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Bolivian logging experience

Started by harrymontana, December 23, 2012, 10:25:40 AM

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harrymontana

Just back from the logging site with the mud and musquito bits still in my hair, these are the first steps where beautiful ipe decking and flooring is being 'produced':


logging camp located in the Bolivian part of the Amazon forest. This camp is aprox 4 weeks in use in order to move on further and set up a new camp. People sleep here, drink and take a shower from a barrel. Between the mill and this camp there is a daily pick up truck driving with all the supplies and spare parts.


logging camp from another angle
everything on hardwood

Holmes

Welcome to the FF harrymontana  ;D That certainly is an un elaborate camp ;D How many tractors, chainsaws and people  there?
Think like a farmer.

mad murdock

Welcome to the forestry forum harrymontana. Interesting Venture you are on there. What type of mill operation do they use in the remote camp? What is the primary species that they are logging and processing?
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

harrymontana

for the camp we have two tractors (each with one operator and one assistant) so that makes four, two explorers for cutting down a little road so you can find the tree and then there is a chainsaw operator (40 trees/ day) with its assistant and least but not less a beautifull and wonderful cook!
everything on hardwood

harrymontana

Quote from: mad murdock on December 23, 2012, 11:14:51 AM
Welcome to the forestry forum harrymontana. Interesting Venture you are on there. What type of mill operation do they use in the remote camp? What is the primary species that they are logging and processing?

Thank you, species we work on are only 5 which are ipe, massaranduba, tigerwood and aroeira. The latter goes to Brazil the rest in decking (long lengths) and flooring (short lengths). If you want to have a complete idea of our hardwood lumber products check our website http://www.hardydeck.com
everything on hardwood

harrymontana

Quote from: harrymontana on December 23, 2012, 02:45:20 PM
for the camp we have two tractors (each with one operator and one assistant) so that makes four, two explorers for cutting down a little road so you can find the tree and then there is a chainsaw operator (40 trees/ day) with its assistant and least but not less a beautifull and wonderful cook!

so 1 chainsaw = 40 trees while 1 tractor = 20 trees and a tree (converted into a log) equals 1m3, so in a month we log 40 x 30m3 = 1200m3 round log (= more or less 1200m3 x 220BFT = 264,000BFT/ month. We work 8 months a year, the rest is waiting for the rain to stop..
everything on hardwood

thecfarm

How does the tractors get the wood out,drag it,put the logs on a trailer???
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

g_man

Welcome and very interesting. I would love to hear more and see some pictures of your equipment at work in the woods.

ford400

Were in Bolivia are you? The wife did some forestry work in that country about 6 years ago.

mad murdock

From the links on the web page, it shows a pretty nice vertical band mill set up. Do you mill all products at that site? What other production equipment do you have at the millsite? Planers edgers kiln?  Very nice looking end products!
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

harrymontana

Quote from: thecfarm on December 23, 2012, 05:53:40 PM
How does the tractors get the wood out,drag it,put the logs on a trailer???

yes we drag the logs out:



then with a shovel we carry it on our truck Kamaz, Russian brand, looks awful but double traction and is the best for working in the muddy forest and is also small so can move into most places. we don't use a trailer because logging roads are too narrow and the support between the truck and the trailer breaks as we have this experience

everything on hardwood

harrymontana

Quote from: mad murdock on December 23, 2012, 09:09:18 PM
From the links on the web page, it shows a pretty nice vertical band mill set up. Do you mill all products at that site? What other production equipment do you have at the millsite? Planers edgers kiln?  Very nice looking end products!

we do ourselves: concession work (this is what I do myself/ officework), then the people at the site (600kms from my office) cutting down trees, logging, transport of the logs to the mill, we also mill everything ourselves and what we outsource is transport between the mill and the city (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and there we mold it at an other company and then we sell mostly flooring to the US (nowadays we sell to novausawood) and decking goes to virtually any country. Species for export are ipe, massaranduba (brazilian redwood) and tigerwood.
everything on hardwood

petefrom bearswamp

Interesting operation you have there. A good cook is essential being beautiful is an added bonus.
Welcome to the forum.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

harrymontana

in the logging camp quality of the food is not so imporant, it is all about quantity, about the beauty of the cook I was about to take a picture, but for some reason I just couldn't take the gamble.
everything on hardwood

Sprucegum

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder  :)

Do you take a Christmas Holiday or are you working straight through?

mad murdock

Ah yes mi Santa Cruz de la Sierra, I spent a little over a month there working back in 1990. Very nice city, real nice people. Do the loggers have any problems in el salvaje with narcos? There is quite a contingent of Mennonites near there as well aren't there? They migrated from the states a while back.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

harrymontana

Quote from: Sprucegum on December 24, 2012, 10:47:37 AM
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder  :)

Do you take a Christmas Holiday or are you working straight through?

we work straight thru, one of the few advantages of having your own business..
everything on hardwood

harrymontana

Quote from: mad murdock on December 24, 2012, 11:08:53 AM
Ah yes mi Santa Cruz de la Sierra, I spent a little over a month there working back in 1990. Very nice city, real nice people. Do the loggers have any problems in el salvaje with narcos? There is quite a contingent of Mennonites near there as well aren't there? They migrated from the states a while back.

yes you are well informed, Narcos is a problem, diesel for example is restricted because it takes part in the process of making cocaine so for me as mill running on diesel this is problematic, and the menno's are doing very well with their agricultural activties. They also come from Canada, Russia, Ucraine, Poland, Mexico and a few more countries I believe
everything on hardwood

barbender

Thanks for posting about your operation- it is very interesting. In many ways it is similar to the way logging was done in Minnesota (USA) 100 years ago. Everything was camp based, but horses did all the skidding instead of tractors. The cook was considered the most important person in the camp, because if the cook made bad food the lumberjacks wouldn't stick around. The pay wasn't much but they were very well fed. Beautiful cooks were considered a liability, women cooks were virtually unheard of as the bosses didn't want a camp of 50 lonely men and 1 woman for them all to fall in love with and fight over. That's the way it was back then.
Too many irons in the fire

SwampDonkey

:D :D I won't give my thoughts on the camp life just depicted. But, I suppose most is true. But I was wondering how lumber camps could possibly be different than bush camps for guides. The old guides I knew, and some way before, always brought the wife to cook. ;D  But yes, the lumbermen were a tougher breed in some ways I suppose and your right it was always men folk doing the cooking in any of the more remote camps I stayed at and read about or seen photos of. A couple camps I stayed at had a woman cook and for some reason the cook'n wasn't as good. :D

I got a little chuckle from your post barbender. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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