Background

In September 2004, the Turning Point Initiative established a working group to explore the sustainable commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) as a way to increase employment and income generation. A concurrent goal was to focus on ways of strengthening and respecting connections to the land and harvesting sustainably, while assisting in small-scale business development.  

Over time, through relationship building and the identification of shared goals, a NTFP Working Group has been established that acts as the management team for the NTFP initiative, and is the crucial link to communications and decision-making at the community level.   Through the work undertaken so far, two projects are now ready to be piloted in preparation for business development, 1) conifer oil distillation and 2) design collaboration with craftspeople. 

 

2009 Activities

  

·      Craft and Design Collaboration Pilot Project - A series of three workshops will be held in each of the Heiltsuk and Haida Nations in 2009 to introduce the objectives of the craft and design collaboration, leading to the identification of craftspeople to work with the designers.  Once partnerships have been identified and a design processes agreed upon, prototypes of products will be developed and refined, leading to a showing at the Harbourfront Centre Gallery in 2010, and to the marketing and sale of products.

·      Introductory Workshop in Wuikinuxv - A community workshop on NTFPs will be held in Wuikinuxv Village in Spring 2009 at the time of cedar bark harvesting.  The workshop will assess interest in the commercialization of NTFPs, past NTFP work, current capacity, and potential “best bets” for development.

·      NTFP Curriculum Guidebook - The Guidebook has been published and mailed to teachers in schools on the Central and North Coast and Haida Gwaii.