Community Reforestation in Java, Indonesia

This project started in 2007 as the non-profit foundation Yayasan Bumi Hijau Lestari (Sustainable Green Earth) based in Semarang, Central Java – Indonesia.

The Trees4Trees Program has already planted more than 6 million trees and helped +38,700 local families to get started in community forestry. Trees4Trees will plant another 5.5 million trees with 22,000 farmers during 2023 alone.

The Trees4Trees team consists of 182 staff (80 are forestry graduates), + 900 people from local communities are trained and employed in our forestry operations and another 190 people work in the seedling nurseries.

We operate 4 nurseries around Java island, with a total capacity of around 6 million seedlings per year and up to 28 native and established species of timber and fruit trees.

Our Vision: Build a program that contributes to the health of the environment while improving social well-being, which is economically effective, self-sustaining and realized by direct action in the communities where we work.

Our Mission: Improve the environment and the lives of people in local communities through planting trees, education and related services and by doing so, create value for all stakeholders in the stream of our activities.

This project has a dual focus: first, it is committed to preserving the environment, and second, empowering local communities through reforestation and education.

The majority of trees we plant are using agroforestry methods. This improves the productivity of the land and the economies of the residents.

We provide seedlings of high value tree species to local farmers at no cost and offer guidance on planting techniques, sustainable forestry practices, and the benefits of a healthy environment.

Trees4Trees core strategy is to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for these farmers, motivating them to conserve existing forests and actively participate in future tree planting efforts. This creates a sustainable harmony between the environment and community prosperity, ensuring a greener, healthier future for all.

Each year, we carry out a comprehensive recruitment process, commencing with fact-finding visits to the villages where our staff reside and work with the local residents. This extended stay within the community allows us to understand their unique capabilities and challenges.

We visit the individual farmers’ fields to determine which tree species are best suited to their conditions and economic goals. This is followed by practical training on how to grow healthy trees, agroforestry methods, organic fertilizer production, grafting for fruit trees and other skills that help them to maximize the positive impact of their trees. A local hotline is provided for farmers to call for expert help for tree growing advice and problems such as insects or disease.

Demonstration plots are planted in the local communities to show farmers what can be achieved by following the suggested practices and these ‘demplots’ are also used to train staff and farmers on various forestry approaches.

To optimize our outcomes, we produce 120% of the target number of trees in the nursery each year. Then we distribute and plant 110% of the target amount. With an anticipated loss of around 10% in the planting process we expect to have at least 100% of the target amount of trees planted and established at the first monitoring cycle.

A month after the initial seedling distribution and planting, we conduct site visits to monitor the progress of the trees and provide additional support to the farmers. It is during these visits that we officially confirm the count of trees that have been successfully planted and have taken root, ensuring that our reported results are based on thriving, established trees.

As a standard procedure we return each year to monitor survival and growth rates for the 2 years after planting. These factors taken together give us high survival rates, frequently over 90%.

In our commitment to transparency, after we verify that the trees are alive and growing, we record them in our GEKO database and interactive mapping system with geo-coordinates and a comprehensive set of planting data. This system allows to monitor the trees and the farmers who is growing them.

Our supporters can be assured that their contributions produce thriving, living trees rather than bags of seeds or promises to plant.