Our Approach
Our Mission
To end hunger and poverty by training farmers to regenerate their land.
The Problem
We lose trees at a rate of 50 soccer fields per minute as our food systems destroy our ecosystems. Most of this degradation occurs in the developing tropics of Africa, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia where hundreds of millions of chronically-hungry, smallholder farming families uknowingly use destructive and short-sighted agricultural practices that further degrade their communities trees, soil, water and biodiversity, making them even more likely to migrate and more vulnerable to the climate changes that lie ahead. It becomes a cycle.
Our Solution
The Forest Garden Program is a simple, replicable, and scalable approach with proven success. How? It starts with trees. Through our 4-year training program, called the Forest Garden Approach, farmers plant thousands of trees that protect and bring nutrients back to the soil. This helps farmers grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. Forest Garden farmers gain increases in income and access to food, even in the first year, all while improving the environment.
Our Impact
Where We Work
We are currently working with thousands of farming families across five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our focus is on the implementation of Forest Garden Programs in Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Tanzania, as these are areas where we are having the biggest impact and seeing profound results.
Where We WorkOur Strategic Growth Plan
Trees for the Future (TREES) will break the cycle of poverty and hunger for 1 million people by planting 500 million trees in 125,000 Forest Gardens by 2025. To that end, TREES will execute on three programmatic pathways: expansion of existing Forest Garden projects, collaboration with partner organizations, and replication of our model through the Forest Garden Training Center.
Strategic Growth PlanOur History
Our Team
Our 200+ global team is committed to changing the world. A small group of team members is located at our headquarters and over 180 native field staff are located across the countries where we work.
The TeamFeatured Forest Garden Farmers
"I get more from my two acre Forest Garden than I could get from six acres of peanut crop. My sons have a future now, and as I age, trees will continue to feed my family."
Ousmane Willane and his family
Keur Lahine Lobe, SenegalOusmane Willane and his family "Before planting trees, I had no money and I had no purpose.”
Access for All
Training is essential to the sustainability of our work. In our many years of research and development, we have found the ultimate methodology to empower communities and project leaders that ends poverty, hunger, and deforestation. The Forest Garden Training Program was designed to bring the Forest Garden Approach impact to scale. We hope to share the Forest Garden Approach with as many people around the globe as possible in an effort to meet our goal as fast as possible.
The Forest Garden Training CenterOur Innovations
Trees for the Future (TREES) has a solution to some of the world’s most pressing challenges – the Forest Garden Approach – but as we continue to work closely with farmers on the ground we are constantly discovering ways to increase our impact. Exploring new methodologies for improving the environment and farmers’ lives makes our program even stronger. With our dedication to transparency, we are sharing Trees for the Future’s focus on innovations: areas for growth and a greater understanding of the problems and solutions we face in an effort to meet our mission.
Our InnovationsOur Training Sites
Trees for the Future’s Training Sites are model Forest Gardens that demonstrate the Forest Garden Approach in action. Each site is unique, but they are all serving the same purpose – to provide staff, farmers, and partner organizations with an opportunity to see different agroforestry techniques and how different species and crops can be grown in the Forest Garden system.
Our Training SitesCollaborative Partnerships
Our collaborative partnerships enable us to reach more people and have a greater impact on both people and our environment. We have offices in Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, but you’ll see that our Collaborative Partnerships allow us to share our approach and expertise in other countries as well. Learn more about our partnerships or submit a partnership request.
Collaborative Partnerships