Non-timber forest products, or NTFPs, are a broad group of nature’s commodities that can be harvested without felling trees. These range from game animals such as signal crayfish and rabbits to nuts and fruit.

NTFPs are in no way a modern concept. They are how indigenous forest communities have lived in harmony with their rainforests for centuries. That being said, an increase in the desire for tropical hardwoods has thrown this harmony out of balance.

In countries that turn a blind eye to logging, indigenous communities can earn faster money selling timber than they can through farming.

We believe that by commercialising the NTFPs that they wild-collect, as well as the rainforest superfoods that they grow, we can work with indigenous communities, turning them into their own forest wardens. They would protect the forests, which are now a source of income, from loggers rather than becoming loggers themselves.

NTFP-Related Areas