Trees sustain life

Francis Olenyo Onyango, Kenya. Photo Vi Agroforestry.
Francis Olenyo Onyango, Kenya. Photo Vi Agroforestry.
Emiti Nibwo Bulora means Trees Sustain Life. This project in Tanzania promotes agroforestry practices to help farmers increase productivity, regenerate degraded lands, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of climate change.

The Trees Sustain Life project, in local language Emiti Nibwo Bulora (ENB), is a climate compensation project, implemented by Vi Agroforestry in Tanzania. It promotes agroforestry among smallholder farmers to enhance livelihoods, restore ecosystems, and combat climate change by sequestering carbon. Certified under the Plan Vivo Standard, the project has been operational since 2008.

By 2021, 620 farmers completed their 10-year contracts, during which they received incentive payments for planting and maintaining trees, read more here. Still, a number of farmers are doing climate compensation in the project, running until year 2031.

The project operates in the Kagera region, Tanzania, and focuses on sustainable agroforestry practices, such as dispersed interplanting and boundary planting. It has planted over 619,848 trees, sequestering 76,759 tons of CO2, with additional trees planted through continued efforts by the implementing partner, Smart Farmers Transformation (SFT). The project also fosters biodiversity and reduces deforestation by providing firewood from tree prunings.

Trees Sustain Life receives funding through the sale of Plan Vivo carbon credits, and extension services now provided by SFT include business development, land management, gender awareness, and human rights-based approaches. The project emphasizes long-term benefits for both the environment and the farmers, offering improved food security, resilience to climate impacts, and financial stability.

Learn more about Trees Sustain Life in this video: