Press Release 19 July 2002

Crabwood Oil Video to be Released

The noted documentary film maker and academic, Anthony Cunningham, and Resource Economist, Caroline Sullivan from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology-UK, collaborators in the Iwokrama Crabwood Oil Project, visited Guyana from June 28-July 7 to film Crabwood Oil production as part of a documentary video on Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP's) in Guyana and Southern Africa. The Iwokrama team members were Sharon Ousman and Sabanto Tokoroho.

The Iwokrama Centre has been collaborating with the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology-UK (CEH) on a Crabwood Oil market feasibility study since July 2000. This Project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) - Forest Research Programme (FRP). This project is aimed at identifying the "winners and losers" from the development and commercialisation of NTFP's from two tree species, one in Southern Africa and the other in Guyana. Crabwood oil is obtained from the fruit of the Crabwood tree (Carapa guianensis).

The team visited Fairview Village, located within the Iwokrama Forest, to document the Crabwood Oil making processes and to conduct interviews with the villagers. On the video visit, the villagers recorded local views on the superiority of the oil over pharmaceutical products, uses of the seeds by wildlife, and other ecological values of the crabwood tree. The team also filmed the launching of the Fairview Crabwood Oil Project to study the ecology of the Crabwood trees.

The Video Production team next visited 4 communities in Region 10, the main Crabwood Oil producing region in Guyana. The team visited Wiruni, Ebini, Kimbia and Sand Hills from July 3-5, 2002 to obtain footage of the different stages of Crabwood Oil making carried on at household and group levels.

This video will raise awareness on the potential of Crabwood Oil products that can appeal to local, regional and international markets. The target audiences for the video are primarily forest communities, policy makers and the wider public, both in Guyana and the rest of the world. It aims to help in the promotion and marketing of Crabwood Oil from a community-based perspective.

The video is also being produced for the purpose of disseminating the information generated from Iwokrama's research project on Crabwood Oil. It is designed to inform people, particularly those using NTFP's, about the values of their knowledge and lifestyles, with a view to helping them function more effectively in a global economy.