Deforestation is a major problem in the world, contributing to climate change. Did you know that Tanzania loses 718 square miles of tree cover every year??! This is just slightly less than the size of Oxfordshire each year and equates to a loss of 200 million trees per year. The principal reason for this tree loss is poverty. Collecting wood to sell as firewood is the biggest cash business in Musoma, Northern Tanzania. The second is clearing forests for farming.
Over the past two years, we have established a tree planting initiative with 4 villages. There is a population of about 20,000 people in these villages and the area is about 70 square miles. We have partnered with 254 farmers, a large farm owned by a church and a number of schools. In the last two years, we have planted approximately 60,000 trees and plan to plant another 50,000 trees in the next 6 months.
In order to further expand this initiative, we are now partnering with Wallingford based garden centre called Root One. They are excited to be part of this life changing programme which will help combat climate change in Musoma, Northern Tanzania.
Anyone who buys a tree at Root One will be given the opportunity to add £5 to their tree purchase and we will plant a tree with one of our farmer partners in Tanzania, helping them grow their way out of poverty. Customers will receive a tree certificate with the exact location of their tree, the farmer's name who is looking after the tree and the tree species.
Root One are going to very generously match all the donations from their customers. We will use the money to enable farmers to plant trees and develop a sustainable forestry business.
Working together like this can really make a big difference to small farmers in Tanzania and help the environment.
We are very grateful to Jeremy Brudenell and all the Root One team for their fantastic support.
More details in store and on Root One’s website.