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July 17, 2017 By Elizabeth Norikane Honeybees contribute to more than a third of all agricultural production, significantly enhance biodiversity, and improve crop yields. And although they can be found almost everywhere, in recent years there has been a decline in bee populations, threatening the world’s food supply. Through the work of Trees for the … Continued
Our Forest Garden program brings farmers together in groups where they attend training sessions, support each other, and collaborate through every stage — planning, planting, and harvesting. However, these groups often become more than just agricultural training communities. A Support Network Beyond Farming For the Upendo group of Tanzania, the farmers are each other’s biggest … Continued
Mixing a few common plants and materials found around her home, Ajok Lilly discovered a natural way to keep bugs and pests away from her garden. Initially, she felt skeptical when the TREES Trainers introduced her to a pesticide alternative made from plants, soap, and water. She had always relied on expensive chemical pesticides bought … Continued
Author: John Leary, Executive Director One of my heroes is Loret Miller Ruppe, who reminded us that being at peace is not just the absence of war. A Determined Pursuit for Change Ndeye sought peace and independence when she pursued Trees for the Future (TREES) Technician Omar Ndao three years ago. Witnessing the health, income, … Continued
Although the Baobab (Adansonia) is not a tree we plant in our Forest Gardens, it frequently appears throughout our projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is especially common around our Forest Gardens in Senegal. The tree has many nicknames and is part of our “Amazing Trees” collection due to its numerous benefits for people, land, and … Continued
Cashews are one of the crops grown in our Forest Gardens that truly fascinate us. Many people are unaware that cashews grow on trees and ripen on top of a fruit, often called a cashew “apple.” This incredible nut and the tree it grows on play a vital role in our Forest Garden model. They … Continued
Malik doesn’t know about the Sustainable Development Goals: But he’s meeting them. Decades of backbreaking subsistence farming had left Malik Ndao and his family hungry and hopeless. He struggled for years, but the barren land with dying soils never produced enough to feed his children. Now he has a brighter future. His life is filled … Continued
World Soil Day is December 5th More than 1.5 billion people in the world depend on degraded land, and about three-quarters (74%) of them live in poverty¹. For 250 million of these people, their plight has a name — desertification². Desertification³, or land degradation occurring in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, results from both … Continued
Sidy Ba lives in Senegal. He’s had a forest garden for the past 3 years with a mix of eggplant and several types of trees. He sells 200 pounds of eggplant per week and it’s his main source of income. Sidy Ba’s forest garden also includes Papaya trees, thorny Acacia trees (to protect from intruding livestock) and pigeon pea trees, … Continued
“Danga dof,” is a phrase in the Wolof language that Mariama Ndao heard countless times during her first two years in the Trees for the Future training program. She pulled water from an 80-foot well and carried ten-gallon tubs on her head to water her newly planted jujube trees. In her mid-50s, Mariama carried over … Continued