While making use of what nature has to offer is a good thing, these profits can come at a price. Two of our team members report on their former jobs in the timber industry – and their decision to pursue a career change.

Big changes are coming up at Fairventures Worldwide: After more than 9 years as Executive Director, our founder Johannes Schwegler is leaving the management at the end of this month to fully dedicate himself to lead our sister company Fairventures Digital (TREEO). 

The climate crisis poses numerous challenges for smallholder farmers in Borneo. But Pasihan's story shows that it is worth looking to the future with hope. Just like his sons, the trees and plants in Pasihan's field will continue to grow in the years to come. And with each new seedling, the smallholder farmer plants another piece of the future.

On May 14, we launched a tree planting campaign around Mpanga river in Western Uganda. The ‘’Urban Greening” themed project aims to plant 30,000 trees in the city of Fort Portal.

In our new annual report, we inform you about our activities during the past planting phase 2021, with a special focus on the impact of our work, which was made possible by your support.

Our project to rehabilitate degraded land with native tree species was evaluated along with 24 other IKI projects that ended in 2020 as part of the third IKI evaluation cycle.

In April, we held our first Farmer Field School for 285 cocoa farmers as part of our Kalteng Cocoa Program. The goal of the program is to harness the potential of cocoa in Central Kalimantan and to establish cocoa as a sustainable source of income for smallholder farmers.

“Take Action and Plant A Tree.” That was the theme for an event our team in Uganda hosted on May 7 at Bunyama Katosi in the Mukono district. 150 volunteers answered our call.

In March, journalists and a camera team from Deutsche Welle visited our project area in Indonesia to report on our work. Now their film about "100 Million Trees for Borneo" is published.

In collaboration with other stakeholders, we will establish and manage a Timber Innovation Center in the city center of Kampala. It will be constructed on top of the Crown House building – where our Ugandan office is located – and the construction will include Engineered Timber Products manufactured in Uganda.

In April, we signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the development of sustainable lightwood with Indonesia's Ministry of Trade through the Directorate General of National Export Development (DJPEN) in Jakarta. This shows the Ministry of Trade's dedication to foster innovation and creativity in the development of light wood, notably sengon and jabon.

The Ministry of Trade through the Directorate General of National Export Development and Fairventures Worldwide signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of sustainable light wood.

We are proud to announce that Fairventures Worldwide is now officially a Supporting Partner of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

We are proud to give you an essential update on TREEO, the monitoring technology that we have been developing in Uganda during the past 18 months with support by the German Ministry of Economic Coooperation and Development (BMZ).

On the 21st of March, our team in Uganda celebrated the International Day of Forests through tree planting at the Kaazi Forestry reserve.

Overshadowed by the terrible events in Ukraine, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a new report last week. In it, the scientists warn of the dramatic effects of global warming - and outline approaches to avert the climate catastrophe after all. 

Last year, the Gunung Mas Regency suffered a severe flooding. But at Fairventures, no farmer is left behind! So we decided to supported the communities with new seedlings.

In Uganda, Editah Nabweru pinned her hopes on reforestation. And she has big plans. A report by Andrew Odoch Umahtete and Rainer Lang.

Fairventures attended COP26! On Friday the 5th, we took the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle and on Saturday the 6th, our team of four arrived in Glasgow, ready to get to work.

I ran, and ran. My mind was running as well. I couldn’t believe what I had heard. I didn’t want to believe what I had just been told. All the memories came flashing at once, and I got overwhelmed with emotions.

Catch up with our global operations. The report provides descriptions and numbers on our programs during the 2020-21 planting seasons. Specifically, it highlights the impact of our activities that were made possible by your support and contributions.

Now is the time to scale our approach and harness the potential of reforestation even more extensively. The new structure of our management team reflects this intention.

COVID-19 had a major impact on our work in the country offices in Uganda and Indonesia. Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, we have had to deal with many challenges that have had a huge impact on the implementation of our activities in the field.

They stretch on for kilometers, these palm oil plantations on Borneo. An eerie sight. Not a sound can be heard. Even animals do not want to be here in this sterile environment. Though there is one who has not been deterred.