The aforementioned membership base of over 10,000 smallholder producers is scattered all over the country. It is with this understanding that a sensitization meeting, attended by FFSPAK Board members and its Secretariat, was held at the FFSPAK offices in Nairobi on 30 August 2016. The meeting was also attended by the Swedish Cooperative Centre (WE Effect). Other partners who have expressed a willingness to work with FFSPAK on promoting FSC certification amongst smallholders include FAO and Kenya Forest Service.
The objective of the sensitization meeting was to create awareness around FSC certification and its potential for smallholder development, and to propose forthcoming training and capacity building activities.
During the meeting FFSPAK expressed interest in receiving information regarding FSC group certification schemes and how they work. Severinus Jembe from Soil Association shared his experiences with FSC certification of wood carving production.
It was agreed that a series of regional awareness-creation workshops targeting selected counties (districts) where FFSPAK membership is active would be initiated. FFSPAK Board members also requested a training session to increase their knowledge of FSC Principles and Criteria, and proposed that subsequent awareness session should contain more detailed information on the FSC Principles and Criteria.