The Open Market in Katima Mulilo recently saw the inauguration of a new community based business model, when member communities of the CFNEN* project opened a joint market booth. In future communities can sell their forest products (rafters, droppers, poles, planks, thatching grass, firewood etc) through a marketing committee, which was founded out of their midst.
One of the greatest challenges for Community Forests in North-Eastern Namibia (CFNEN project) is the creation of income for rural people, who have almost no access to the local trade in terms of transport or trading skills. Therefore communities which are participating in the project have now named people among them, who form a marketing committee, respon-sible for the sales of their products.
The marketing committee acts like an enterprise and is a middle man for the connected communities. It buys products to be sold at the market booth and immediately pays the harvesters and producers of forest related products. As a “business body” it works demand driven and will regulate supply, demand and prizes in favour of the member communities.
Currently seven communities each send one person to the committee.