Our Impact

At Better Globe AS, our primary focus is on creating a sustainable and long-lasting positive impact in rural communities. Our approach to poverty relief in Africa involves supporting employment opportunities, agroforestry initiatives and tree plantations to generate lasting value, microfinance, gender equality, and children’s education. Through these methods, we strive to empower individuals and communities, fostering sustainable economic growth and development in the regions Better Globe Forestry Ltd. (BGF) operates.

It is the invaluable support from our customers the enables us to maximize our positive impact by supporting BGF’s work on multiple fronts. On this page, we present some key issues our agent in East Africa, BGF, has influenced positively with support from Better Globe’s worldwide customer base.

We reduce the risk of families separating

In many cases, men in rural areas try to find work in larger cities, but they seldom get further than the outskirts of the town. Instead, they get stuck in the slums, where crime and drugs are present. They rarely, if ever, find a decent job, and are too proud to go back home and tell people that they failed.

This search for employment leads to many rural families breaking up. And when women are alone, children are often required to help provide for the family. When children work, it is usually at the expense of education and securing a better future. Consequently, it becomes harder to move out of poverty, and it may also contribute to crime down the line.

Instead of forcing people to move away to find work, BGF creates well-paid job opportunities where people already live, as they establish tree plantations far out in the countryside. People who have never had a job can now work under dignified conditions, receive a regular salary, and feel proud to support themselves, their families, and contribute to the local community in diverse ways.

To an increasing degree, BGF plant trees with partner farmers who receive training in agroforestry techniques, water management, and other skillsets needed to improve crop yields and tree seedling survival under challenging conditions. This in turn supports both the local economy and the environment, creating more jobs and income opportunities in a sustainable way. Focusing on agroforestry with partner farmers in Kenya and Uganda has proven so successful for BGF that it is likely to become the main strategy for further expansion.

BGF also emphasizes the employment of women, which is unusual in these regions. Even rarer are the female supervisors at the tree nurseries. Giving preference to female workers is part of BGF’s work for social sustainability. Studies show that women contribute more to their families and communities than men do. And since it is more challenging for women to find secure jobs in rural areas, our crowdfunding activities to support BGF makes a real difference for these women.

Rural women in Kenya are known to be better at managing money responsibly than their counterparts, which means that the majority among those granted microloans by the microfinance banks financed by Better Globe customers buying the Donation Package, are women. And as the loans are repaid, these women become stakeholders and take part in the future profits of these community-owned banks.

• Read more about economic sustainability here →
• Learn more about help to self-help here →

Improving access to schools and education is essential to end poverty

If children do not get educational opportunities, there is a considerable risk that they will instead learn what their parents learned from their parents. In many cases, it involves corruption, and it often leads to inequalities and prolonged poverty. We may not always be able to help adults do things in a new way and to look for honest and new opportunities. Still, starting with children, we can build integrity and a dignified and sustainable foundation for decent communities that can be inherited for generations to come.

Education is an essential part of the work Better Globe’s customers support when they purchase the Donation Package. BGF contributes with knowledge and financial resources to the renovation and construction of schools in collaboration with Child Africa in the areas close to the BGF’s tree plantations and partner farmers. In many cases, BGF also organizes tree planting on the school grounds. The aim is to help schools become self-sufficient over time, improve food security, and educate students on the importance of caring for the environment.

• Read more about the schools here →

The more trees planted, the more significant our impact is

Deforestation is an enormous worldwide problem. Although many policymakers around the world are unanimous about this fact, there is not enough action taken to resolve the issue, and certainly not fast enough. BGF has chosen to invest in commercial forestry in arid and semi-arid areas. By purchasing our green products, you can contribute to the crowdfunding effort by Better Globe AS that aims to combat poverty and desertification in these dry regions, paving the way for a better future.

One of the advantages of operating in drylands is that BGF can leave the fertile areas to those who need it the most to sustain their families and to provide food for the nation. The company can make a far more significant difference by transforming vast areas of semi-desert into lush and green environments that support a sustainable economy.

BGF contributes to securing more trees on the planet through contract farmers, sustainable tree plantations, and by planting trees that can help reduce deforestation in some of the most biodiversity-rich forests, our tropical forests. With your support, we can grow our impact and help create a greener future for Africans as well as for the world at large.

The trees also help convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, and they act as carbon sinks, which means they store carbon. Mukau trees grown in Kenya also bind nitrogen to the soil, improving soil health in degraded areas. And in the process, Mukau trees counter both soil erosion and desertification. It is also worth mentioning that degrading soil and desertification releases considerable amounts of carbon. With Better Globe AS, you can drastically reduce this problem.

By supporting the effort by BGF, Better Globe customers help counter climate change each time they buy a Sponsor or Donation Package. At the same time, green jobs and income opportunities are created for some of Africa’s most vulnerable communities.

We call this true sustainability because it is self-sustaining by benefiting everyone involved. The local communities, biodiversity, and environment all benefit. And in addition to that, our customers who provide the funds can also benefit from half of the trees they help to plant by becoming shareholders in Tree Partner Solutions AB. And this is why we can say that our strategy to eradicate extreme poverty one family at a time is both environmentally and financially sustainable for all parties.

BGF achievements to date

Through crowdfunding, Better Globe customers have supported BGF in achieving noteworthy progress over the years, some of which includes:

• Planting a few thousand hectares of forest and tree plantations, with over 1.2 million trees.
• Helped over 5 000 families with microcredit by financing community-owned microloan banks managed by BGF partner K-Rep.
• Cooperation with over 21 000 partner farmers (Jan 1, 2023) who plant trees on their land, presently amounting to over 2 200 000 trees.
• Started a collaboration with Kenya’s largest power company KenGen, which includes having tree plantations surrounding their dams to reduce soil erosion. A partnership with KenGen Foundation was also formed in 2015, to help local communities and schools (800 to date in 2023) with tree-planting initiatives to support education, among other things.
• EUR 772 232 donated to projects related to improving the water situation for dryland farming communities through the Donation Package (2023).
• Employed over 150 people full time with benefits such as health insurance, which is difficult to come by in Kenya. More than 450 people are also working part-time at BGF’s tree plantations. Extra job opportunities are also created by supporting contract farmers and agroforestry.
• Collaborating with many local organizations, businesses, and government agencies.
• Funded the renovation of several schools, supported the construction of two new schools and the purchase of another school. The support given through Donation Packages, more than EUR 353 331, has allowed several thousands of children get access to education in Kenya and Uganda (2023).

Purchase now and do good for others and yourself!

Support tree planting and poverty relief in East Africa with our Sponsor and Donation Packages. Make a financially sound decision to help families in need with a chance to benefit from long-term sustainable and ethical forest management with Tree Partner Solutions AB. It feels fantastic to help others and the environment. Click the link below and make your first purchase with Better Globe AS and contribute to a better world today.

Act now - start your green journey with us today!