Short Summary
Hi all! Back in 2009 when I was in college, I was working for a marine construction company in order to pay for school. I noticed a high demand for a certain type of wood in all of their government contracts and was facinated about how unavailable the wood was and why it was in such high demand.
Long story short, I decided to go and find the wood myself. I traveled down to South America and went deep into the jungle in order to find people who knew about it. I ended up becoming very close with the forestry commission, who works so hard to keep the Guyanese Forest sustainable. It turns out that in order to keep track of trees being cut down, stumps of wood are left for the forestry commission to count so that trees can be properly re-planted. After they are marked by the forestry commission, the stumps are burned in order to re-plant more trees.
It didn't make sense to me to burn the most beautiful part of the tree; the stump! So now I want to import hem here and make furniture out of them. I am overly passionate about making this a successful business that can bring beautiful and sustainable wood to the states.
What We Need & What You Get
- The funding that I need is for the cost of getting the wood out of the jungle. I would have to hire some wonderful Guyanese people to do this. I would also have to pay the owner of the concession for the stumps(he deserves to make money too:) Importing and shipping is expensive! About $7000 will go toward shipping costs and importation fees. The left over money, plus whatever I have personally will go into storing the wood and using a shared studio space tp cease the tables.
- What is so unique about this project is that no one else has this wood! Also, most wood that is so beautiful from this part of the world can never be considered sustainable.
The Impact
The impact is high for the people of Guyana. This is a new project for them that would create jobs and excitement.
Risks & Challenges
The risks in this is dealing is getting the wood successfully out of the jungle and safely to NY! I have a lot of experience with importation and foreign economy, and I have also developed very strong relationships with the forestry commission and the Guyanese people. I am hoping this will be highly beneficial in overcoming these challenges.
Other Ways You Can Help
Spread the word. Enthusiasm and Interest is just as worthy as anything!