In October, six members of the German parliament visited our project sites in Gunung Mas, giving us the opportunity to present the results of the continuous efforts made by the German government in recent years. During their visit, the MPs got to see our nurseries, and experience the impact on nature restoration and community empowerment by Fairventures Worldwide and Fairventures Social Forestry. In the field, they were able to test the TREEO app from our colleagues at Fairventures Digital.
“ I think this is a very great project that is very important to protect our climate worldwide.”
Annika Klose, member of the Social Democratic Party, noted how social agriculture and agroforestry can provide an alternative source of income for locals while at the same time contributing to climate protection.
While visiting our tree nursery in Mangkawuk Village – the place where the tree seedlings are being taken care of – Nicolas Zippelius from the Christian Democratic Union shared his impression of our work, stating that, “If this works, the people can look into a prosperous future.” Zippelius believes that if there is a chance to create economic benefit through reforestation, it will discourage further destruction of the rainforest and help to recover degraded land.
The visit to the social forestry area was also attended by Jaya S. Monong, regional head of the Gunung Mas Regency. He emphasized his backing for the Fairventures program in the Tumbang Kuayan village, saying that, “The government of Gunung Mas supports social forestry for the welfare of the people of Gunung Mas who want to work in the forestry sector.” It should be noted that our project in Indonesia would not have gotten as far as it has without the support of the local government.
We are very grateful for the positive feedback we received during the trip, and we’re hopeful that the continuance of collaboration between the German government and the efforts of all parties in Indonesia will result in positive developments for the climate, our nature and the people from Central Kalimantan.