Ruanda: ProWOOD+ continues to support the Rwandan timber sector

proWOOD was able to successfully establish new and modern vocational training programmes at the Rubengera Technical Campus (RTC) in western Rwanda. The excellence initiative has ensured that highly trained specialists and trainers (e.g. in CNC techniques) are now ensuring that the Rwandan timber sector is supplied with highly qualified specialists and that new and more modern companies are sprouting up in the sector. proWOOD+ will now increasingly focus on supporting precarious workers in the Rwandan timber sector. Through cooperation with trade unions and other partners, the working conditions of the largely informal workers at the state-owned artisan yards are to be improved and skills and knowledge recognised through certification. In addition, the project will expand the ‘Carpentress Club’ initiative launched in proWOOD to promote women in the sector and, like all other activities, roll it out nationwide. In addition, sector-wide round tables, networking events and the highly successful ‘Umubaji Days’ will be used to further develop and unite the timber sector in Rwanda.