Timber iQ December 2018 - January 2019 // Issue: 41 | Page 7

NEWS
New school desks fight
invaders and teach skills
South Africa's Eco-Furniture factories are creating jobs and delivering
quality products that equip schools across the country with new desks.
Here alien invader trees are brought in
and cut, after which the wood is dried
with kilns located at Ga-Rankuwa,
Gauteng.
Currently, there are seven factories,
with some possible extension of the
programme to support the other
value-added industry initiatives such
as the construction of houses from
alien invasive material. Each
contribute significantly to skills
development as well as job creation.
Hired and transported from nearby
communities, workers at the factories
are trained and skilled in a variety of
trades including tree harvesting, mill
operations and carpentry. While the
project currently focuses on school
desks, it also produces other products
such as eco-coffins.
The project has been instrumental
in helping indigenous vegetation claim
The MTO Group, SANParks and the Eco-Furniture factories are giving back to
back its environment from invader
community and sustainability through the donation of wooden school desks.
plants. Water-hungry invaders such as
eucalyptus (or ‘bloekom’) trees are
targeted for removal. Teams are trained to cut and transport
he MTO Group recently assisted SANParks in providing
the trees, as well as process them at the mill, which helps
desks to schools as part of an empowerment project
to expand the skilled workforce for the forestry sector, one
that helps the environment, creates jobs and skills and
of South Africa’s major contributors to GDP.
gives future generations a better chance at a brighter future.
Since its initial involvement in 2014, MTO aims to
Each desk was manufactured at one of the Eco-Furniture
continue to support the programme, notes Jan Huyser,
factories, a project of the Department of Environmental
environmental manager at MTO Forestry. He continues, “We
Affairs. These factories, managed by SANParks and
mainly supply the wet mill that is used in Graskop and the
supported by municipalities and private companies such as
invader trees are supplied from our adjacent plantations
MTO, create quality wooden products including the school
and private land.
desks, using material harvested from alien invader trees.
“It’s been a fantastic relationship and the level of overall
“The Eco-Furniture factories create a great environment
quality
and benefits in what these factories create is
for collaboration,” says Amelia Maree, operational support
excellent.
The eco factories project is amazing and
manager at SANParks. “We have the support of industry
deserves our support and patronage. Today it’s about
such as MTO, and SANParks acts as the agent for the project.
school desks, but in the future, we can expect even
It shows that everyone can win, including our natural world.
greater things.”
By removing alien trees and converting them into school
desks, the eco factories are encouraging change across
several spheres in South Africa. It’s something the country
can be very proud of.”
One core part of this network is the Graskop Wet Mill
located in Mpumalanga. An MTO site, the mill is now being
used free of charge by the Eco-Furniture Programme.
– Amelia Maree
T
"The Eco-Furniture factories create a
great environment for collaboration,"
www.timberiq.co.za
// DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019
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