6250 Trees Planted in a Collaboration with NEC Indonesia

6,250 Trees Planted in a Collaboration with NEC Indonesia
Photo: Trees4Trees/Kemas Duga Muis

As a concern for environmental improvement and helping the local economy, Trees4Trees collaborates with NEC Indonesia to plant 6,250 trees planted on the lands of Sukaresmi Village and Sukaharja Village, West Java. The trees are planted in a total area of 10.5 hectares and involve 25 local farmers where trees are planted in their lands. A wide variety of trees ranging from fruit trees like avocado, mango, and durian, to woods like mahogany, teak, and albizia were planted in the tree-planting program.  

Pandu Budi Wahono, the Trees4Trees Program Manager said that conservation function is the main purpose of the program, but it is also expected that the tree planting will be beneficial for the local community. 

“Conservation function is the main purpose of the program so that trees planted will produce oxygen and maintain the water sources. But we are hoping that it will also be useful for the socio-economic community because we involve around 25 local farmers in total in the program,” said Pandu. He also said that mahogany trees will be planted along the village roads to make an improvement on the environment of the village public facility.  

According to Pandu, there is quite a lot of unproductive land in both Sukaresmi and Sukaharja villages, so it is expected that this program can be continued in the following year. 

Trees Planted Part of the NEC Corporate Social Responsibility Program  

The tree-planting program is a part of NEC Indonesia Corporate Social Responsibility Program that focuses on environmental sustainability to preserve nature. Joji Yamamoto, the NEC Indonesia President Director said that it is in line with NEC 2030 vision in the environmental aspect: Living harmoniously with the earth to secure the future. 

“The environment is one of the focuses of NEC 2030Vision to ensure a sustainable earth, so that we can live in harmony with nature to protect the future of this planet,” he said.  

Yamamoto on behalf of NEC, also thank the village head and all the residents of Sukaresmi and Sukaharja village to accept trees donation. “NEC Indonesia is proud to be able to take part in environmental preservation today. We thank all residents who have agreed to accept donations of thousands of trees from us to be planted on your land,” he added.  

CSR with NEC Indonesia
Photo: Trees4Trees/Yulianisa Dessenita

Started the Program with Tree-planting Event  

Marking the start of the tree-planting program, a tree-planting event was conducted last December 10, 2023. 250 trees were successfully planted in the public facilities of Sukaresmi village during the event. While the rest of the 6,000 trees were planted on 20 farmers’ lands in Sukaresmi and Sukaharja village last December 2022.  

26 staff of NEC participated in the event as tree planter volunteers, including the President Director, Joji Yamamoto. One of NEC staff who volunteers as a tree planter, Fathan, said that as part of NEC family, he is proud to be involved in the event. “We are grateful, especially because we can contribute to environmental improvement, not only for the benefit that we get today but also for the future,” he said. 

6250 trees planted
Photo: Trees4Trees/Kemas Duga Muis.

With the implementation of the tree-planting program in his village, the head of Sukaresmi village, Yana Sunarya thanked NEC and Trees4Trees for the program in the context of the conservation in his village. “We thank the tree-planting program. Hopefully, the trees planted can supplement the oxygen as well as the water source for prolonged life. By planting trees in our village, we also hope the trees will bring a great benefit for the villagers,” said Yana.  

Meet Grandpa Tameja : The Oldest Farmer Who Joined Our Program And This Is His Story.

Meet Grandpa Tameja : The Oldest Farmer Who Joined Our Program And This Is His Story.

Tameja is one of our farmers since 2019, and he has shared his life story as a farmer with us. Let’s read his story!

Tameja (72 years old) was born in Karangreja Village in Central Java, Indonesia and still lives there with his wife and 5 children. He became a farmer at a young age and helped his father work in the fields. 

“Being a farmer has been my way of life”, he said. 

“My father was a farmer too, I am proud to be able to continue his way until now”.

He told us about his concern, none of his children want to be a farmer like him. It means Tameja must take care of the field alone with his wife. He has many questions that keep popping up in his mind, like; Who’s going to continue my spirit to keep my field growing and green after me? What will happen to the trees I planted? He recalls that he planned to stop farming and empty his field because he’s too old to continue, but then someone from Trees4Trees offered seedlings and asked him to join their program.

“I remember when they reached out to me and said; “Congratulations, Grandpa Tameja, you are chosen to get seedlings from our donor”. 

“I think I will plant trees for the rest of my life”, he smiles.

Tameja has his own farming method. He grows coffee trees with an agroforestry system, where he combines other trees and spice plants in one field. He believes by implementing this method, farmers will benefit both environmentally and economically. He also likes it when his land is full of plants.

“In my experience it’s better to optimize the field, the denser the better”. 

We asked him which trees benefit him more, and he took us to his coffee tree field – showing off the coffee beans.

“I like to plant coffee trees because they do not require intensive care and do not take too long time to harvest so it’s profitable for an old farmer like me”, he said.

Thank you Grandpa Tameja for sharing your story! We are relieved that we are able to help and motivate you to make your field greener. We wish you the best of health and happiness!

Karyadi’s Biggest Dream Is….

Karyadi’s Biggest Dream Is….

Meet Karyadi, one of our farmers since 2019. He’s very cheerful and likes to talk a lot, but the most interesting story is when he talks about his dreams.

Karyadi is a father of 2 children, a daughter (20 years old) and a son (9 years old ). He lives in a small house on a hill near his field with his wife and his son. His daughter is now working and living in Jakarta. When he starts talking about his children, you can see his eyes sparkling with pride.

“My daughter is now working in a big city, Jakarta”, he says proudly. “I pray for her every day… I wish her success”.

He told us that his only concern now is to raise his children. He wants them to have a better life and he’s always working hard for that.

“My wife and I have hopes for our children. We wish our children success in the future and to help build their village”.

“Kalibening village is our home, we were born and raised here. Somebody has to develop this village and protect it, that’s my dream”, he continues.

He works as a farmer as his main source of daily income but that’s not enough to cover his economy, so he decided to participate in our planting program sponsored by ‘Plant for the Planet’ in 2019 and received various trees – especially fruit trees.

“Thank you for the seedlings! Trees4Trees has helped me through tree planting and it has surely benefitted me economically. Before that, I only worked as a cassava farmer which only harvests annually”, he laughs.

He has a request for us in the future. He hopes there will be more planting programs and help more farmers like him. His dream is our dream as well, and we wish Pak Karyadi for the best. Thank you for sharing your dream. You are doing a great job!

CURIOUS KIDS: TREES THROUGH KID’S EYES

Curious Kids : Trees Through Kid’s Eyes

We had the opportunity to visit a private kindergarten, Yayasan Annisa in the Mijen area, Central Java, Indonesia. We’ve heard and learned what kids have to say and what they want to know about trees from their perspectives.

“Our activities are not always to be in the classroom, but a closer introduction to the natural environment will help the process of achieving educational targets. Children have the ability to easily absorb and understand information, in a more fun and engaging way.”, Said Nuning – The Headmaster

Of course, outdoor activity brought up many interesting questions from the kids and they shared some questions that we thought were worth sharing and addressing.

“Why trees are so important?” – Cinta, 6-year-old

A great question! Trees are to earth – and our survival – as lungs are to the human body. They produce oxygen for us to breathe, as well as improve air quality. Many wildlife species also depend on forests for their habitat, since trees provide shelter, food, and protection. Another important quality is that they reduce erosion, which helps keep waterways clean and prevents flooding. In addition, trees remove large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, which is a key component to tackling climate change. 

“Who lives in the trees?” –Aisyah, -5-year-old

I think we should find out who lives in the trees, we can take a walk to look at the trees around our school and we collect materials that might tell us something about who is living in and around trees. Maybe we can find ants, maybe bugs and maybe we can find feathers, which means birds are living in the tree.

“Why do leaves fall off trees?” –Rasyid, 6-year-old

Great question! The short answer is that leaves fall off trees when they are not doing their job anymore. A leaf’s job is to turn sunlight into food for the tree. To do this, the leaf needs water. This water comes from the soil, and is sucked up through pipes in the trunk and branches to the leaves – this can be a very long way for tall trees! If there isn’t enough water, the leaf can be damaged and stop working, which becomes a dead leaf. The tree doesn’t want to waste all the good things in the leaf, so it takes the nutrients from the leaf back into the stems and roots. This way, they can be recycled. When the leaf is empty, the tree stops holding onto it and it falls to the ground or blows away in a gust of wind.

“Why do trees grow fruit?” – Hafidz, 6-year-old

Some trees produce flowers and some produce fruit to help with seed dispersal. Animals and birds eat the fruit and then poop out the seeds at another location, thereby dispersing the seeds, and produce trees – which can take a while to grow.

Now, do you ever wonder how kids all over the world draw the same picture: the two mountains, a river, the sun, the birds, and some trees? Do they understand nature and trees? 

Well, it has two reasons: first, the one is because they are naturally connected with the environment. They love looking and being in nature and learn from them. They are always curious and excited to know and study about the environment and get more knowledge practically. The second thing is a beautiful nature drawing with all these elements of nature are the easiest topic to draw in a drawing because we are surrounded by it and therefore can draw it naturally.

We want to thank kids from Yayasan Annisa for their amazing questions. It’s always wonderful to hear how people connect with a tree, especially kids because they are our next Gen-Z generation to protect our earth and their future.

 

500 Trees of Jambu Deli Madu for Ketitang, Central Java

PT Cargill Indonesia Branch Purwodadi once again shows their commitment in taking care environment surrounds. It started in Ketitang Village, Godong, Grobogan District, where their factory is located. Last year in 2016, 1000 Mahogany were planted alongside the main street of the village. This year, Cargill team wanted for something different with more impacts and personal.

It is always an interesting journey to finally decide fruit trees to be planted in Ketitang between Cargill and Trees4Trees. Fruit trees chosen is Jambu Deli Madu (Syzygium aqueum), the height is up to 4 meters, the fruit colour is green, watery and bigger than another normal Jambu fruits. The fruits of Jambu Deli Madu is still on high demand since it is one of the sweetest Jambu variety, Madu refers to honey that describe the taste.
500 trees of Jambu Deli Madu planted in Ketitang is welcomed by community and the head of the village. During ceremony, Wage Setyono Head of Ketitang, said “This trees give to us, we really appreciate this. Last year we received 1000trees of Mahogany, and this time Jambu Deli Madu. It is good for us to start educating ourselves about caring the environment. I believe this will teach us to participate creating comfortable place to live. I believe when we treat the environment right, they will treat us right back too, and the fruits this time has economy impacts”.

Same statement also came from Rudy Setiarachman of PT. Cargill Indonesia Branch Purwodadi representative, he said that through CSR they really want to show their care seriously, not only some regular activity. The ceremony of Jambu Deli Madu trees planting was held in March 9th 2017, attended by Head of Ketitang Village Wage Setyawan, official government of Grobogan district representative Joko Supriyanto, and another official governments of Grobogan district.
500 trees of Jambu Deli Madu are planted in all streets possible, in 2 sub-villages of Ketitang: Ketitang and Nunjungan. 300 trees are planted in Ketitang sub-village in 5 areas and the rest are planted in Nunjungan sub-village in 3 areas.

Another 1000 Trees of Albizia Sponsored by PT. Cargill Indonesia Branch Semarang

It was March 2016 that Cargill Indonesia Branch Semarang donated 1000 trees of Albizia for the very first time to farmers in Semarang. Later on this year, Cargill Indonesia Branch Semarang continues to give their support for environment and social aspects: another 1000 trees of Albizia, proving a commitment to environment as priority and value as a company.

 

What makes this trees planting special is where they are planted. The chosen location is at Podorejo, known as one of water absorption or water catchment area in Semarang. This tree planting program, hopefully, can be a start to protect its functions from damages caused by land conversion or deforestation.

It is confirmed by Heru Sukandar, Head of Ngaliyan District of Semarang, by saying the core points of his speech, “It is good to prevent and nurture our nature, keep planting trees. Trees are basic and essential, they give fresh air, water and recover the soil, they supply what human needs for living. We know that now we feel that Semarang City is getting hotter year by year. I truly adore what Surabaya has done to reach their goal for a decrease of 2ºC temperature. I hope Semarang can do the same. The action is simple, plant the trees. I thank you to Cargill Semarang for initiating this program, especially in Podorejo”.

Same statement also came out by Agusman Rizal, Trees4Trees Program Manager, saying that it is absolute that everything, not only human, needs trees for living, trees give balance for environment. Adi Widiatmoko, National Sales Manager of PT. Cargill Indonesia, emphasizes even more important things why trees planting program has been their consistency and mission, it is for sustainability also positive effects in the future.

One of Trees4Trees participant, farmer named Ali Zainudin, who took a chance to say something about this donation, saying that farmers who has received the trees are thankful for the generosity and attention. Adding, as a head of farmer group in Podorejo, many farmers of his group still need this kind of support in the future.

1000 trees are distributed to 8 farmers in 8 locations in Podorejo. All 1000 trees are already planted in December and It is celebrated in a ceremony attended by official government officials like head of department of agriculture of Semarang, a representative of environmental department, head of Ngaliyan district, head of Podorejo area, Trees4Trees and PT. Cargill Indonesia management and staffs.