ABSTRACT
The gathering, use and trade of non-timber products, whether in the form of small-scale commercial enterprise or as a form of subsistence activity, play an important and generally understated role in supporting the livelihood and welfare of forest-dwelling communities ( Peluso, 1991, p. 7). In addition to their established nutritional, medicinal, cultural and utilitarian functions, forest products may also yield a source of supplementary and emergency income and may help to provide income and subsistence stability in the face of fluctuations in farm production or market/price conditions for agricultural products. Their significance as an important and appropriate source of employment should also not be overlooked: ‘More employment is generated by opportunities to collect, trade and process non-timber forest products than by tropical timber exploitation, at a far lower ecological cost to the forest’ ( Peluso, 1991, p. 7).
