Winners & Losers

Investigating the human and ecological impacts of the commercialisation of

non-timber forest products (NTFPs)

Marula and Crabwood

Background to non-timber forest products (NTFPs)

Millions of people in many parts of the world use a wide variety of forest products, including fruits, nuts, fibres, resins, wood, and oils, contributing to their daily requirements for food, medicine, energy and construction materials. These non-timber forest products (NTFPs) form an important, but often unrecognised and unquantified, component of household income streams. Several factors, including increased need for cash income, and a greater appreciation of their economic potential, have stimulated a recent upsurge in trade in NTFPs. Commercialisation has taken many forms and routes, and has been driven both by local initiatives and externally by development agencies and the private sector.

Marula

		There are few people in Southern Africa who are not familiar with the Marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea) and its fruit, thanks to its widespread distribution, its common use amongst rural communities (especially for brewing beer) and its popularisation through the advertising efforts of the producers of Amarula cream liqueur. Indeed, the Marula tree has many uses: it is an example of an NTFP with considerable commercialisation potential. Its bark provides medicine, its wood is used for carving, its fruits are used in the preparation of juice, beer and jams, and its kernels provide a wholesome snack and high quality oil.
These Marula products have long formed an integral part of the diet, tradition and culture of rural communities in Southern Africa. The usefulness and potential of this plant has not gone unnoticed by entrepreneurs and product developers seeking new commercial opportunities, or by development agencies concerned with improving the welfare of rural dwellers. Increasingly, new Marula-based products are appearing in the market. In Southern Africa these include paste, beer, juice, liqueur, jellies and jams, and oil for the cosmetic industry. These developments, together with its local importance, make Marula an ideal species for a case study to assess the impacts and opportunities of NTFP commercialisation.					Marula fruit
Extracting the Marula kernel	Marula beer				Marula jam

Crabwood

Crabwood oil is produced in Guyana from the seeds of the Crabwood tree (Carapa guianensis), which is common to seasonally inundated forests. It is a member of the Meliaceae family, and widely distributed throughout eastern Amazonia, the Guianas, Trinidad, and Central America as far north as Nicaragua. It is found throughout Guyana, mainly in the marshlands or on the hydromorphic soils of the Cuyuni-Supenaam Region, but large numbers can be found across the entire country. The tree is a sought-after hardwood, and the oil derived from the seeds is known throughout the Amazon Region. In the indigenous languages of the Arawak, Patamona and Akawaio populations of Guyana, it is known as Karaba oil. However, in wider Guyana it is commonly referred to by its Creole name, Crab oil. In Brazil, Europe and North America it is traded under the name of Andiroba oil. While the species is most often used as a source of hardwood, its other uses have important potential, and need to be examined so that appropriate management regimes can be developed.

Crabwood seeds

Kiosk selling crabwood oil

Commercialisation of Crabwood oil has spread through the countries of the Amazon Region. Because of its known benefits, Amerindian communities of rural Guyana and elsewhere have developed methods of processing the seeds within their households. The oil has also become a worthwhile income-generating commodity for some of these people, and indeed it is one of only a few herbal medicines traded in the interior of the country. Because of a lack of knowledge about marketing and prices, it is often sold for much less than its real market value, reducing the benefits to the communities that extract it. This is somewhat ironic, since at an international level, capitalising on the saleability of 100% natural Amazonian forest products, and the cultivation of an “ecological conscience” within the markets in the developed world, there has been a surge in sales of this type of oil. For example, mixed with copaiba, lavender and citronella oils, it is marketed as a relaxing, soothing, yet strong insect repellent. Combined with arnica and rosemary oils, it is promoted as a trauma massage and anti-rheumatic ointment. Indeed this non-toxic and odourless oil is becoming much better known internationally, suggesting positive marketing opportunities for producers throughout the Guianas.

This website is an output from a research project funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. Project R7795 Forestry Research Programme.
For more information about this project contact Dr Caroline Sullivan Design by Dermot O'Regan
Last updated on 25 September 2003 © CEH Wallingford 2003