about us

UNTIL A MAN APPROACHED THE TREES WITH HIS THOUGHT, EVEN THE STORM WASN'T A CHAIR. ALTHOUGH SOMEONE HAD ALREADY SAT ON IT. ONLY WHEN MAN BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT THE ESSENCE OF THE TREES, WHEN HE BEGAN TO USE THE WORD "WOOD", HE COULD ALSO THINK OF A BLANKET AS A CHAIR.

LELA B. NJATIN, 2015

The green expanses of Kočevska. Forests stretch to the horizon and beyond. Forest coverage is more than 80%. Therefore, it is quite strange that wood, this priceless natural material, was once well used, but in recent decades has been so poorly used. In the past decades, global and local circumstances have almost forgotten about wood and the importance of local forest wood chains, which was reflected in the strong decline of the wood processing industry throughout Slovenia and, as a result, in lower enrollment in vocational secondary school programs for wood processing. We found ourselves in a situation where we could only watch silently as raw logs left our forests and crossed the country's borders.

Climate change and the crisis of globalization have brought us back to the threshold of thinking that wood is an excellent raw material, it just needs to be used differently, enriched with new knowledge and forms, and produced with new technology in connection with the noble skills of old masters. So it is not surprising that wood is becoming one of the key raw materials of the green breakthrough.

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In 2013, the initiative for the Wood Festival was created by the Kočevje Gymnasium and Secondary School with the unequivocal support of the municipality of Kočevje as a response to the described situation. We wanted to create a space for reflection on the opportunities offered by our wooded landscape. We wanted to remind the local population of the value of wood as a natural resource, which is not as self-evident as we residents most often experience, and we hoped to make them increasingly aware of the quality of the natural environment we live in. We wanted to connect with entrepreneurs in the region, scientists in Slovenia and abroad. In short, we wanted to raise awareness and change our attitude to the forest and wood as something we can be proud of. Naturally, the new consciousness is joined by the knowledge and skills to know how to process wood and, last but not least, to successfully sell it with the highest possible added value.

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Mission

Festival of Wood supports the identity of the town of Kočevje, which is built on the values of the natural environment.

Vision

The Wood Festival is a hub that supports forests and wood, facilitating interdisciplinary connections among people.

Goals

Connecting stakeholders involved with wood to foster new knowledge and skills, innovative wood applications, new forms, and business models.