Community Articles
General News · 13th January 2023
CCFC - Kate
Date: Saturday, January 28, 11 til 3 pm
Place: Klahoose Multi-Purpose Building
Lunch served!
Everyone in the community is invited to attend a meeting with the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative to discuss ideas on how Cortes Island can support the value-added wood sector. The Co-op is trying to build a greater understanding of how Cortes Island can support the use of wood harvested on the island, and what initiatives have worked in other communities.
If you are any one of the following, we welcome your attendance at this meeting, and for you to bring your positive ideas and perspectives:
- Attended “Making it on Cortes” workshops in the past
- Work in the forestry sector as a logger or miller/sawyer
- Make things with wood
- Are interested in making things with wood but don’t have the training, equipment or workshop space
- Care about keeping raw logs on Cortes Island to make products out of local wood
- Care about the “circular economy” or keeping wood harvested here in circulation on the island as long as possible for the greatest economic and ecological benefit to the community
Rami Rothkop and Oliver Scholfield have been hired to facilitate this meeting, collect your ideas, and create a “Value-Added Forest Products Business Roadmap.” Both have worked on similar initiatives, helping small communities and First Nations in BC map out feasibility studies and business plans for value-added wood products.
In this meeting Rami and Oliver will include a brief presentation on success with the Harrop-Proctor Community Forest business in the Value-Added sector. They will also facilitate discussions on the following questions:
- what are the obstacles to using local wood for construction contractors?
- what products can local millers produce that will be most competitive?
- what does Cortes Island need to make more wood products from local wood?
....and other questions identified by participants of this meeting.
Since 1999 the Harrop-Proctor Community Forest (HPCF) has managed the forests to produce ecologically responsible wood products and non-timber forest products.
The HPCF manages their forest for several values that enhance the community’s ecology and economy. Their objectives include sustainable harvest rates and the creation of a diverse range of wood products, including sawlogs, peelers, building logs, poles, firewood, pulp, and specialty wood products. Their vision is to have few unprocessed logs leave the community and to incorporate value added-forestry through local milling and sorting.
There are several differences between the community forests of Cortes and Harrop-Proctor, and not all solutions that worked for Harrop-Proctor will work equally for Cortes. However their experience will offer a valuable discussion to critically examine possibilities to serve Cortes Island’s efforts toward greater value-added forest products development.
More about Rami and Oliver:
Rami Rothkop
Rami grew up in Procter, B.C., where he continues to live. He has been successful in numerous business and service-related ventures spanning more than 30 years. Rami’s most relevant experience is with Harrop-Procter Forest Products, which he co-launched as the Community Forest’s value added division. He soon took over the role as manager and the business grew quickly and has evolved into a well-known and respected source of a broad range of competitively priced, locally designed economic alternatives that benefit people in the places they call home. Rami is putting his experience to good use helping other communities achieve their own successful forest product-based community business goals.
Oliver Scholfield
Oliver grew up in Jersey in the Channel Islands, UK, before moving to Vancouver in 2011 to study at the University of British Columbia (UBC). After completing his undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Conservation, he went on to gain a master’s degree in business management, also from UBC. Oliver has experience in business planning and financial analysis and has worked closely with several communities on feasibility studies for small-scale ventures in the past. He has also completed a 'Financial Modeling & Valuations Analyst' certification from the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) to further develop his financial modeling skills.
Rami and Oliver have worked on several projects similar to this in the past, helping small communities and First Nations in BC map out feasibility studies and business plans for value-added wood products.
Please also see this video about the success of Harrop-Procter Forest Products https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJUG6HSFpAk
Carpooling to this event is encouraged!
The Cortes Community Forest Cooperative is grateful to the Island Coastal Economic Trust for funding that helped make this project possible.
If you have any questions about this initiative, or require more information, please contact Kate Maddigan at kate.maddigan[at]gmail.com, or call 0242.
Place: Klahoose Multi-Purpose Building
Lunch served!
Everyone in the community is invited to attend a meeting with the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative to discuss ideas on how Cortes Island can support the value-added wood sector. The Co-op is trying to build a greater understanding of how Cortes Island can support the use of wood harvested on the island, and what initiatives have worked in other communities.
If you are any one of the following, we welcome your attendance at this meeting, and for you to bring your positive ideas and perspectives:
- Attended “Making it on Cortes” workshops in the past
- Work in the forestry sector as a logger or miller/sawyer
- Make things with wood
- Are interested in making things with wood but don’t have the training, equipment or workshop space
- Care about keeping raw logs on Cortes Island to make products out of local wood
- Care about the “circular economy” or keeping wood harvested here in circulation on the island as long as possible for the greatest economic and ecological benefit to the community
Rami Rothkop and Oliver Scholfield have been hired to facilitate this meeting, collect your ideas, and create a “Value-Added Forest Products Business Roadmap.” Both have worked on similar initiatives, helping small communities and First Nations in BC map out feasibility studies and business plans for value-added wood products.
In this meeting Rami and Oliver will include a brief presentation on success with the Harrop-Proctor Community Forest business in the Value-Added sector. They will also facilitate discussions on the following questions:
- what are the obstacles to using local wood for construction contractors?
- what products can local millers produce that will be most competitive?
- what does Cortes Island need to make more wood products from local wood?
....and other questions identified by participants of this meeting.
Since 1999 the Harrop-Proctor Community Forest (HPCF) has managed the forests to produce ecologically responsible wood products and non-timber forest products.
The HPCF manages their forest for several values that enhance the community’s ecology and economy. Their objectives include sustainable harvest rates and the creation of a diverse range of wood products, including sawlogs, peelers, building logs, poles, firewood, pulp, and specialty wood products. Their vision is to have few unprocessed logs leave the community and to incorporate value added-forestry through local milling and sorting.
There are several differences between the community forests of Cortes and Harrop-Proctor, and not all solutions that worked for Harrop-Proctor will work equally for Cortes. However their experience will offer a valuable discussion to critically examine possibilities to serve Cortes Island’s efforts toward greater value-added forest products development.
More about Rami and Oliver:
Rami Rothkop
Rami grew up in Procter, B.C., where he continues to live. He has been successful in numerous business and service-related ventures spanning more than 30 years. Rami’s most relevant experience is with Harrop-Procter Forest Products, which he co-launched as the Community Forest’s value added division. He soon took over the role as manager and the business grew quickly and has evolved into a well-known and respected source of a broad range of competitively priced, locally designed economic alternatives that benefit people in the places they call home. Rami is putting his experience to good use helping other communities achieve their own successful forest product-based community business goals.
Oliver Scholfield
Oliver grew up in Jersey in the Channel Islands, UK, before moving to Vancouver in 2011 to study at the University of British Columbia (UBC). After completing his undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Conservation, he went on to gain a master’s degree in business management, also from UBC. Oliver has experience in business planning and financial analysis and has worked closely with several communities on feasibility studies for small-scale ventures in the past. He has also completed a 'Financial Modeling & Valuations Analyst' certification from the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) to further develop his financial modeling skills.
Rami and Oliver have worked on several projects similar to this in the past, helping small communities and First Nations in BC map out feasibility studies and business plans for value-added wood products.
Please also see this video about the success of Harrop-Procter Forest Products https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJUG6HSFpAk
Carpooling to this event is encouraged!
The Cortes Community Forest Cooperative is grateful to the Island Coastal Economic Trust for funding that helped make this project possible.
If you have any questions about this initiative, or require more information, please contact Kate Maddigan at kate.maddigan[at]gmail.com, or call 0242.