South Africa: Tree planting in deprived communities supported by Unilever volunteers
Unilever employees are helping orphans and single-parent households grow and sell trees in rural South African communities and townships, providing a sustainable source of income and helping to improve their livelihoods.
Indigenous Trees for Life
Indigenous Trees for Life is a community-based conservation project that works with disadvantaged communities in KwaZulu-Natal province in eastern South Africa. The project aims to educate and provide poor children and parents with the tools to grow indigenous trees, which are then bartered for goods.
The programme, run by the Wildlands Conservation Trust (WCT), a South African environmental NGO, has grown rapidly since it started in 2005. By the beginning of 2008 there were over 1 200 ‘tree-preneurs’ in KwaZulu-Natal, with a target to grow more than 200 000 trees.
Developing entrepreneurial skills
Working with local schools, the Indigenous Trees for Life team identify children and parents who are most in need, and helps them to become tree-preneurs. Tree-preneurs learn how to plant and grow native tree seeds and saplings. The programme provides ongoing support and guidance, encouraging tree-preneurs to grow at least 100 trees each.
Tree-preneurs can sell the seedlings back to the Trust or barter them for basic food stuffs, household items, bicycles, or clothing and school uniforms. Just as importantly, the project helps develop individuals’ entrepreneurial skills, which in turn builds communication and numeracy skills as well as self-confidence.
Green Teams
The Trust also identifies Green Teams, made up of unemployed youth and older women, who purchase the seedlings from tree-preneurs. The Teams are contracted to plant the seedlings in their communities and care for them for up to a year. The Trust pays team members to remove non-native plants and encourages them to collect recyclable waste, which can be sold to recyclers.
The trees improve the appearance of neighbourhoods, helping to make communities more aware of their natural surroundings and the value of sustainably managed resources. The trees are also used in forest restoration projects which, in time, will be used for carbon offsetting projects, generating further income for the local community.
In addition to Unilever’s financial support, Unilever employees spend four weekends a year volunteering with Green Teams on recycling and tree-planting exercises.
