One tree for your order

For each order in our shop, we make a donation to the Eden Reforestation Projects (ERF). In return, they facilitate the planting of a tree. The reforestation projects in some of the poorest and most biodiverse regions of the world combine the protection of climate and species with the socio-economic development of local communities.

Eden Reforestation Projects
Eden Reforestation Projects
Eden Reforestation Projects


The Eden Reforestation Projects were launched in 2004 by Dr. Stephen Finch founded in Ethiopia. By early 2020, more than 250 million trees had been planted. The target by 2025 is 500 million trees.

Planting and maintaining these new trees has a cascade of positive effects:

The trees bind solar energy and produce oxygen – two decisive factors for the global CO₂ balance and the course of climate change.

The trees are turning inhospitable and previously cleared areas back into rich ecosystems. They form the basis for natural biodiversity, for the survival of endangered species and for sustainable agricultural yields of local farmers.

The locals, who collect tree seeds on behalf of the ERF, raise seedlings, plant them and then ensure the growth of the trees, generate a socio-economic momentum through their income that benefits their entire village or region.

 

Eden Reforestation Projects


As of today, the ERF was or is active in the following countries (the numbers are from early 2020):

Ethiopia - 12.3 million trees from 2005 to 2014: In this first phase of the ERF, valuable knowledge was gained that is still used today. The project in Ethiopia had to be ended in 2014 due to fraudulent acts by local authorities.

Madagascar – 242 million trees since 2007: The island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Mozambique has become the ERF's largest project. In 2018, the rate of afforestation of mangrove forests was already at 3.7 million trees – per month. In cooperation with the government of Madagascar, the ERF has also been taking care of deciduous trees in two national parks since 2014. Only 10 percent of the original forests of Madagascar remain today. Their disappearance not only deprives people of their livelihood, but also erodes the coastline that protects the land from the sea. Three out of four species on this island do not exist anywhere else in the world.

Haiti - 0.7 million trees since 2010: The bitterly poor and underdeveloped country has embarked on a vicious cycle of poverty and environmental destruction by cutting down 98 percent (!) of its original forests. In cooperation with a local university and local farmers' cooperatives, the ERF has planted around 700,000 trees in this extremely difficult environment, with the annual rate of planting growing steadily. In Haiti, almost two thirds of the population live in poverty, a quarter even in extreme poverty.

Nepal - 4.2 million trees since 2015: The ERF is active in three Nepalese regions, including the Chitwan National Park, a World Heritage Site. Nepal is the fastest growing ERF project. In Nepal, 81 percent of the population live in rural areas. The region is home to 27 endangered species of mammals, including the Bengal tiger, the Indian rhinoceros and the Asian elephant.

Indonesia - 3.1 million trees since 2017: Indonesia is home to spectacular biodiversity and two of the five largest biodiversity centers in the world on its 17,000 islands. However, this livelihood of the rural population is acutely threatened by overexploitation and massive environmental degradation. Among the 135 endangered mammals in Indonesia are the Sumatran tiger, the orangutan, the Java rhinoceros and the Sumatran elephant. Indonesia has destroyed 80 percent of its original forests. 40 million people live on less than $ 1.25 a day. The ERF works with villagers on the island of Biak to help the precious forests grow back.

Mozambique - 2.7 million trees since 2018: The ERF is working with local communities and villagers to reforest the rural East African country, the mighty mangrove forests of which were largely destroyed. 45 percent of the population live below the poverty line, and the proportion of people under the age of 15 is just as high. In Mozambique there is a rich variety of animal and plant species, the existence of which is threatened.

Kenya - in preparation: The scenic diversity of the African country, which stretches from the highlands to the coast, is also expressed in an impressive biodiversity. This includes unique forest landscapes that cover seven percent of the country and are unfortunately not managed sustainably. 42 percent of the population live below the poverty line.

 

Eden Reforestation Projects
Eden Reforestation Projects
Eden Reforestation Projects


The ERF website provides information on all details of the projects, including the specific funding, and the survival rates of the trees planted.

As partners of the Eden Reforestation Projects, we are glad to help balance our resource consumption in the First World.