I mentioned this book in a farm income
thread(The beginnings of a comprehensive income list) a while ago, and have recently obtained it, so I thought I would do a quick review. Hope its helpful. If your interested in purchasing it, check out pmtech.ca, and I'm not affiliated with the author in any way FYI.
The Non Timber Forest Product Business Companion can be broadly summarized as a compilation of extremely useful information relating to the personal and commercial use of plants in Canada. More specifically it is an everyday horticulture reference database, a how-to manual, a resource archive and an NTFP industry Rolodex.
The book is filled with practical information and innovative ideas. Beyond the over 50 comprehensive lists of distinct useful plants and potential product ideas, the author Gina Mohhamed has broken down and organized the non timber forest products industry into 7 sectors. Within each of the seven sectors she describes many potential entrepreneurial focuses and proceeds to explore each of these individual focuses by outlining and describing necessary equipment and costs, marketing advice, hints for success, precautions, regulatory and legal information, relative plants, products, tools and supply data. She has also included recent case studies of enterprises with identical niches, ranging from maple syrup and wood carving, to skin creams and bio fuel.
At just over 800 pages, the Canadian NTFP Business Companion could be considered a wise investment for any research scientist, farmer, entrepreneur, teacher, student, government official, or regular individual interested in developing a small or large ecologically minded local business in a northern climate.
The Author
The Non Timber Forest Product Business Companion represents over 10 years of academic research undertaken by Dr. Gina Mohammed, a Canadian research scientist with a P.H.D in plant physiology. According to the Companion (Mohammed, 2011), Gina specializes in “alternative uses of northern forest plants”, and was the first to author a “major study of Ontario’s non timber industry, titled Non-Timber Forest Products of Ontario - An Overview.” which can be found on the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Website. In addition she has authored over 130 publications and is co-owner of P&M Technologies (pmtech.ca), a consulting and research and development firm that specializes in “identifying commercial prospects for many of Canada's 4000+ plant species within an ecologically sustainable framework”.
