Katunda Magambo Shabani has become the first student to receive a special Dolphin Bay award for the top student in wood treatment at the Forestry and Wood Industry Training Centre (FWITC) in Tanzania.

This is the latest development in our partnership with the centre, where we helped to add a wood treatment module to the curriculum eight years ago as part of our efforts to promote quality wood treatment in the region.

“You make me proud in my career as a wood treatment and wood processing attendant,” said Katunda, who also received a small cash reward after completing the two-year wood processing programme. “Thank you, Dolphin Bay, for your support to me and my colleagues!”

The centre is located in Mafinga, about 75 km from Iringa in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands – the heart of the country’s forestry industry. It was established in 2016 by the Participatory Plantation Forest Programme, with funding from the Finnish government and in partnership with Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, to provide practical, competence-based, vocational education and training.

The centre offers forestry-related training across the board, from starting a nursery to planting, forestry practices, harvesting, and value addition, said Dolphin Bay’s Darren Marillier. “In our early conversations with them, we found that wood treatment was missing from their curriculum. Now it’s a central element of the wood processing course, which also includes sawmilling, charcoal and brickette production, joinery and furniture production, and wood drying.”

To support the training in timber treatment, Dolphin Bay supplied the centre with a small treatment plant, kitted out with a laboratory, a moisture metre, hydrometer, drying equipment, and other industry-appropriate equipment. “Students at the centre get the basic training they need to enter the working world and become treatment plant operators,” said Darren. “They know about retention, penetration, how treatment plants work – all the foundational knowledge.”

Dolphin Bay continues to work closely with the centre. “Whenever I’m in Tanzania I always try to schedule some time there, helping students and answering their questions,” said Darren. “On my last visit I had the chance to speak to a group of about 15 students, and they really look up to us as a business because they know about our reputation in the industry.”

“This qualification is very important for the students as they are learning by doing,” said Freeman Massawe, a tutor at the centre. “We use competence-based training, so once our graduates are employed, they are suitable for the position. We also give careful consideration to the entrepreneurship aspect of training, as we are very aware of the crisis of unemployment.”

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Freeman made a special mention of Dolphin Bay. “We are happy to have this collaboration,” he said later. “The company trained our trainers on the proper use of the treatment plant – including the procedures for treating wood, timber preparation, preparation of chemicals, testing the quality according to specifications, recording keeping, safety, and more.”

“Katunda and his fellow graduates will now go out into the industry with practical vocational training,” said Bertus. “Dolphin Bay is proud to play a part in the centre’s work in developing young talent.”

Last word:

“It is interesting for us, as we write these stories on very diverse topics, that one element keeps on reoccurring. This is the intent of the person to either add value to society or remove it, so that others either benefit or must bear the consequences of that person’s actions.

“We at Dolphin Bay are very conscious of this effect and choose to be people who add value.”