Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

G R E E NL I V E L I H O O D Sit to the United States. Another valuable species, SantaMaria, is sold for export to Mexico, while other native timbersuch as Spanish cedar finds ready local markets (Nittler andTschinkel 2005:17–18).Enterprise members enjoy distinct advantages over theirneighbors. They earn an estimated average of US$1,140 duringthe two to three months when full time work is available forharvesting and processing within the concessions (Chemonics2003: 6). The rest of the year they typically take other jobs, suchas working on farms or ranches, although some members workyear-round on the concessions, processing timber and harvestingand processing non-timber products.Annual household incomes outside concessions can beas low as US$1,200 a year, the same amount that theaverage employed concession member earns in two to threemonths (Chemonics 2003:6). Not only do enterprisestypically pay a higher day rate than the regional prevailingwage, but some also pay members an annual dividend(Chemonics and IRG 2000:A-IV-14).As their income and business acumen has grown, someenterprises have also branched out into ecotourism, independentof donor support, providing additional jobs for local people.Arbol Verde, for example, built a small hotel, while Uaxactun,the gateway to Mayan temple country, has developed tour guideprograms and a handicrafts center (Stoian and Rodas 2006b:6;Chemonics 2006:18–19).Improving Quality of LifeWhile not all enterprises have fulfilled their own regulations onbenefit-sharing with the wider community, most have invested inmuch-needed local infrastructure and services. In the early years,for example, Unión Maya Itzá purchased two buses and a truckfor community use; Carmelita built a bridge, San Miguelinstalled a potable water system, and La Pasadita built a dispensary(Chemonics and IRG 2000:A-IV-14–15).More recently, several enterprises have provided socialservices that are transforming poor families’ quality of life andyoung people’s prospects. For example, the Conservation andManagement Organization that manages the Uaxactun concessionoperates an emergency fund that the town’s poorest familiescan draw on for medical care. It also pays several high schoolteachers salaries and funds computer classes for 22 students inthe provincial capital. “We invest in education because we wantthe next generation to be well-trained and capable of defendingour interests,” says the organization’s board secretary, FloridalmaAx (Rainforest Alliance 2007c:2).CARMELITA: A CONCESSION SUCCESS STORYThe remote forest town of Carmelita, nestled among Mayan ruins in thecentral Petén, was among the first to receive a concession contract fromCONAP, in 1996. With assistance from U.S. non-profit Conservation Internationaland the Wildlife Conservation Society and later with support fromChemonics and the Rainforest Alliance, it has made productive use of its53,798 ha of forest (Nittler 2008; Stoian and Rodas 2006a:2). The 127members of the cooperative enterprise (56 percent male and 44 percentfemale) that manages the concession have set aside 20,000 ha for timberproduction and 33,798 ha for harvesting non-timber forest products,primarily xate ornamental palms and chicle gum (Stoian and Rodas2006a:6). In recent years, the community has offered guided ecotours onfoot and horseback into neighboring El Mirador park, which is rich inarcheological sites (Stoian and Rodas 2006a:7).Despite felling timber on less than 1 percent of their land, enterprisemembers have significantly increased their income by selling certifiedmahogany and NTFPs and by investing in a community sawmill andcarpentry shop. Sawn wood from first-class mahogany fetched US$1,781per cubic meter in 2006, up from US$742 per cubic meter in 2000 (Molnaret al. 2007:171–172). Since 2003, individual enterprise members havealso reaped an impressive average annual income from sales of xate andchicle of around US$2,300 (Chemonics 2003:7).The community forestry enterprise is the largest local employer, providingseasonal logging and wild plant harvesting work for about 90 people and30 permanent jobs in sawmills. More than a third of earnings are ploughedback into community development and improved forestry technology andmanagement (Stoian and Rodas 2006a:13).DAYS OF WAGES PROVIDED BY CARMELITA CONCESSION, 2005Activity Non-Members Members TotalTimber extraction 250 2,000 2,250Wood processing 1,000 3,000 4,000Xate collection - - - 400 400Chicle collection - - - 200 200Tourism 50 100 150Total 1,300 5,700 7,000Source: Stoian and Rodas 2006: 13The future is not without hazards, as Carmelita’s members sometimes haveto fend off encroaching settlers, cattle ranchers from the south, and illegalloggers from the north. But the enterprise has strengthened its prospectsby expanding markets and pooling resources with other EFCs by joiningboth FORESCOM and a non-timber forest products marketing alliance(Stoian and Rodas 2006a:5). “Our parents protected this forest for ourbenefit and it is our responsibility to protect it for future generations,” saysthe enterprise’s 23-year-old president Carlos Crasborn (Rainforest Alliance2007b:2; Pool et al. 2002:94).135