Why is SMARTimbers good for the landholder?

The SMARTimbers model suits what small-scale landholders and farm foresters want.

It celebrates, rather than frowning on, a diversity of tree species.

for their trees to serve a wide range of purposes from shelter to aesthetics,wildlife habitat to controlling land degradation. While farm foresters regard selective logging as helping provide an essential source of income diversification, it is not necessarily the overriding goal behind their tree planting.

It will offer training and support in selective silviculture, thereby enabling best practice management of either plantation or farm forest.

Operating alone, a landholder can expect little more than a low stumpage return at harvest time. Membership of a co-operative achieves economies of scale by aggregating members’ wood and non-wood products within a single desk marketing structure.

By pursuing a niche market, value adding approach SMARTimbers will optimise returns to grower members from their small scale, but intensively managed, plantation or farm forest.
 

Why is SMARTimbers good for the buyer and community?

SMARTimbers will be selling unsung local species, the equal of any exotic imported timber for beauty, strength and durability. That increases the range of choice, while strengthening our culture and economy.

Farm foresters and small-scale landholders are naturally inclined to provide a personalised service. SMARTimbers will emulate this aspect of its grower members.

SMARTimbers is putting in place a chain of custody that will ensure the delivery of a quality assured product. A series of strategic alliances is being established between the co-operative and other like-minded, small scale, local processors, ensuring that control is maintained over quality, while boosting job creation in regional areas.

As its value added end product, SMARTimbers will offer architects, interior designers and furniture manufacturers a range of specialty kiln dried timbers. To achieve this, SMARTimbers intends to venture into downstream processing by establishing its own kiln drying facility.
 

Why is SMARTimbers good for the environment?

Timber is one of the few renewable material resources. People are, however, increasingly concerned about whether or not the timber they buy can be traced back to a well-managed plantation or forest.

Purchasing a SMARTimbers product will allay these fears. SMARTimbers intends to live up to its name, by seeking independently audited accreditation of members’ plantation and forest management practices so that the co-op can assure people who buy a product branded with the SMARTimbers logo that it comes from a well-managed source. Instituting an EMS will be a condition of membership.