King’s Foundation/Guyana collaboration – Joinery, blacksmithing, sustainable development being taught – STS rep

A Sustainable Thinking Scotland (STS) team has spent three weeks at Highgrove and Dumfries House in Scotland receiving training in joinery and sustainable development as part of its collaboration with the King’s Foundation. The training is intended to strengthen the group’s capacity to work with forest materials and develop products from resources collected from the forest floor. The initiative was highlighted by President Dr Irfaan Ali in a video posted to his social media page, during which an STS representative outlined the group’s experience at the facilities.
According to the representative, the programme included exposure to joinery, blacksmithing and other areas of sustainable development. The representative said the STS team worked alongside a joiner, identified as Bob L, for three weeks, learning techniques that could be used to train others in joinery. “It was quite amazing work. We usually do these kinds of joinery woodworks, in a sense. Also, they offer blacksmithing classes and other areas of sustainable development itself,” the representative said. The training, he added, has helped the group to build its capacity to teach joinery work. President Ali said the next step would involve using materials sourced from the forest floor to create finished products.

“And you guys are now going to harvest from the floor of the forest and create products,” the President said. The STS representative said the group’s aim is to take products made from Guyana’s forest resources directly to consumers. “We would like to bring the story from the forest to the homes of citizens and other people,” the representative said. The initiative is part of the collaboration between Guyana and the King’s Foundation, which has focused on sustainable development, skills training and the application of practical approaches to community development.
The King’s Foundation operates from Dumfries House and has programmes covering areas including construction, traditional crafts, sustainable agriculture, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and skills development.
During Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo’s visit to Scotland in April, he toured several of the Foundation’s programmes at Dumfries House and engaged with officials on its international collaboration with Guyana. That engagement also included discussions on sustainable urban development and the development of practical skills suited to climate-resilient economies.