Resource information
Small-scale forest-based processing enterprises comprise an important, but neglected, part of the forestry and forest industries sector. They process a large part of the raw materials from the forest and supply some of the main markets for forest products, in particular in the rural areas of developing countries. Our concern in the work reported on in this publication has been to determine the main features, prospects and problems of such small-scale enterprises and what support could enhance their developmental contribution, and therefore the developmental impact of the forest sector. Many small enterprises are currently unstable, and offer little security or prospect of self-reliance for those engaged in them. These problems need to be tackled by promoting viable enterprises run by rural people through effective participatory organizations which can increase peoples' control over their own economic destiny. External support to increase production and efficiency needs to be compatible with those valuable elements of local culture which still have a role to play in the modern context.
