Crofting is recognized for the contribution it makes to local economic development. This is in part because a croft can provide a physical site for a business, but also because business opportunities can be developed on the back of crofting activities.

The same is true of a woodland croft, where we can distinguish between three kinds of businesses: those which use timber and other forest products (from the croft, but perhaps also supplemented from elsewhere); those which use the woodland setting for another activity eg tourism & recreation; and those which simply use the croft as a site for a business unrelated to the woodland itself.

Of course the lines between these can often be blurred – for example a holiday cabin in the woods built from timber from the site.