Our new client Komaza is the latest signatory to the Dolphin Bay Quality Pledge – and the Kenyan company sees the pledge as confirmation that they have made the right choice by joining the Dolphin Bay family.
“The Quality Pledge is a beautiful idea,” said Komaza Processing Director Charles Kimiti. “It’s a new thing for us, but it tells us that Dolphin Bay will go out of their way to ensure that we are compliant with regulations and quality standards.
“That’s a good thing from Komaza’s point of view, because it means that Dolphin Bay is a responsible company.”
“It’s still too early to talk about Dolphin Bay’s CCA as we have just signed up with them, but I can speak about the quality of their service to the moon and back.”
Komaza signed the pledge as part of its onboarding as a new Dolphin Bay customer, having signed a CCA supply agreement with us just a few months ago.
The company’s business plan is built on sustainability, with the its mission being to revive the productivity of degraded lands in the most deforested areas. It sources its timber from a network of 25 000 smallholder farmers in Kenya, aiming to turn underutilised land into thriving microforests while sustainably serving Africa’s increasing demand for treated timber.
The Komaza model is based on assisting local communities to grow small plantings of trees, explained Dolphin Bay’s Wayne Driemeyer. Komaza supplies the seedlings and know-how, and helps the local communities to make sure the trees are correctly pruned and managed through its tech platform, which enables real-time observation. The timber is then sold back to Komaza, which treats and sells it. “It’s a win-win model, which gives Komaza one of the biggest forestry resources in Kenya,” observed Wayne.
Through its work with those local farmers, Komaza has increased the total tree cover in coastal and central Kenya by 9 500 hectares and has planted more than eight million trees. Africa faces an estimated $30 billion wood deficit by 2030, which cannot be served by existing plantations alone, and Komaza aims to plant 1 billion trees across Africa by that date. Through these efforts, it aims to generate $125 million per year in income for farmers and their families by 2050.
“Komaza’s business plan is built on sustainability. They source their timber from 25 000 smallholder farmers in Kenya, aiming to turn underutilised land into thriving microforests.”
Komaza initially set up on the Kenyan coast, in a beautiful seaside town called Kilifi, said Wayne. They started with forestry; then came the CCA treatment plant. They have since moved into central Kenya too, where they have established a large sawmill. “Komaza is a growing company, with a huge drive behind it. They’re a forward-thinking operation, and that philosophy filters through the whole company.”
Komaza signed a supply agreement with Dolphin Bay at the end of 2022, and their first container of CCA landed in April.
“The reason we moved to Dolphin Bay is the consistent customer service – even when we were not yet customers,” said Charles. “I am very confident that this relationship will result in the continued good quality of our products. It’s still too early to talk about Dolphin Bay’s product, but I can speak about the quality of their service to the moon and back.”
“We see Komaza as one of the most impeccable businesses in the East African forestry industry,” Wayne concluded. “We believe this is going to be a good partnership. We’re really looking forward to working with them.”
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- REGULATIONS FINALISED - October 22, 2024
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