Incredible, but true! We actually did it, the millionth seedling is distributed and we can finish the project One Million Trees successfully.
We have been working on our reforestation program since 2014, and for a long time the goal of one million seedlings seemed to be a long way off. With the completion of the planting phase 2019/2020 we have reached this major milestone. We have successfully restored more than 600 hectares of degraded land. More than 1000 farmers are now taking part in our program and are able to earn higher incomes. Actually, we wanted to have a big party at the end of One Million Trees to thank all our supporters. Unfortunately the Corona pandemic prohibits this at the moment. But postponed is not cancelled!
To fully appreciate the first project phase, we would like to look back and reflect on the history of our project. Thus, we do not want to close the project with a dry technical report. Sarina Albeck travelled the project area and wrote the book „Trees for Borneo – How Reforestation Protects the Indigenous People and Fights Climate Change“. She invites you to join her in Borneo to better understand the deforestation there. She also describes how our project „One Million Trees for Borneo“ counteracts deforestation. In the book, farmers, Dayak activists and our colleagues explain their positions, ideas and visions for a sustainable management of the rainforest. More about Sarina and her book can be found here. Unfortunately, the book is so far only available in German.
We thank all those who believed in us and accompanied the project. Your support, whether with large or small amounts, professional advice or new ideas have made this project possible. We are looking forward to welcoming many of you at our book premiere!
On the 07th of May at 7 p.m. we will organize the first of several planned book readings. Due to the current situation, this will take place in a digital setting, unlike originally planned. We will broadcast the reading live on our YouTube channel. Please keep in mind that this event will only be available in german language.
Here is the link to the event: https://www.youtube.com/user/Fairventures/live
And for those who prefer hard facts, we are currently preparing a summary of the project results.
Motivated by the success of „One Million Trees“ we do not only want to look back. On the contrary: The joy about the success gives us additional energy for a new project phase. We would like to plant 100 million trees, this is our next ambitious goal and we are confident that we will achieve it. But only if you continue to stick to it! We are currently working on the strategy for the next phase and we will tell you more about it in the next newsletter.