| InterAmerican InterAction Newsletter |
September
2002
|
Chainsaw
Mill
by Jerry Moomaw
While IAIA's chainsaw and sawmilling guide were still on order, the Ministry of Agriculture loaned a chainsaw mill to the Columbia village chairman. Connie and I went down to the village for the training workshop and sawing demonstration. After an hour, it was clear that the trainers were not going to show up. That left only one person in the group of twelve or so men who had any lumbering experience - me.
So we all trundled over to the burial grounds where there was a large bitterwood tree down. The men nailed a 2" x 6" x 10' guideboard onto the log while I sat nearby feverishly studying the manual.
The
first slab came off. The log was rolled ¼ turn by the force of
six men pushing on it and another two shouting instructions. The 2 x
6 was nailed on and the second slab came off. One more time the process
was repeated, and then came the moment everyone waited for - the first
board. It was a beauty! A half hour later, we had a stack of eight boards
lying there that we'd cut ourselves. It took a 
few
minutes and an impartial observer to realize that all of those beautiful
boards were 13" wide on one end and 11" wide on the other!
So we made some adjustments, assisted by a teacher at the nearby vocational
school who had stopped by. By day's end, we had four trained operators
and a reasonable idea about how to saw quality lumber.
With IAIA funding, we purchased safety equipment and a few small tools and checked in on the group every few days as they worked cooperatively to saw lumber for each man in the group. Another group was formed, and then another, but then the saw broke down and needed major repairs when it was returned to the Ministry.
The IAIA Stihl 038 saw, with a 30" bar and a 36" Alaska guide, didn't arrive until April, but by then we had learned some valuable lessons. We were able to get it set up and running almost immediately, and it has been heavily used during these past four months.
I
trained two men to operate the mill, both for their own use and on a
paid labor basis for others. They in turn have trained several others.
The trainings take place at our farm, where we can pay them to produce
lumber that we will use while they are learning and teaching.
IAIA charges a US$5 daily maintenance fee for the use of the saw. In several cases, we've exchanged labor for the fee. Fuel is expensive in Belize, so we've helped out with that, too. The operation is not quite sustainable, but close enough to feel like a great success, and the farmers are grateful for the opportunity we've provided.