Guyana’s forest resources contain a large diversity of timber species. A fraction of these species, for example Greenheart, Purpleheart, Kabukalli and Crabwood are very popular and are readily recognized for both their strength and aesthetic properties. The greater portions of these species which are referred to as Lesser Used Species (LUS) are not well known on the market. It is established however that many of the technical properties of the LUS are comparable to those of the more popular species.
The purpose of this article is to show how cost effective it would be for engineers, carpenters and joiners to start using the LUS. For demonstration purposes four (4) LUS have been selected and an attempt will be made to set out the possible uses of these species and make a comparison of the costs with the commercialized species. The four species selected are Black Kakaralli, Darina, Fukadi and Morabukea.
The price of lumber differs from one species to another depending on the