Getting paid to plant trees

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Rural Kenyan farmers have joined the global carbon trade:

They are being urged to plant trees, not for firewood, timber or electricity poles, but for absorbing excess carbon from the environment - and they are being paid for it. Through this new concept, 45 members of Rongai Development Programme have each received Sh700 as motivation to join the trade by establishing carbon sinks (forests and tree planting projects)

...Farmers are paid according to the amount of carbon dioxide they help remove from the atmosphere. The final figures are assessed by calculating the height and canopy size of the trees and determining how much carbon they can absorb.

The NGO International Small Group and Tree Planting Programme (TIST) and the Clean Air Action Corporation, an international broker in carbon trade, initiated the project. Its more high-tech then I would have thought:

To determine how much carbon each farmer is helping absorb from the atmosphere, project managers use state-of-the-art technologies. Using global positioning systems, smart phones and laptops, weekly updates are entered into the TIST website. The website is then linked to eBay, an online auction site, so as to promote trade in carbon.

Eunice Kihori, a TIST quantifier, says the regular updates assist buyers get correct data on what to base trade decisions. "The project has been received well in the area with farmers going the extra mile in search of water for their seedlings."

Update: More on Bakelele and IEM.

John Paton
May 17, 2006

This reminds me of a related theme that I looked at a few years ago when evaluation a programme supported by DFID in Kenya to support responsible entrepreneurship. One project aimed at encouraging the Masai to plant Acacia trees to help combat desertification, while at the same time creating a sustainable supply or charcoal. The inititiative came from the group that managed the Carnivore and other restaurants in Nairobi, who became aware that the substantial volumes of charcoal they used for cooking came from unsustainable sources. To cut a longer story short, it teamed up with a nurseryman producing tree saplings. Between them they showed the Masai that a tree bought for KSh20 could produce wood for charcoal worth KSh100 in five years using the coppicing method. To ensure the viability of the trees, whose bark was usually eaten by foraging goats, the nurseryman showed them how to twist the stems, so only part of the bark could be eaten. Once coppiced, the twisted stem would be cut and made into charcoal - the twisted charcoal would then become a trademark for sustainable charcoal. As a by-product of this I showed them how we in Ireland made hedges from hawthorn by horizontally weaving some of the branches, thereby - for the Masai - creating thorny hedging that could be used to keep goats and other animals out of kitchen gardens or even predators out of villages. I don't know how this project panned out (this was in 2002), but seemed a good way to achieve several aims: reduce or roll-back desertification, provide an income for the Masai and create a sustainable supply of charcoal.

nachiappan
May 25, 2006

i would like to more about the project.I will be glad to take a project to my village and use their effort to increase forest cover.

I am more concerned about the finanaces that would be available to me.Iam anxious to know how much can you afford to create a froest cover.

My only bothering is finances iam having manpower an technical advise availability.

Iam a professionally qualified Geologist.

Kindly help me to intiate a project for tree planting and increasing froest cover in my village.

NN.Nachiappan

Shawn Henry
July 06, 2006

That was a good move.1 step towards environmental clean up. Good Idea .I think its high time the people realize the need of trees in locality. I live in Texas and there is an organization - called Trees for Houston. Its dedicated to the orderly planting of street trees along Houston's major arterial streets and freeways. I am citing the link of the site .All you environment lovers would love this site too. http://www.dickweekley.com/affiliations.html

seph
October 09, 2006

wow, we seem to get two messages here:

on the one side,

above:

They are being urged to plant trees, not for firewood, timber or electricity poles, but for absorbing excess carbon from the environment - and they are being paid for it.

on the other, the provided link to the Bakelele project itself showing a different incentive for tree planting:

Major buyers of trees include tea factories (who use firewood to process tea leaves), Kenya Power & Lighting Company, East African Cables, Telkom (for poles), and numerous saw millers and local wood vendors.

how can u get paid to plant trees to absorb co2, when the same trees will be later burned - and the co2 they capture released into the atmosphere?

does this work? it might do, as one potentian planter puts it in the site

"But really, if the figures are that high per acre, its amazingly lucrative!"

and sure this coment from a project associated to the world bank... Also one must also protect land from squatters, who may destroy trees for firewood, or to build homes in what they consider to be “unoccupied forest” land, or whose grazing animals may eat young tree seedlings.

these are kenyan people without land, education, opportunity, etc. and in whos hands is most of the land in kenya?

so make sure to protect the land from greedy quick buckers too.

Teddy Kinyanjui
February 02, 2009

Tree Planting is a Family Affair!!!

Have a look at the reskqu blogspot, renewable energy systems Kenya, I'm just back from 4 long but nice years in collage New Mexico and am getting the family biz on the web, on the line so to speak, the intranet...large trucks and stuff....but I digress, we weave trees into live chairs and tables, We partially combust wood (make charcoal)from the first private/public Arboretum in Kenya, we hold training courses and demonstrations country wide to show people that there is money in sustainably and holistically managing their natural resources!!! Good job on putting up this post!

Jamey Ponte
February 24, 2009

Great post - looking for others who are working within the mara area per green eco projects. We have just started our long term project in the Aitong/Lemek area and have interest in the above, solar, natural fencing, bio-gas, sustainable planting/gardens... those with ideas or success with projects we can see.

Hope to hear from you.

jamey

ps- Teddy who posted above has been so far a great source. Thanks Teddy.

Elango
October 02, 2009

I would like to plant trees in my entire village. I need further help.

Hilma
July 07, 2010

Help!!!!

Who knows where I can sell my Moringa Oliefera seeds in Kenya or have contacts in India for this product?

Davis Muhumuza
October 12, 2010

Greetings. I thank the WB for the wonderful program of planting trees. Am a tree lover my self and i have decided to embark on tree planting in my village in Mparo Kabale Uganda. all the mountains and hills are now bare whence in my early years they were full of black wattle. i have decided to plant pine and eucalyptus trees. All contributions are welcome.

Daniel Kwame Agbesi
August 19, 2021

Am planting trees to sustain the beautiful environment and nature. Am currently working very hard to sustain the beauty and the absorbing carbon dioxide. Also to retain the destroyed Virgin forests.

Ashwani Jaiswal
August 19, 2021

My self and my wife shifted to village after working 25 years in corporate around world. We planted 10,000 trees
We are creating employment to local villagers by starting Dairy and fishery. I would like to understand any program where organisation support in drive. We have a plan to plant 100,000 trees in near future.
Ashwani and Urvashi