Dovetail has five program areas that help us meet our mission. More information about each program is available through the links at the top or by contacting Dovetail.

Eco-Affordable Housing and Green Building

Dovetail is pursuing a unique approach to rural economic development, by partnering with local communities to identify existing unmet demand for competitively priced housing, and to provide the training and development programs that enable local businesses to utilize local resources to meet that need profitably. The goal is to use this process to develop the skill sets of participating businesses to the point where they ultimately are able to serve larger markets outside their region, while minimizing the economic risks and failures often associated with that growth. The outcomes are thriving communities, profitable businesses, and sustainable forests.

Certification

Dovetail promotes activities that conserve the world's natural resources, including forests. We envision a world where forests encompass the full spectrum of ecological attributes, and the industries and rural communities dependant on these forests thrive both economically and socially through their support of these attributes. We pursue this vision by supporting innovative approaches to sustainable forestry, such as forest certification, and we recognize people are a key resource for addressing the issues of sustainability.

Publications & Newsletters

Dovetail is committed to supporting innovation and action through high quality information sharing and educational outreach. Dovetail has developed a number of reports that offer information about sustainable forestry, responsible materials and responsible consumption. Dovetail also offers workshops and presentations on these topics. Dovetail publishes a monthly electronic newsletter, The Outlook, which provides news and updates on our work and publications.

Responsible Trade & Consumption

Dovetail works to create incentives that support the full spectrum of ecological attributes found in the forest and the social benefits provided by these forests. Dovetail has developed a "Responsible Materials Initiative" to provide and summarize information about available materials in a manner that best aids organizations and individuals in making sound and sustainable choices that they fully understand. There is a need to transform forest-based industries that are currently limited by a reliance on the traditional industrial model, which focuses on commoditization and lowest unit cost, to a new paradigm that concentrates on markets and products.

Land Use

Dovetail recognizes the links between sustainable forestry, responsible trade and consumption, and land use. Dovetail is interested in promoting land use research and planning and innovative programs that encourage and reward responsible land use activities. Dovetail is specifically interested in addressing and minimizing land use impacts on soil and water resources.