Manufacturing of wooden products depends on different wood properties. Samples of 17 woody invasive alien plants will be analyzed in detail (structure of the wood, chemical characterization, physical-mechanical properties, drying properties, properties of thermally modified wood, processing properties, durability and natural resistance) to find out whether species are suitable for processing into wooden products.

After harvesting, selected wood species will be cut into different wood assortments. Products of primary processing such as beams, planks, boards etc. will be air-dried as well as kiln-dried to reach the target moisture content needed for further processing or final use.

Two types of innovative wooden products will be designed within the project:

• a set of 10 simple wooden products (furniture elements, toys, gallantry etc.) will be designed in a way that users will be able to make them on their own (as DIY projects), with a little inventiveness and basic tools. Target groups will be invited to participate in educational workshops and manufacturing. The production will start in April 2019 and will temporarily take place in the Carpenter’s workshop near the Collection center (Povšetova 6, Ljubljana).
• a set of 10 value-added products will be developed. Due to complex manufacturing, they will be produced only by professionals in the carpentry workshops.

Educational-creative workshops will be carried out for different target groups in order to increase basic knowledge on wood processing in the context of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture. Awareness on the possibilities of using invasive alien plants biomass for designing and manufacturing of innovative wooden products will help to confine populations of these plants and most importantly, it will offer a sustainable solution for further management.

Special attention within the project will be paid to letterpress printing. 25 character sets of wood types will be produced in collaboration with 5 best Slovene type designers. New wood types will be later used at 18 poster design workshops for both established and young designers.