Our Approach
We aren’t just planting trees.
We’re changing lives through regenerative agriculture.
Our Mission
To improve the livelihoods of impoverished farmers by revitalizing degraded lands.
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 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.
Our Solution
The Forest Garden Program is a simple, replicable and scalable approach with proven success. We train farmers over a four year period to sustainably revitalize their land. We provide all of the training, seeds, tools, and materials. The farmers come prepared with their own land and ready to change their family’s life. Through our 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 food security, even in the first year.
Protection, Years 1-2
Diversification, Years 2 - 3
Optimization, Years 3-4
Graduation, Year 4
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 History
Featured 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.
Visit 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.
Read About Our Innovations