Tag: planting trees

Ayi: Preserving Water Sources Through Tree Planting

Ayi, a tree grower from Drawati Village Bandung_Trees4Trees

Drawati Village, nestled in Paseh District, Bandung Regency. This hillside community rests close to an upstream river—a tributary of the Citarum river watershed. As a result, vital springs dot the area, serving as crucial water sources for the local populace’s daily needs.

Given the significance of the existing springs, safeguarding the surrounding environment becomes imperative. The preservation of water sources requires rehabilitation and reforestation efforts. To this end, the Drawati village government has been actively promoting reforestation activities among its residents through socialization and various programs.

Trees4Trees Tree-Planting Program Contributes the Water Spring Conservation

When the Trees4Trees team introduced a tree planting program funded by AstraZeneca in collaboration with Trees4Trees and One Tree Planted, both the village government and the villagers responded positively. This initiative aligned well with the village’s mission to advance reforestation efforts.

Later, the tree planting program gained the participation of farmer groups in the village, composed of individuals dedicated to reforestation endeavors. Among these farmers, Ayi emerged as the best farmer of Drawati village due to his unwavering commitment to tree planting and reforestation. Ayi’s accomplishments are a testament to his long-standing dedication to his environment.

Prior to joining this tree planting initiative, Ayi was actively engaged in reforestation activities alongside fellow villagers. He pointed out that accessing clean water in his village has become increasingly challenging, despite its proximity to the river’s source. This challenge fueled his determination to revitalize the village’s surroundings, ensuring a more abundant flow of water. He also aspires to enhance underutilized lands through increased tree planting.

Planting Trees to Rejuvenate the Environment and Anticipate the Fruitful Yield

“I plant trees for a better life and a brighter future for this village, not just for myself and my family, but for the entire community. Most importantly, it’s about nurturing a healthy environment around the village” Ayi said.

He also revealed that many lands around his village are suffering and have been faced a shortage of clean water. This drives his motivation to plant more trees, hoping to rejuvenate our surroundings and ensure the abundant flow of water.

“Water is a fundamental necessity for human life, making this endeavor worth every effort,” Ayi expressed.

Furthermore, Ayi emphasized that tree planting not only fosters a healthier environment but also yields fruitful crops. When he joined the tree planting program, Ayi opted for jabon trees (burflower-tree) due to their rapid growth compared to other tree species.

In addition, Ayi cultivated food crops such as corn, cassava, and various fruits, including orange trees.

“I’ve also planted orange trees, anticipating a fruitful yield in the future. My aim is to harvest these crops. Planting trees holds immense benefits – it adds greenery to the environment and allows me to save for my future by selling the crops,” Ayi shared.

Ayi, a tree grower from Drawati Village Bandung with head of village_Trees4Trees — Ayi was visited by Drawati Head Village dur to his dedication in reforestation and water sources preservation efforts.

Recognized for the Environmental Conservation Efforts

Due to the unwavering dedication to tree planting and reforestation, Ayi and the farmer groups were acknowledged and commended by the head of Drawati Village. According to the village head, the present era mandates a life philosophy centered on nature preservation, as nature has nurtured and sustained us. Therefore, it is our responsibility to reciprocate this care. Ayi and the farmer group’s actions stand as a commendable example in this regard.

“Greening initiatives contribute to the preservation and conservation of water, a crucial element for sustaining human life. We must prevent our water sources from depleting. We must ensure that our future generations do not shed tears due to a lack of springs. Let us unite to prevent such a future!” emphasized the village head during his encounter with Ayi and the farmer group of Drawati Village.

Activity Highlights: Ensuring the Data Accuracy through Data Collection

Scanning planting location barcode through GEKO App_Trees4Trees

Our field team is currently in the process of data collection, a crucial stage within Trees4Trees tree-planting operation. This phase is dedicated to gathering accurate data, photographs, and essential information about our farmer partners as the tree growers and the designated planting locations.

During this stage, our proprietary GEKO app is employed as a digital tool, allowing us to precisely document the farmers and planting locations. This technology is integral to our commitment to transparency and delivering accurate reports to our donors and sponsors.

Witness our data collection efforts across various operational regions through the images provided below!

To identify the tree-planting sites, our field team affixes barcodes in each farmer’s field. In the Trees4Trees Cirasea 3 site (above), our team is attaching barcodes in Pangauban Village, Bandung Regency. Similarly, in the Trees4Trees Citarik site (below), our team is applying barcodes in Dampit Village, Bandung Regency.

The barcode has been successfully affixed to a tree in the field of one of our farmer partners in Beketel Village, Pati, Central Java. This barcode serves to identify the specific tree-planting location on the farmer’s land.

After attaching the barcode, our team will scan it using the GEKO app on a smartphone. This process collects accurate location coordinates for the designated planting site. One of our team members at the Ciminyak 2 site is currently scanning the barcode in Mekarsari village, West Bandung Regency.

After affixing the barcode to a farmer’s planting location in Malasari village, Bandung Regency, our team at the Cisangkuy site engaged in discussions with the farmer who owns the field. This process involves finalizing the land’s data.

Reaching the planting locations and gathering precise data isn’t an easy task. At times, the tracks are challenging, featuring rocky and steep terrain. Our team often has to traverse these paths for hours. Together with farmers and local residents, our team at the Cirasea 2 site is currently enroute to collect data on planting locations.

Our team at the Ciminyak 3 site is capturing a barcode that has been affixed to one of the planting locations. Some of these planting sites feature steep inclines and are susceptible to erosion. This emphasizes the importance of planting more trees in these areas to mitigate the risk of landslides and erosion.

In addition to gathering planting location data, our field team is also tasked with collecting data from the farmers. The team in Kebumen (above) and at the Ciminyak 1 site (below) is verifying farmers’ data by conducting in-person meetings and interviews related to their identity and land data designated for planting areas.

After gathering the farmers’ data, including identity documents and self-photographs of the farmers, our team in Ciwidey inputs the data from Sukamulya village into the GEKO app.

Our team in Cirasea 1 is inputting farmers’ data into the GEKO app. Through technology, we record the data of farmers, planting locations, and all living trees. This information will be integrated with our website to display them on a digital map accessible to our supporters. This serves as a gesture of appreciation for their commitment to tree planting with us.

activity highlight activity in the field planting trees tree planting activity

Nursery Highlights: Witness the Flourishing Journey of Seedlings

In the preparation for the 2023 planting season, all Trees4Trees’ nurseries in Central and West Java are bustling with activity as we nurture various kinds of tree seedlings, ranging from timber to fruit trees. Our dedicated nursery teams are working diligently to produce high-quality seedlings, reflecting our unwavering commitment to provide high-quality seedlings.

One of our key priorities is to cultivate the tree seedlings using organic farming techniques. It aims to ensure that they are environmentally friendly. By adopting sustainable practices, we aim to contribute to a greener and healthier ecosystem.

Observe the journey of nurturing these seedlings until they flourish into young trees. Take a glimpse into Trees4Trees’ nurseries through the captivating images below!

The Petai (Stinky Beans) seedlings, one of native Indonesia trees, are now beginning to grow into young trees at our newest nursery, Soreang Nursery. Our team cultivates these seedlings using the direct sowing or polybags method. It is a method where the fruit seeds are placed directly into polybags filled with planting media. Our team applies this particular method typically to trees with larger seeds. Other than petai, our team in West Java has also cultivates avocado, durian, coffee, and clove with this method. Meanwhile, in Trees4Trees Central Java, our team applies the method to avocado, durian, jack fruit, and petai.

Similarly, the Durian, another native tree of Indonesia, is undergoing cultivation using the direct sowing or polybag method. Excitingly, at our Ciminyak nursery, the durian seedlings have already exhibited impressive growth, with their stems reaching new heights!

As the durian seedlings progress in their growth journey, the seeds, known as durian ‘seedlings’ heads’ naturally detach from the stems and require removal. Recently, the dedicated nursery team at Ciminyak nursery was diligently engaged in cleaning the durian seedlings, carefully removing the detached ‘heads’ from the growing stems.

In addition to the direct sowing method, we also employ the indirect sowing or tray sowing method to cultivate seedlings. This involves germinating seeds in sowing trays or tubs, which is especially suitable for trees with small seeds. Typically, they need around five to 22 days (about 3 weeks) before our team transfers them to polybags. At Trees4Trees Kebumen nursery, our dedicated team is currently germinating kaliandra seeds, and we are delighted to witness their successful emergence and growth. In addition to kaliandra, our team applies this method to indigofera and sengon trees.

Our nursery team at Soreang Nursery is in the process of weaning the baby eucalyptus trees from the sowing tray. Similar to kaliandra, our team cultivates these seedlings using the indirect sowing or tray sowing method. Once the seedlings have grown into baby trees, they require careful weaning and transfer to individual polybags. In the West Java area, our team has applied this method to manglid, gmelina, eucalyptus, sengon, and suren.

Upon completing the weaning process, the nursery team will proceed to transfer the seedlings from the sowing trays to individual polybags. It is the next phase of growth. After one month, our nursery team will carefully select the seedlings. The selection is based on their height and then grouped together in the same blocks.

The Trees4Trees Kebumen nursery team (above) and the Pati nursery team (below) are actively engaged in transferring the kaliandra seedlings from the sowing trays to individual polybags.

The avocado seedlings (above) and coffee seedlings (below) at Cirasea nursery are flourishing, steadily reaching new heights. Avocado and coffee trees stand among the most sought-after choices for our tree growers.

Sengon remains the most highly sought-after timber tree among our tree growers. In Trees4Trees Pati nursery, the young sengon trees are beginning to thrive, displaying vibrant green growth.

nursery planting trees seedlings

Reviving Clean Water Access in Lebak Muncang Tourism Village: Elis’ Tree Planting Initiative

Lebak Muncang Village in Ciwidey District is predominantly characterized by agricultural areas, tea and coffee plantations, forests, and rice fields. Given that agriculture plays a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of the local community, the village has been selected by the Bandung Regency government as one of the ten pilot villages for nature-based tourism, particularly agro-tourism activities.

Photo: Desa Wisata Lebak Muncang

Benefiting Planting Trees from Their Crops

The majority of Lebak Muncang villagers are engaged in vegetable and fruit farming. Among them is Elis (55), who has been involved in farming for the past 30 years. Her land is cultivated with a variety of crops, including coffee, cassava, seasonal vegetables, and chilies. Previously, Elis used to farm alongside her husband. Unfortunately, two years ago, her husband passed away, leaving her to face the challenges of life as a single parent. Despite the hardships, Elis persevered and continued farming to provide for her two children.

“I am grateful for this tree planting program as it greatly benefits me as a farmer. The program team regularly visits to monitor the trees I planted, ensuring they are in good condition and growing healthily. I am also grateful because we are given ownership of the trees and their yields. This allows us to manage our crops to meet our daily needs and support our future,” expressed Elis.

Planting Trees to Restore Water Availability

However, Elis’s motivation for tree planting extends beyond the economic benefits for her family. She is deeply concerned about the environment surrounding her village. She mentioned that there used to be a substantial forest in the area, which has unfortunately been converted into residential areas. Consequently, accessing clean water has become a challenge.

“To access clean water, we have to install a hose from a spring located approximately 10 kilometers away from our village. In the past, when the forests were intact, clean water was readily available here, and we didn’t have to rely on distant springs,” she revealed.

Elis hopes that by planting more trees, the forest’s original function of providing clean water can be restored. She also looks forward to participating in the tree planting program next year, enabling her to plant more trees on her remaining 1,600-meter square of her land.

ciwidey lebak muncang planting trees water conservation

Tips for Being an Eco-friendlier Woman

The world celebrates International Women’s Day every March 8th. The day is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of women to society and call for greater gender equality in all areas of life. As a woman who wants to celebrate this momentous day by contributing to the earth through eco-friendly ways in daily life, you can try these tips to become an eco-friendlier woman.

You can also celebrate the day with woman you love most in your life by considering these things as gifts.

Get rid of single-use makeup wipes and switch with reusable wipes

Using single-use makeup cotton wipes or facial cleansing wipes can be wasteful. Instead, switching to reusable cloth wipes can be a simple way to be more eco-friendly in your beauty routine. These cloth wipes can be washed and reused multiple times, resulting in less waste.

Upcycle, secondhand, and eco-friendly material clothes

The trend of fashion is very dynamic making the clothing models, variation, and types change vastly. It is easy to buy up-to-date clothes from shops which do not consider the environment of clothing production, but we should consider it because the process involves a huge amount of energy consumption, water, and natural resources.

Instead of buying new clothes every time the fashion trend is changing, we can do a more sustainable way to get clothes and keep fashionable, such as:

Upcycle items we already own
Buy secondhand clothing
Organize a clothes swap or attend it to swap your clothes with others
Choose slow fashion (with a good quality, durable, and long-lasting model) so you can wear it for a long time
Buy clothes with eco-friendly materials like natural dyed clothes or made from degradable material like cotton or silk.

Earth-friendly bath and skin care products

There are so many varieties of bath and skin care products made from natural these days. They are free preservatives and free chemicals so safer for the body and for the earth. It usually comes with wonderful-smelling soap, shampoo, and conditioner bars or nature-based skin care from various plants and fruit ingredients, like aloe vera, calendula, rose, and many more. Natural and earth-friendly bath and skin care products sure can pamper your skin and body after a tiring day.

Recycle and reduce packaging of beauty products

Another thing to consider before buying beauty products is whether they come with minimal or no packaging. Reducing packaging waste, especially from products that are a part of a woman’s daily routine, can be a significant contribution towards reducing our overall waste. Choosing beauty product brands that offer refillable packages or have programs in place to recycle their packaging is the best way to reduce waste. Alternatively, you can recycle the packaging into useful items or send it to recycling centers.

eco-friendly soap — Photo: Pexels/Photo by Ümran Gün

Switch to eco-friendly kitchenware

There are lots of eco-friendly kitchenware, cutlery, and other tableware offered nowadays. Usually, they are made from organic materials that are safe for environments like bamboo for cutlery or spatula, coconut fiber or loofah for dishwasher, responsible wood for glass or plates, or pot from pottery or durable material, so it can be used for a long time. Using eco-friendly kitchenware that is harmless to the environment is a great option to live more sustainably starting from the kitchen.

Reusable shopping bags and produce bags

Plastic waste is a serious problem we face these days. Going to the grocery store often means using a bunch of plastic bags and plastic produce sacks and then throwing them away shortly after. Bringing reusable shopping bags and produce bags every time going shopping is a great action to make a green contribution for the earth.

Plant trees, support women

Planting trees is a sustainable way to protect the earth. Moreover, it indirectly contributes to cleaning the air and water, which is beneficial for our skin and body. You can celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day by planting trees with Trees4Trees. By doing so, you will also be helping to empower women in our community. Let’s support women for a better and greener future! Plant tree with us through this LINK

plant a tree — *Celebrate the International Women’s Day by planting with Trees4Trees. Photo: Trees4Trees/Kemas Duga Muis.*

eco-friendly tips International Women's Day planting trees tips

The Story of Euis Maryati: Widowed and Planting Trees to Support Her Family

For a woman with four children, it is never easy being a single parent. This is how Euis Maryati (57) feels. She is one of the farmers in Patrolsari Village, Arjasari District. Since a few years ago, she had to be a mother and also head of the family.

As a widower, her life is struggling. Even though, she keeps herself motivated to be a strong woman for the sake of her family. Unlike common life of most women in her village, her daily life is not only about taking care of the household things, but also making income to fulfill her family’s needs. Otherwise, she has to work harder than anyone else.

Farming Crops is not Enough to Fulfill Her Family’s Daily Needs

Fortunately, Euis Maryati has a field that she can plant many kinds of plants. Most of them are seasonal food crops. Through her field, she can depend her life to the crops’ yield. “Here, I planted various kind of food crops. I planted chilies, cassava, ground nuts, and red bean. There is also corn. Usually, I harvest my seasonal crops once in every two to three months,” said Euis Maryati.

Afterwards, she sells her crops in a traditional market around her village. Some of the crops are also self-consumed by her family. According to Euis Maryati, by planting crops, at least she does not have to worry if some days she does not have enough money to buy food. Still, she can pick some food crops from her field for her own family consumption.

Euis Maryati: Widowed and Planting Trees to Support Her Family — Euis Maryati has harvested crops from her field. Photo: Trees4Trees/Kemas Duga Muis

Even though, to meet her family’s daily needs, she cannot avoid doing double jobs at one time. Besides farming, she also sells snacks. “If I do not farm, I cannot support my family’s needs. However, farming crops is not enough. So, I have also opened a small business selling snacks. It is to increase my income to meet my family’s daily needs,” she conveyed.

Planting Trees: Cultivating a Better Future for Her Family

In 2021, when she was offered a partnership program of tree planting funded by Astra Zeneca collaborated with Trees4Trees and One Tree Planted, Euis Maryati planted burflower-tree, avocado, mango, and orange. She planted those trees among her seasonal crops in her field. She admitted that she was lucky to get plants from the tree planting program. She hopes a lot from trees she planted for the future of her family.

She has been persevering in taking care of her trees. She cleans the grass every day so that all the plants grow well. She also applies her plants with organic fertilizer that she made herself from animal dung.

She expects, by taking good care of those trees, she will be able to harvest the good results. Moreover, now plants in her field are more varied. With more types of trees planted, she hopes she can sell more yields in the future, then she can fulfil her family’s needs much better than today.

“My life has been difficult for years. So I am hoping that it does not get any harder. If not myself, who else will support my family? I realize that I am both the mother and the head of the family. It is not easy. But for my children and their future, I will continue to work harder,” she stated.

She thanks to the tree planting program and she hopes it can bring more prosperity and a better future for women farmers and single parents like her.

csr farmer story planting trees Sustainable Livelihoods Impact