A financial analysis of a small-scale Gmelina arborea improvement program in Hojancha, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica is described. The program consisted of a clonal seed orchard, made up of ramets of plus-trees, and three progeny tests/seedling seed orchards. A 5% discount rate was used. The total discounted/compounded cost of the program was US$25423. The analysis demonstrated that this outlay would be justified at annual planting rates of between 31 ha per year (at 20% genetic gain in volume) to 125 ha per year (at 5% genetic gain) over the 20-year life of the orchard. These results demonstrate that the implementation of such small-scale, locally-based programs by community-based or locally-orientated organizations may often be justifiable.