Man measures permanent observation areas

Paraguay Agricultural producer trains up skilled workers for sustainable timber value chain

Latin America
GIZ
Classic
Education & Training Sustainable supply chains

Volendam, a privately run cooperative, was founded in 1947 by German emigrants. It now wants to expand its activities in the forestry sector to include the processing of impregnated timber. The move comes in response to strong demand in the San Pedro region of Paraguay. Reforestation is urgently needed to ensure that resource extraction is both economically and environmentally sustainable. Combined agroforestry methods are seen as the way forward here in a region severely affected by poverty. At the time, however, there were not enough people with the timber processing and forestry skills needed to successfully introduce these methods, so the cooperative decided to launch and implement its second project with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the develoPPP funding programme set up by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

Paraguay is one of the countries strongly affected by deforestation. Much of its woodland has been destroyed by overexploitation and conversion into land for crops and grazing. Against this background, the Government is making great efforts to promote reforestation, including in the department of San Pedro. A large number of timber processing companies and co-operatives have been established there. One of these is Volendam, which wants to expand its share of the value chain for timber products. This goal depends in turn on maintaining a reliable source of raw materials, and therefore on faster reforestation, yet at present there are not enough skilled workers to plant the trees and process the timber. 

From 2021 to 2024, the project partners implemented the following measures with a total funding volume of EUR 290,000:

  • Construction of a training centre, provision of technical equipment and design of training courses for forestry work and timber processing
  • Practical training courses to develop the skills of forestry and timber processing workers, e.g. modules on the processing of impregnated timber to make log cabins, electricity poles, livestock sheds and greenhouses with a view to marketing them in the region
  • Reforestation measures

Drawing on its many years of experience, Volendam designed a series of training courses to build up a skills base for the forestry and timber industry and enable trainees to set up their own independent businesses in small groups. GIZ helped Volendam to establish the programme locally through its contacts with relevant public stakeholders and educational bodies, such as the National Forestry Institute (INFONA) and the Agricultural Training and Research Institute (CETAPAR). These organisations are incorporating the courses developed by Volendam into their training curriculum and will run them independently of the project. Another project partner was the Federation of Production Cooperatives (FECOPROD). 
 

The projects with GIZ were important for us to secure the future of the forests we need for our production business and to make employment conditions in the forestry sector attractive enough for future generations to make it their career choice.
Luca Serrati, Head of the Forest Industrial Park, Volendam Cooperative
Creation and marketing of impregnated timber products.
Creation and marketing of impregnated timber products. Photo: © Volendam Ltda.
Tillage in the forestry sector
Training: Tillage in the forestry sector. Photo: © Volendam Ltda.

Thanks to the project, more land has been reforested, and agroforestry methods are now more widely used. A number of timber-processing companies have set up business in the San Pedro region and are planting woodland on a massive scale and introducing a range of forest management systems. The local processing of timber, e.g. impregnation and processing into poles and wooden sheds, greenhouses and barns, has created additional sources of income for the local population. The first timber products are already being marketed in the region. 75 of those who completed the training courses have taken up permanent positions with forestry and timber processing companies in the San Pedro region, including ten at Volendam itself, which now has a more reliable supply of inputs for its timber and grain products as well as long-term access to skilled labour to help it meet demand for production. The agricultural cooperative has also expanded its range of services to include timber impregnation and processing. The project also met with great interest beyond the region, and contacts were established with the forestry industry in Brazil.

DEVELOPMENT SUCCESSES

Graduate hat and spanner

202 certificates awarded to 95 forestry and timber processing workers, 75 in permanent employment 

Three trees

7,000 hectares under reforestation in the      San Pedro region (previously 3,000 ha)

Factory with people and lorries

Timber impregnation, manufacture of timber products and marketing across the region

BUSINESS SUCCESSES

Factory building

New business segment established (impregnated timber processing)

Three trees

Reforestation improves supply of raw materials for timber processing

Woman working at a loom

develoPPP Classic

develoPPP Classic is aimed at medium-sized and large companies that want to invest sustainably in a developing or emerging country and expand their operational activities locally. Suitable projects receive technical and financial support of up to two million euros in public funding.

Logo Volendam

Volendam Cooperative – Cooperativa Volendam Ltda

Volendam is a private-sector producer cooperative in Paraguay. Its main business activities are the sustainable production and marketing of agricultural products and the breeding and marketing of cattle. More recently, it has expanded into timber processing and forestry. Since 1999, the Volendam Colony Association and the Cooperative have supported COVEPA, an initiative designed to help neighbouring villages develop socially and economically and improve their standard of living. Around 240 families have benefited from the programme. 

Logo GIZ

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ (GmbH)

GIZ is a federal enterprise operating in international cooperation for sustainable development and education work for over 50 years. GIZ supports economic development and employment promotion and works with companies to develop strategies for sustainable business.

Norbert Weichselberger
Norbert Weichselberger Head of the cooperative’s advisory service Volendam
Benedict Pfeuffer
Benedict Pfeuffer Project manager develoPPP Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH