BAYAGUANA, Dominican Republic.- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated RD$2.5 million to support 383 agro-forestry producers in the zones of Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal, El Valle, Hato Mayor, Bayaguana, Monte Plata and Zambrana, Cotuí, to help them craft furniture and other items from wood for a competitive market.

The project “Wood drying and cabinetry with small low hill agro-forestry producers” of the Dominican Republic Environment and Development Organization (Enda-Dom) includes the installation of a woodworking factory and a solar wood drying oven in the community Cañuelo de Bayaguana, eastern Monte Plata Province.

The producers also began the forest certification process which will improve the group’s possibility of more income through the sale of higher quality products.

“The producers organizations have increased the quality to their products, and the stability and thrust in the market share, and has driven the creation of jobs and income to families of low income in the countryside,” said USAID Economic Policies Adviser, Duty Greene.