Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation

Wavell Standa-Gunda and Oliver Braedt 187

woodland dominated by the genera Brachystegia and Julbernardia (Frost 1996).

The abundance of tree species used in the woodcarving sector showed an

average 3.9 trees per hectare with a carveable wood volume of 4.6 m^3 /ha

(Braedt 2002). The tree species used for woodcarving account for over 25% of

the wood volume of all the 78 tree species recorded (total average carveable

volume for all tree species = 17.5 m^3 /ha).

Historically, wood was carved for cultural and religious symbols and as

household utensils. Now woodcarvings are produced primarily for sale to

tourists. Woodcarving production is an important activity throughout the region,

e.g. in South Africa (Steenkamp 1999, citing Clark and Magagula 1994), Malawi

(Marshall et al. 2000), Kenya (Obunga 1995), Namibia (The Namibian 1999)

and Zimbabwe (Braedt and Standa-Gunda 2000; Matose et al. 1997). In southern

African countries the sector tends to be unstructured with the bulk of carvings

sold at roadside markets.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CRAFT MARKETS

Location and ownership of raw materials

The major raw materials in the carving business are logs, usually collected

from natural woodlands. None of the tree species used for carving is cultivated.

Eighty-seven percent of the people in the whole road survey suggested that

they harvested and collected logs from communal areas, whilst the remainder

said they collected from small-scale commercial farms and resettlement areas.

Although it is locally perceived that logs in communal areas and resettlement

Note: Mean annual cash revenue equals Z$2,776 (95% confidence interval for mean = 2,147

• 3,407) (US$1 = Z$11.30). Cash income sources: Forest products = sale of indigenous fruit;
  sale of firewood; woodcarving; brick making; basketry; pottery; stone carving; gold panning;
  sale of wild meat; sale of fish; wild fruit beer. Agricultural products = sale of livestock; sale
  of livestock products; hiring out of livestock; sale of field crops; sale of vegetables; sale of
  exotic fruits; crop beer; farm work. Introduced products = carpentry; knitting; crochet;
  sewing; tie and dye. Employment based = formal employment; social welfare; pension.
  Other = gifts; respondents unwilling to specify source.
  Source: Braedt 2002.

Figure 2. Percentages of total household cash incomes for craft sector and

non-craft sector participants (n = 139)

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