The impact

The most important thing for us is the difference we make and the impact we have over time. Better Globe wants to contribute toward eradicating poverty in Africa by, among other methods, giving people opportunities to work, creating lasting value with tree plantations, and by supporting education.

To achieve the most positive impact possible, we support Better Globe Forestry Ltd.’s (BGF) work on several fronts. On this page, we present some key issues our agent, BGF, has influenced positively with the help of Better Globe’s contributors from around the world.

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 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 often have to help with providing for the family. When children have to work, it is usually at the expense of education and securing a better future. As a consequence, it becomes harder to move out of poverty, and it may also contribute to crime.

Instead of forcing people to move away to find work, BGF creates 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 different ways.

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 generally more challenging for women to find secure jobs in rural areas, what we in Better Globe support through BGF makes a real difference.

Rural women in Kenya are generally better at managing money responsibly, which means that the majority among those granted microloans by the microloan banks financed by Better Globe’s donation package customers are women.

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

Schools and education are among the most important steps to end poverty

If children do not get educational opportunities, there is a considerable risk that they 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 new opportunities. Still, starting with children, we can build integrity and a dignified and sustainable foundation for communities that can be inherited for generations to come.

Education is an essential part of the work Better Globe’s benefactors support. BGF contributes with knowledge and financial resources to the renovation and construction of schools in collaboration with Child Africa, often close to the tree plantations. In many cases, BGF also organizes tree planting on the school grounds. The aim is to help the schools become self-sufficient over time, improve food security, and teach the children about 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 problem around the world. 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 lands. And with Better Globe, you can help crowdfund the effort to counter poverty and desertification in these dry areas.

The advantage of operating in drylands is that BGF can leave the fertile grounds 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.

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 help, 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 soils and desertification releases considerable amounts of carbon.

By supporting the effort by BGF, Better Globe donors help counter climate change each time they buy a tree or a donation package. In that same process, jobs and income opportunities are created for some of Africa’s most vulnerable communities.

BGF achievements to date

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

• Planting a few thousand hectares of forest and tree plantations, with over 1.2 million trees.
• We helped over 5 000 families with microcredit by financing community-owned microloan banks managed by BGF partner K-Rep.
• Cooperation with over 15 000 partner farmers (Nov 1, 2019) who plant trees on their land, presently amounting to over 1 500 000 trees.
• BGF 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 to help local communities and schools with tree-planting initiatives to support education, among other things.
• Through the Better Globe donation package, we have funded more than EUR 255 000 to projects related to improving the water situation for dryland farming communities.
• BGF has 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.
• Collaboration with many local organizations, businesses, and government agencies.
• We have funded the renovation of several schools, supported the construction of two new schools and the purchase of one school. The support given through donation packages, more than EUR 255 000, has allowed several hundreds of children to get access to education in Kenya and Uganda.

Donate to help plant trees and reduce poverty

We invite you to make a difference in East Africa and contribute to a better world. Our trees are managed in an ethical, sustainable, and long-term way. Click on the link to our shop and make a socially responsible and sustainable donation today. It feels great to help others!

• Start your monthly donations or make a one-time donation for a better future