Welcome to Puerto Rico
“Forests to Furniture” Artisan EcoTour: May 7 – 16, 2023
About us
GreenWood is designing sustainable development for the real world. We train artisan woodworkers to produce high-quality products from well-managed forests and help connect those products to good markets. We promote appropriate woodworking technology and support the efficient use of lesser-known and lower-value tree species, salvaged wood, and nontimber forest products.
Our goals
Return as much value from every harvested tree to the folks who depend upon—and help sustain—some of earth’s most endangered forest resources.
Create incentives and greater capacity for good forest management.
Strengthen local livelihoods, preserve precious natural resources and reduce carbon emissions, the chief contributor to global climate change.
Why Puerto Rico?
A pile of downed timber in Puerto Rico
In September 2017, Hurricane María left millions of valuable trees on the ground in Puerto Rico. Despite the island’s thriving tropical forest, which now covers an estimated 65% of the landscape, Puerto Rico imports virtually all of its wood products from the US, and it had almost no capacity to salvage or process this downed timber. In the aftermath of María, the US Forest Service invited GreenWood to assist in its recovery of the island’s ecosystem and to help create markets for local timber along with greater incentives and capacity for responsible forest management and local wood processing.
The mission of this journey
Traditional Puerto Rican saint carvings
In response to this catastrophe, GreenWood designed the Artisan EcoTour program. Combining hands-on woodworking workshops, under the expert guidance of a team of woodworking instructors, with an immersion in the tropical rainforest, we aim to strengthen the connection between Puerto Rico’s diverse tropical forest and its vibrant community of wood artisans—two of the island’s most valuable resources.
Our first Artisan EcoTour experiences, “Forests to Furniture,” featuring woodworking instructors Michael Fortune (Canada) and René Delgado (Puerto Rico), are focused on furniture inspiration, design, and construction. At the same time, we’re developing a diverse menu of other collaborative Artisan EcoTour workshops, featuring woodturning, sculpture, carving, and lutherie—all linked to the tropical Puerto Rican landscape. Strengthening the local artisan and forestry economy, your participation in GreenWood’s Artisan EcoTours will promote the island’s recovery and enhance its resilience to the challenging climate events that lie ahead.
Students at work during a recent Artisan EcoTour
The Artisan Ecotours promote sustainable use of wood resources and are supported in part by the USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Program, the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry, and the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the GreenWood team:
Scott Landis, GreenWood Founder/President
Luis González, Artisan EcoTour Coordinator