Winter 2008 Newsletter

Throughout the year, supporters,

partners, and beneficiaries of

Trees for the Future have been

receiving frequent updates about

the phenomenally successful pro-

gram developing in Cameroon.

TREES is currently the largest tree

planting program in Cameroon,

thanks to the tireless efforts of our

local partners. This October and

November, TREES Africa and

Caribbean Program Coordinator

Ethan Budiansky traveled

throughout Cameroon’s West,

Northwest, and Southwest

provinces to evaluate the results of

this years work. Accompanying

Ethan were our Field

Representative Louis Nkembi, and

his assistant Robin Achah. Ethan

learned a lot during the trip about the specific rural

challenges and possible solutions and he is returning to

the United States with very high expectations for 2009!

Local Rural Challenges

Each province, each district and each community faces

their own unique challenges to improving their liveli-

hoods. A few issues were common throughout most

regions. First, soil fertility and water availability

throughout the three provinces are quickly deteriorat-

ing due to unsustainable farming practices, increased

deforestation for firewood and expanding agricultural

fields, and overgrazing by cows (particularly in the

Northwest Province). Consequently, farmers complain

that their crop yields decrease from year to year and

they are forced to spend lots of money (if they can

afford to) on conventional fertilizers, or they must sim-

ply move into other lands. Second, soil erosion and

landslides are a significant problem, mostly due to

unsustainable hillside agriculture. Third, poor farmers

are looking for new alternatives to bring them econom-

ic benefits to improve their livelihoods.

Addressing these Issues with Trees!

TREES-Cameroon conducted needs assessments in

each of these areas and then worked with farmers,

farming groups and NGOs to implement agroforestry

technologies which are most relevant to their situa-

tions.

Page 1

Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVI, No. 4

The quarterly newsletter of Trees for the FutureWinter 2008 Vol. XVI, No. 4

Cameroon Update: One country, 2000 Farmers, 2 million trees!

continued page 4

Baptiste Mitigan’s farm in the Western Province utilized Acacia Angustissima

and Calliandra spp. along slopes to decrease erosion and increase soil fertility

All this travel lately has

taught me a lot. For exam-

ple, contrary to the prevail-

ing opinion, there is still one

water fountain in Charles De

Gaul Airport near Paris. It’s

on the second floor, near the

men’s room in Terminal 2.

But it doesn’t work. Should

you get thirsty, somebody

there will sell you a small

bottle of Evian for about

three Euros. That’s about five dollars – or about

$40.00 a gallon.

Neither Fedex Field, where the Washington Redskins

play, nor the George Bush Airport in Houston, has any

working water fountains. Both these facilities take it

one step farther: they have security guards that check

to make sure you aren’t smuggling your own water in.

But so far none of the American monopolies has been

able to sufficiently exploit this hold on the world’s

most essential commodity to get anywhere near the

price the French demand.

There are perhaps, in all our lives, times when we

find that the person we are dealing with is at a serious

disadvantage. (Such as a very thirsty traveler in the

Houston airport.) What we do when in a situation like

that is, I believe, pretty much the mark of what sort of

person each of us is: do we push all the harder when

we find the other person unable to push back? Or do

we treat that person as a friend, as we would want to

be treated in such a situation, leaving them some abil-

ity to continue – some self respect. And, in the bargain,

perhaps getting a new friend.

In our work, we increasingly see the effects of what

can only be called “corporate greed”. At one time, that

was mostly clear-cut logging of ancient forests. Over

the years we lost some good friends who tried to

oppose that. Now, as the forests are running out, this

greed has branched into new endeavors: production of

biofuels from corn for our cars has effectively doubled

the price of bread and milk here and around the world.

As local groups began to discover ways to make

organic fuels from non-edible crops, other greedy

businesses have secured lands throughout the

Developing World, have made contractual agreements

Page 2


Johnny Ipil-Seed News is a quarterly newsletter of TREES

FOR THE FUTURE, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to

helping people of the world’s poorest communities to begin

environmentally beneficial, self-help projects.

This newsletter is printed using wind energy on recycled paper

with soy-based ink and is sent to all supporting members to

inform them of recent events, plans, financial matters and how

their support is helping people.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. John R. Moore - Chairman, Dr. Peter Falk - Vice Chairman,

Mr. Oscar V. Gruspe - Finance Officer, Dave Deppner -

President, Mr. Bedru Sultan, Ms. Marilou Herman, Mr. Franz

Stuppard - Members, R. Grace Deppner - Recording Secretary

(non-voting)

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Mr. Franz N. Stuppard - Advisor on Haiti, Dr. Mizani Kristos -

West African Development, Dr. James Brewbaker - University

of Hawaii, Mr. William Campbell - Seasoned Energy, Mr. Steve

McCrea - Global Climate Change, FL, Dr. Malcolm Novins -

George Mason University, Dr. Noel Vietmeyer - The Vetiver

Institute, Mr. Sean Griffin - Forestry & GIS Specialist, Mr. John

Leary - Advisor on Senegal

STAFF

Dave Deppner - Founder, Executive Director

R. Grace Deppner - Founder, Associate Director

Maryann Manuel - Membership Services

Gorav Seth - Ruppe Center Coordinator

Josh Bogart - Central America Coordinator

Ethan Budiansky - West Africa Coordinator

Jeff Follett - South America Coordinator

Francis Deppner - Southeast Asia Coordinator

David Tye - East Africa Coordinator

Heather Muszyinski - Grants Coordinator

Tebabu Assefa - Media/Education Coordinator

Jennifer Brandt - TREE PALS Coordinator

Gabe Buttram - Business Partner Coordinator

FIELD TECHNICIANS

Jean Bosco - Burundi, Louis Nkembi - Cameroon, Dr. Yigezu

Shimeles - Ethiopia, Dr. Pascal Woldomariam - Ethiopia,

Guillermo Valle - Honduras, Subramanian Periyasamy - India,

Sagapala Gangisetty - India, Donal Perez - Nicaragua, Danny

Zabala - Philippines, Omar Ndao - Senegal, Kay Howe -

Indonesia

To receive this newsletter or for more information, contact:

TREES FOR THE FUTURE

The Loret Miller Ruppe Center

for Sustainable Development

P.O. Box 7027

Silver Spring, MD 20907

Toll Free: 1-800-643-0001

Ph: 301-565-0630

[email protected]

WWW.PLANT-TREES.ORG

Opinion:

With Friendship and Respect

that deprive local communities of most of the potential

profits while further devastating these already-degrad-

ed lands. Most of their contracts are not designed to

produce sustainable benefit to the growers. Just quick

bucks for the buyers.

In the agri-business world there used to be a saying,

something like this: you have a sheep. Every year you

shear it and both of you are happy. But if, instead of

shearing your sheep, you cut too deep, then all you

have is a dead sheep.

Does any of this have anything to do with planting

trees? Yes, in fact it does. We are asked, quite fre-

quently these days, how our program works. How are

we able to convince all these families, mostly living in

abject poverty, to voluntarily bring trees back to their

pitifully small upland holdings? Why are we squatting

down in villages so remote it takes hours of walking

just to reach the nearest highway? We are asked:

wouldn’t our program do more for the environment if

we met with corporate officers in their boardroom,

convincing them to plant “tree farms” across thousands

of acres of rich bottom land? The fact is that, no, that

strategy can never resolve the grave environmental sit-

uation that exists in these developing communities.

There has always been plenty of attention, adequate

funding, superior technology, available to maintain the

tree farms on the fertile lowlands. But the hillsides,

where the less fortunate are forced to live, have been

largely ignored. Development planners believe,

although we disagree, that an acre of rich bottom land

can be eight times as productive as an acre of rough

hillside. This puts the upland family at a serious disad-

vantage and so, according to the thinking of the plan-

ners, why bother working with them?

And yet, it is the trees of these uplands that either hold

the water to irrigate those bottom land fields in the dry

season or, because of deforestation, are not there to

prevent disastrous flooding at times of heavy rains. It

is the debris from upland forests that, over centuries,

continuously built those rich soils that produce so

much.

Which is why we work in communities where there is

great, and unmet, need. Where people are at this great

disadvantage because, until now, nobody has seen a

need to work with them, to provide them the ideas, the

technical inputs, needed to save their lands and way of

life. We do this in friendship, and with respect, because

they deserve it: If anybody is going to plant the trees

that can save our environment and our climate, it will

be these families who have earned our friendship and

respect.

Here’s another way to look at it: suppose your family

suddenly had to offset their “carbon footprint” which,

for a typical US family of four, would mean planting

about 4,000 trees – or about six acres. For most of us,

a situation like that would make us want some good

friends. In the program

you’re supporting, you are

gaining these good friends.

Page 3


Halloween came to this village in Butajira. Francis

made some friends, but had barely enough candy to go

around as kids kept coming from every direction.

At the National Palace, Dave and Grace Deppner

accept the award for planting 18 million trees in

Ethiopia – on behalf of the several thousand families

that did all the hard work.

Producing Green FertilizerIn order to address issues of decreasing soil fertility,

Trees-Cameroon trained farmers how to plant trees in

their fields which would improve it’s fertility and

increase cash crop yields. Farmers planted legumi-

nous, nitrogen fixing species such as Calliandra spp.,

Acacia angustissima and Leucaena leucocephala, in

long lines at around 5 meter spacing throughout their

fields. However, 90% of the potential fertilizer comes

from the tree’s leaves. Therefore, every 3-4 months,

the farmer coppices the trees and mixes the rich organ-

ic leaf matter into the soil and around the crops. They

can then use the branches for needed fuel wood. In

addition, they can add wood ash from home cooking

for phosphorus and manure from chickens and live-

stock for potassium to give them a 20-10-10 (Nitrogen-

phosphorus-potassium) organic fertilizer. In

Cameroon, this would save a farmer around $150 per

hectare per season in commercial fertilizers! More

importantly, it would allow them to live off their parcel

of land many years into the future and increase water

availability!

Hillside Contour PlantingMany of the hillsides where agriculture is being

developed remain treeless. Consequently, with each

rain, precious soil is eroded out of their farms and pol-

lutes their water systems. Even worse, it is not unusu-

al for a farmer to visit his field after a

heavy rain to see his entire livelihood

washed away in a landslide. The land-

slides have also been known to take

people’s lives, destroy homes, and

completely block off rural roads.

Therefore, in the more fragile areas,

farmers were trained to plant trees

along the contours of their farms to

hold the soil firmly into place, also

increasing water absorption into the

soil.

Developing Alternative EconomicActivities.

Amongst the most valuable compo-

nents of our program are the more

advanced agroforestry systems which

rural farmers were developing with our

assistance. These activities include: 1. Cut-and-carry

systems to feed livestock, in this case- pigs! 2.

Planting flowering trees around bee boxes to produce

honey. 3. Integrating leguminous trees to improve the

yields of cacao. 4. Developing alley cropping with

medicinal plant production to be sold at the local and

national markets.

Looking Towards 2009!

TREES-Cameroon has put into place an excellent

foundation to build upon in 2009. In the next year we

intend to improve what we have already started and

plant upwards of 3 million trees with over 200 farmers

throughout the three provinces. We are also working

with the participating farming groups to establish

Agroforestry Networks in each division to manage

their programs and educate and mobilize other farmers

to participate. In addition, the Networks are working

to develop Tree Funds, which are made up of contribu-

tions and annual dues by the farming groups and will

be used to develop projects in the future. Finally, a

new seed regional seed production and training center

will be initiated in Cameroon to serve to produce

forestry seeds to meet the demands of the rural farmers

and to train them in relevant agroforestry technologies.

The success of the program in Cameroon has devel-

oped into a model for many of our programs through-

out Africa and the rest of the world!

Cameroon Update (continued from page 1)

Ethan and Louis meeting with farmers in the Bana Agroforestry

Network

Page 4


Screenshot from Google Earth

GPS Monitoring

In 2008, we launched a pilot program to provide ten GPS units and digital cameras to field representatives in

our major project countries. GPS units allow you to mark a location with a high degree of precision, so that you

can then locate it using maps or satellite imagery. As we have projects scattered throughout rural areas all over

the Developing World, we wanted to use GPS units to help us better identify the locations of our projects, mak-

ing our work more transparent and verifiable. They also allow us to “geotag”digital pictures, which can then be

easily placed on a map (like Google Earth).

As our staff go to the field, they have been training our field reps in the proper use of the instrument. By

October, we had provided units to our partners in Ethiopia, India, Honduras, Cameroon, Tanzania, Senegal, Haiti,

and Brazil, and we had developed the protocols to collect and manage the data. This year’s pilot program has

collected over 70 points, most with pictures, which you can view on our website or on Google Earth.

In 2009, we will provide 20 more units and cameras to our field technicians, with the goal of having GPS points

and photographs from all of the villages and nurseries in our major country programs. We are benefitting from

the tremendous development of software and websites that is allowing us to gather and display this data in an

extremely cost effective manner, and we know that it will be a great tool for showing what TREES is accom-

plishing around the world.

Please go to the projects page on our website (www.plant-trees.org/projects) to see the results of this work for

yourself!

Page 5


It all started with a phone call to Dave Deppner.

Fernanda Peixoto was living in Chicago, but felt like

she was not helping anyone in her true home of Brazil.

A month later, Fernanda came to visit Trees for the

Future. It was obvious from our first meeting with

Fernanda that she meant business. She had already

started the agroforestry training program and had spo-

ken with agricultural professionals in Brazil. In the

next 4 months, she had translated our training manual

into Portuguese and Jeff was on his way to Brazil. In

his three weeks in Brazil, Jeff saw the commitment of

small-scale producers to improving their lands, diver-

sifying their production, and protecting limited

resources. He met with small farmers at nine o'clock

at night after they had worked a long day, he bounced

around through the caatinga (dry, scrubby vegetation

of the northeast) to see the difficulties of planting trees

in a dry and erratic environment, and he saw the poten-

tial for agroforestry in Brazil. Since that time, we have

reached 100 people through 25 trainings and have

started 21 nurseries. There is plenty of room for

growth for the program; however, we are focusing on

the development of our initial projects in São Paulo

State. We are still discussing ways that Trees for the

Future can help communities in the northeast. Due to

the timing of the rains, we had to put nursery projects

on hold until 2009. Although no two projects are the

same, we can apply knowledge gained in southern

Brazil to future projects in other parts of the country.

Thank you again for your past, present, and future sup-

port of this program.

Brazil: A New Program Makes Great Strides

After-school Moringa project with students will help

improve nutrition in the local community

These seedlings will be used to create a forest garden

in Oriente

Page 6


In 2008, Trees for the Future had the incredible oppor-

tunity to participate in a program to promote peace and

prosperity through the planting of trees. Burundi has

the unfortunate distinction as being

one of the most impoverished and

environmentally devastated coun-

tries in Africa. Over 20 years of

ethnic conflicts between Hutus and

Tutsis has left much of the land

degraded, the economy shattered,

and development halted. More

than half of the population suffers

from malnutrition-- Add to that the

devastation from an AIDS epidem-

ic which has left half the popula-

tion under the age of 15! Recently,

thanks to a state of relative stabili-

ty, we have had the opportunity to

develop our program with the help of local partners in

Washington and Burundi.

Jean Bosco Hakizimana, founder of Hope for

Burundi, visited the Trees for the Future USA office

back in February 2008 with a dream and the passion

to return to his home country to take part in the

rebuilding process. Trained and experienced in con-

flict management, Jean had a vision to promote

peace through the planting of trees! Despite their

differences, the clashing Hutus and Tutsis share

something very important in common which Jean

hoped to build upon—they both want to improve

their lives and the lives of their families. And with

the help of Trees for the Future he has been helping

them do exactly that.

Since Jean’s initial visit, Africa Program

Coordinator Ethan Budiansky has been working

with Jean to develop a tree planting program in

Burundi which focuses on the Forest Garden model

and establishing sustainable land-use systems.

With a handful of seeds, some new knowledge, and

the support of TREES, he returned home to the

Ruyigi Province to begin working.

In 2008, Jean has been working in three provinces

on the east side of Burundi to plant over 250,000

trees on degraded lands. More importantly, he is

working with both Hutus and Tutsis, who are plant-

ing trees side-by-side in peace. The staff of Hope

for Burundi are half Hutus and half Tutsis, and Jean

is using this opportunity to teach participants about

peaceful communication.

This year has proved to be a huge success in Burundi.

It is important to note that none of

this would have been possible

without the financial and organiza-

tional support of Church of the

Redeemer in Bethesda, Maryland,

where Jean served as a Pastor.

In November, East Africa

Coordinator, David Tye, visited

Hope for Burundi’s program.

David held a workshop and trained

Jean and his local partners on new

agroforestry techniques. In addi-

tion, they discussed how to

improve the program for 2009.

Building upon the incredible suc-

cess achieved this year, Jean is looking to expand his

program into 5 provinces and plant ONE MILLION

trees with 100,000 participants in 2009!

Planting Trees for Peace in Burundi

Page 7


In 2008, Jean has been

working in three provinces

on the east side of Burundi

to plant over 250,000 trees

on degraded lands. More

importantly, he is working

with both Hutus and Tutsis,

who are planting trees side-

by-side in peace.

The First Meeting: Hope for Burundi Founder Jean Bosco,

TREES Program Coordinator Ethan Budiansky, and Jane

Coe from the Church of the Redeemer meeting for the first

time in the spring of 2008 at TREES Silver Spring Office

In early November, Grace, Dave and Francis Deppner

were in Addis Ababa attending a dinner at the National

Palace at the invitation of Ethiopia’s President Girma

Waldogeorgis. TREES was honored for our part in

planting 18 million trees there over the past eight

years.

Also honored was Ethiopian Airlines, which has

become the World’s FIRST GREEN AIRLINE by

planting one tree for each of its passengers in 2008 –

with the promise to double this in the year ahead. The

president, himself an

ardent environmentalist

and elected twice now on

the Green Party ticket,

received an award for his

vision and support in keep-

ing this tree program grow-

ing.

It should be mentioned

that among those receiving

recognition was Hayatti

Shamil, who is one of the

field technicians develop-

ing an extension program

for the villages of the

Guraghe Zone. Himself a

farmer in that community,

he well understands the

hard life that past defor-

estation forced on local

families. He has become

most enthusiastic about the

practical ideas he and other

technicians are developing.

Ideas such as repairing

deep gullies formed by a

combination of over-graz-

ing and heavy rains. Planting trees and vetiver grass,

they are turning these reclaimed areas into intensive

forage systems as an alternative to the very damaging

open grazing of the past.

A part of the president’s vision is to return the devas-

tated uplands of Ethiopia to their former reputation as

the “Water Tower of Africa” by restoring forests and

life to these thousands of watersheds, giving Ethiopia

the ability to market clean hydro-electric power in the

Horn of Africa and to Egypt and the Sudan.

TREES and our local partner, Greener Ethiopia (GE),

had discussed this with the President over the past year.

Already, hydroelectric dams are under construction but

the President recognizes one fact that earlier program

planners failed to understand: that unless forest cover

is restored and maintained on these fragile uplands, the

reservoirs will quickly silt up and then the only prod-

uct will be mud.

This erosion threat is already obvious along the many

large rivers leaving Ethiopia. In the past, TREES plant-

ed many thousands of trees

in Somalia, along the fer-

tile land formed between

the Jubba and Shebeli

Rivers, in the rich thick

topsoil, often 10 meters

deep, that the Somalis call

“the red gold of Ethiopia”.

GE and TREES are

already planning an expan-

sion of the present project,

which is reforesting the

Rebu and Wabe Rivers, to

the Gibe River some 70

km. to the south. Another

major effort now being

planned is the watershed of

Lake Tana, near Gondor,

about 350 Km. to the

northwest of Addis Ababa.

This massive lake becomes

a powerful waterfall, which

Ethiopians call “the water

that smokes”.

This is the beginning of

the Blue Nile River which

produces about 86% of all

the water in the Nile system. It is a matter of great

international concern because the Nile travels through

nine countries. More than 120 million people in Egypt

alone depend on the Nile for their very survival. And

the flow of this great river has been falling by 1% each

year for the past ten years. Lake Tana at one starting

point and Lake Victoria at the other both are in need of

much attention.

To reforest even 20% of the Lake Tana watershed

would require the planting of more than 80 million

Page 8


A Hundred Million Trees!

Living fences intercropped with three species

(Grevillea, Leucaena and Sesbania) are becoming very

popular. The Grevillea is a fast-grower, with 9” diame-

ter trunks in only five years, and looks to become an

acceptable substitute for Eucalyptus trees.

trees. The surrounding mountainous land has

been almost completely deforested, which has

impoverished much of the local population

and caused the loss of much of the past diver-

sity. And yet, as we studied aerial photos of the

area, we saw dozens, maybe hundreds, of

small, round, patches of green. These are the

sites of monasteries, most of them hundreds of

years old. The monks had preserved areas of

the natural forests on their lands. By working

outwards from these preserves, planting fast-

growing, pioneer species, the program would

bring about a natural regeneration of many

ancient species over much of the area within a

very few years. In time, this might be as great

a contribution to Africa as the increased flow

of the Nile River.

These are some of the considerations that are

causing many people in the Horn of Africa,

and elsewhere, to be talking about “a hundred

million trees in five years”. These past few

years have proven that the highly diverse peo-

ples of Ethiopia are very capable of setting

aside their differences and working together

on an effort that helps the entire community.

TREES and GE hope to keep that tradition

growing in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

Page 9


Grevillea Robusta trees planted for bee forage and protection

from damaging winds

A traditional bee hive is compared to the modern design which

farmers are being trained to construct in this program by

Greener Ethiopia. Integrating honey production with shade-

grown coffee is increasing coffee production by as much as 60%.

A young Forest Garden in Ethiopia

During 2008, TREES has been working to help

communities in three different regions of Haiti:

Leogane, Desarmes, and recently in Arcahaie.

Close to 100,000 trees have been out-planted and

we have carried out numerous workshops and on -

site trainings organized for farmers and other com-

munity-based associations.. TREES is well pre-

pared to engage in larger tree projects during the

coming year, as we leverage our strong local pres-

ence to meet the tremendous need in these and other

communities.

The work that TREES has done thus far in Haiti to

face environmental degradation has already had

noticeable positive effects: Degraded lands are

being restored and people have demonstrated con-

cern about the sustainable management of their nat-

ural resources. This hope would not show up with-

out your support!

In July 2008 TREES Haiti program Advisor, Mr.

Franz Stuppard, and the Africa and Caribbean pro-

gram coordinator, Mr. Ethan Budiansky, brought

Timote Georges on board as TREES field represen-

tative in Haiti. Timote’s presence quickly helped

mobilize the local community. In August 2008,

community members in Delice (Arcahaie) stood up

with TREES technician Timote Georges to establish

their own community-based tree-nursery.

Tree Planting and Agroforestry in the coastal zone

From October to November 2008 TREES worked on

tree planting project with two communities in the hill-

side of Arcahaie (Delice and Digue Phoby). Farmers

of this region become aware of the connection between

traditional agricultural practices and the process of

deforestation, such as when temporary fences are made

with branches or tree trunks.

Farmers are now altering these fences to live fencing

which is an appropriate agro-forestry technology that,

when properly designed, can provide sustained long

term benefits to participants. During this work in

Arcahaie about 10.000 trees were planted out in the

hillside of Delice, mostly for live fencing technology.

The work and support that TREES has provided in

Haiti has offered new perspectives on the solution to

deforestation. Namely, people are happy that the phi-

losophy of "the sense of responsibility at the commu-

nity level" has infiltrated reforestation efforts after

many years. This may be the

first fruit of TREE's sensitization work in these Haitian

communities. Timote, and TREES, believes that local

people are effective local problem-solvers. Over time,

the interest and enthusiasm for participating in tree

planting programs has increased, with dozens of com-

munities calling for help in their reforestation endeav-

ors. TREES intends to help these individuals in their

efforts to reclaim their livelihoods.

Looking forward to 2009

In 2009 approximately one million trees, primarily

multi-purpose and fast-growing species (MPFG), will

be out planted to restore hundreds of hectares of life-

less land on the mountainous side of the Arcadine

coast. Furthermore, TREES will be opening a local

office in this area, where currently local NGOs, offi-

cials, school children and over ten community-repre-

sentatives from St. Marc to Bethel are waiting to par-

ticipate in the 2009 program. Expectations for great

success are higher than ever. Many thanks for support-

ing Trees for the Future's program in Haiti.

-Timote Georges, Haiti field representative

Taking a break during a training session in Leogane

Page 10


Greetings from Haiti

Farmers in Arcahaie planting trees for live fencing Nursery being established in Delice

Forest Garden Project in Belize

This November TREES Central America project coordi-

nator, Joshua Bogart, Traveled to Belize. The first stop on

his trip to oversee new projects in Belize was a forest gar-

den workshop in collaboration with the Ya’axche

Conservation Trust, in the community of Medina Bank in

the Toledo district of southern Belize.

The forest garden project in this community is designed

to improve the nutrition levels in the diets of the commu-

nity members in rural southern Belizean communities

(mostly of Ketchi and Mopan Mayan decent), as well as

creating economic development from sales of excess pro-

duction.

In this workshop, Joshua taught about integrated pest

management and integrated fertility management using

nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs. Also taught were oppor-

tunities for using live Nitrogen fixing trees such as

Gliricidia sepium as living trellises for vine crops, and liv-

ing fences and integration of deep rooted timbers species

such as Cordia alliodora.

Community members who are interested will be supplied

seedlings from Ya’axche’s nursery and further training

and support from TREES FOR THE FUTURE and

Ya’axche staff.

Joshua Bogart teaching Forest Garden workshop

Page 11


David Tye, TREES East Africa Regional Coordinator,

moved to Moshi, Tanzania this August to set up our

TREES East Africa Regional Office. Over the past 3

months, he has spent almost all of his time working

with organizations in the field to prepare for the

upcoming nursery season. Soon we hope that he will

have some time to get to

know his new home town.

During a recent trip to

Uganda, David conducted

training sessions with two

local Ugandan Organizations.

On November 6, 2008, Trees

for the Future, along with the

Agency for Environment and

Wetlands (AEW), sponsored

a one-day workshop on

Agroforestry and

Permaculture at Makerere

University in Kampala. The

participants at the workshop

included approximately 90

Environmental Management

Students from the University.

The workshop was organized

by David Ssemwogerere, the

Executive Director of AEW

with the assistance of David

Tye of TREES and Yvette Ampaire of AEW.

David Tye taught the basic theories and ideas behind

agroforestry focusing on many of the concepts

described in the TREES Agroforestry Training

Manual. He focused on different agroforestry systems,

such as windbreaks, live fences, alley cropping, and

rotational fallow. He also discussed in detail livestock

management, terracing and composting. The students

showed extensive interest and substantial skepticism of

the Forest Garden concept, as they asked dozens of

questions about the details and viability of the Forest

Garden concept. David took time to respond to numer-

ous questions raised by the participants to ensure that

the ideas and techniques in agroforestry were under-

stood.

Yvette Ampaire of AEW, who assisted David Tye in

the workshop, discussed in detail the concepts behind

fuel-efficient stoves, highlighting the benefits of such

stoves in reducing fuel wood requirements of house-

holds. This reduction in fuel

wood needs at the household level helps to greatly

reduce deforestation, and reduces the work load of

women and children in rural communities. Many stu-

dents were skeptical of the benefits of such stoves;

however Yvette was patient in her explanations and

convinced most students of the benefits of fuel-effi-

cient stoves. She challenged

each of the 90 participants to

construct a fuel-efficient

stove in the homes.

The Agency for

Environment and Wetlands

(AEW) is a Ugandan NGO

that focuses on environmental

education and sustainable

environmental management.

AEW works with university

student volunteers to visit pri-

mary and secondary schools

throughout Uganda to teach

the importance of maintaining

the environment and tree

planting.

David Tye also conducted a

two-day seminar with the

Ugandan Scouts on

November 8 – 9, 2008 at

Kaazi, the Ugandan National

Scout Camp, south of Kampala. The participants

included 25 Scout Leaders and Scout Youths from

three districts close to Kampala. The two-day seminar

was organized by National Scout Officials, Mathius

Lumbuko and Richard Ssali, and by David Tye of

TREES. Trees for the Future funded the two-day sem-

inar, while The Ugandan Scouts provided the accom-

modations at Kaazi Scout Camp for free.

The first day of the seminar included agroforestry the-

ory and concepts, focusing on the various benefits of

tree planting and using trees in an agricultural system.

David Tye extensively discussed alley cropping, wind-

breaks, and the Forest Garden concept, and the types of

tree species that can be included in each system. David

discussed the benefits of Leucaena, Calliandra

calothyrsus, Sesbania sesban, Senna siamea, Gliricidia

sepium, Albizia lebbeck, and Faidherbia albida and

how each species can be used in different agroforestry

systems.

The second part of the seminar

David Tye teaching how to make a seedbed to

Ugandan Scouts in Kampala

Update from East Africa

Page 12


The Green Festival, an annual event since 2001, is the

largest sustainability event in the world. It is a celebra-

tion and exhibition of all things green, sustainable and

environmentally friendly. TREES has been participat-

ing in Green Festivals across America since 2003, with

the goal of increasing public awareness about serious

environmental and social issues, and how tree planting

can help solve some critical problems.

This year TFTF had a booth at the Washington, DC

festival as well as the San Francisco festival. The

Washington event was attended by over 36,000 people,

and Trees for the Future was one of approximately 400

exhibitors. We spent two days talking with the thou-

sands of festival-goers about our organization and the

benefits of planting trees.

The San Francisco Green Festival was only one week

after the Washington event. We were very excited to

be in San Francisco again and to have the opportunity

to connect with our many friends on the West Coast.

While three days of standing on our feet and educating

people about our mission was tiring, it was also a lot of

fun and highly successful.

In the days leading up to the S.F. Green Festival, we

also attended the San Francisco Green Business

Conference for the first time. This event brings togeth-

er businesses from across the country to hear stories

from green business leaders, share ideas, make connec-

tions, and develop models for success in the emerging

green marketplace.

It was inspirational and energizing to see so many

businesses that are passionate about our Earth and

motivated to meet the global challenges we are facing.

With creative, fresh ideas, these businesses are facing

the economic downturn with innovative, forward-look-

ing business models designed to spur responsible and

sustainable growth. On top of meeting so many fantas-

tic people, this was a great opportunity for us to make

connections with more green business leaders that are

interested in partnering with Trees for the Future to

plant trees across the developing world.

We would like to thank everyone who came out to the

festivals and business conference this year. This was

the biggest showing to date, and we certainly hope and

expect that the trend continues. In particular, we would

like to thank all of you who stopped by our booth or

table to chat and to learn more about our work. With

your help, we will continue to spread the word and the

work of tree-planting and Trees for the Future!

The Green Festivals and The Green Business Conference

Page 13


focused on establishing a tree nursery, so that each of the par-

ticipants will be able to manage their own nursery from which

to teach other Scouts. David explained and demonstrated pre-

treatment methods for seeds of each of the tree species listed in

TREES Agroforestry Training Manual. The participants then

practiced establishing a seed bed in an optimal location to start

a tree nursery. David described and demonstrated the three

common methods for raising seedlings in a nursery: 1) poly-

thene tubes, 2) bare-stem, and 3) Swaziland beds. All three were

discussed because there are drawbacks and benefits to each

method, and individual circumstances determine which method

is the most effective.

Before the seminar ended, the participants established a seed

bed for approximately 1,000 Senna siamea seedlings. The

Ugandan Scouts will manage these seedlings and will out-plant

the seedlings to areas of Kaazi Scout Camp when the heavy rains begin in February. Each of the participants

were also given between 500 and 1,000 tree seeds of either Sesbania sesban, Senna siamea, Leucaena leuco-

cephala, or Markhamia lutea for establishing their own tree nurseries from which to facilitate additional train-

ings.

Both training workshops were a great success. Over 100 participants were trained in the basics of agroforestry

and the importance of tree planting. Many of these participants will go on to establish tree nurseries of their own

and plant trees in many areas of Uganda. Most importantly, they will train others on the importance of tree plant-

ing and help ensure sustainability for years to come.

Trees for the Future’s East Africa Regional

Office in Moshi, Tanzania

Page 14


Hi, I’m Jenny Brandt and I am going to be coordinat-

ing the Tree Pals program in 2009. We expect it to be

a big year, with students planting 400,000 beneficial

trees around the world. The majority of these trees

will be planted on degraded lands in rural communities

in Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Ethiopia, India and

the Philippines. We plant in these regions because

planting trees in these areas addresses critical environmental and social problems that stem from unsustainable

land use. Additionally, trees in tropical and subtropical regions will sequester the most carbon, and this work

will greatly benefit poor communities who are disproportionately affected by global warming.

For example, many families are suffering from food insecurity, malnutrition, landslides, flooding, droughts; all

of these issues can be alleviated through the planting of trees. But that is only half the program, we are recruit-

ing 200 schools from those six countries along with 200 American schools which will be connected through cor-

respondence about global environmental issues. Students will learn about the benefits that trees provide and will

be empowered by their efforts to counter environmental degradation. Each American student will have 40 trees

planted in their names, sequestering a ton of carbon every year.

We are in the process of recruiting schools now. If anyone has family or friends who are of school age or who

are teachers in the above stated countries that might be interested in joining this program we would love to be

in contact with them. Participating in this program does not cost the schools anything- all donations come from

businesses and individuals who are interested in supporting Tree Pals. For more information email me at

[email protected].

Introducing Jenny Brandt

Jenny studied English at the University of Hawaii atManoa, where the campus is also an arboretum (and isa great place to learn about tropical trees). Afterwatching An Inconvenient Truth; she applied for aninternship with a carbon offset company to learn moreabout how to help fight climate change. They sent herto Nicaragua to see how reforestation projects benefitlocal communities, ecosystems, and sequester carbonfrom the global atmosphere. She came home speakingmuch better Spanish, and she soon found Trees for theFuture.

Pictures from 2008

Page 15


At the end of the year we like to put in a few of our favorite photographs. We hope they help to show

you some of the great work that your program is accomplishing. Thank you for your support!

Gangisetty and Ravi Reddy standing in the shade of

1 year old Sesbania trees in India

Families in Honduras showing MPFG tree seed pro-

vided by TREES

A Tree Pals student in Ethiopia with a seedling

Mlava community tree nursery in Kakamega, Kenya

Address change ?

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Change as shown

Remove from List

Mail Changes or Call

800-643-0001

Loret Miller Ruppe Center

P.O. Box 7027

Silver Spring, Maryland 20907

Printed by wind energy on recycled paper with soy ink

Searching for Holiday Gifts? Plant Trees!

Give your friends and loved ones the gift of TREES this holiday

season! Send them a Tree Planting Gift Certificate, and help

improve people’s livelihoods in rural communities around the world.

They will receive a personalized tree-planting certificate, with a description of the

project and community where the trees are being planted.

These certificates supported the planting of over 1,000,000 trees in 2008!

You can order a certificate online at www.plant-trees.org, or by calling 301-565-0630.

Documents

Winter 2008 Newsletter