being smoked out!
TCTD already have a woodturning training programme in place, but the new tools mean they can expand the curriculum to include:
- Training in the finding and extraction of suitable pieces/blanks.
- Drying when necessary.
- Turning using basic traditional lathes.
- Introduction to more sophisticated lathes.
- The supply and the use of turning tools.
- The finishing of products.
- Marketing.
Training and building
Some years ago, TCTD introduced a system of making fire-cured clay bricks and the combing of winter hardened grass into durable homestead building material. The reasons being to afford families to construct more permanent homes to negate the need to cut and use poles from the forest. The result has been an encouragement for families to remain on the land they occupy rather than moving after a few years to open new lands using the ‘slash and burn’ agricultural practice.
Training and beekeeping
‘Traditional honey production has been a rural African activity for thousands of years,’ explains Ant. ‘With no other means available, the use of bark hives or the habit of felling trees was their only option. In those times the market was limited to local barter so the environment impact was minimal. In recent times, since the war, Mozambique has been opened up with roads and with the railway lines now functional, the marketing opportunities of honey have exploded. ‘Six years ago, we found 251 trees that had been either felled to extract honey or had been ringbarked to make a traditional hive. I can’t imagine how many other trees had been killed that we did not find.
‘This prompted me to introduce the widely used Kenyan top bar hive (KTB) into central Mozambique. We had the sawmill and a timber resource from the trees killed to provide the material to make the KTB hives. We also built the environmental training school to facilitate the training of rural folk in the use of a commercial hive.
‘It has been a success story. From the devastation of the traditional honey production, we established 600 hives within our neighbouring community. The result has not only been a positive contribution to the elevation of poverty but by putting onto the local market a much higher-grade honey, the incidence of the killing of trees using traditional methods has dropped to five trees found dead from these methods this year. The unhygienic smoke or fire-contaminated honey of traditional
methods of yesteryear has been pushed out of the market. ‘The introduction of the KTB hive has also had a profound social effect as it has capacitated women as beekeepers. Their entry has had an unexpected benefit as we have seen money flow into the homes.’
A successful campaign
The conclusion must be: mission accomplished. It has been a win, win on all counts and we are all very grateful for the support and generosity of our customers.
The participating dealers were:
Charnwood
Exotic Hardwoods UK
Reid Timbers
Snainton Woodworking
Stiles & Bates
Surrey Timbers
The Wood Shed
WP Hardwoods
Yandles
With an especial thanks to:
Oakley Men’s Shed
Cheam Woodturners
whose members also gave generously.
For more information, visit: