APOPO HeroTREEs - a Climate-Smart Solution

Welcome to your latest update about your support for APOPO’s HeroTREEs project. The last quarter was busy as usual, as the number of farmers using new syntropic farming methods increases, we continue to monitor and expand the project in partnership with Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT).

In the first quarter, 2,580 trees were planted thanks to your support. The trees planted included more than nine varieties including Khaya, Ficus, Cedrella, Jackfruits, Cloves, Cinnamon, Avocado, and Macadamia.

Excitingly, your support has also helped prepare four new nurseries in Tulo, Ruvuma, Choma, and Kibundi. The plan is for each nursery to produce approximately 3,000 seedlings of several varieties, giving a total of 12,000 seedlings! 

Your help planting trees in the Uluguru Mountains is key to the survival of the important and fragile ecosystem there. The training of farmers to supply crops sustainably supports their financial future and encourages other farmers to use these sustainable practices. APOPO and SAT support farmers to generate more income through alternative activities such as tree planting and further activities like vegetable production. Farmers have succeeded in harvesting vegetables for the first time and these products were taken by SAT and sold at their organic shop.

Of the farmers included in the HeroTREEs project, 58% are women and 42% are men, and all farmers receive payments for growing the trees and crops, as well as being able to sell and eat what they produce. The farmers’ income provides communities with an injection of much-needed money. Additionally, it inspires other farmers to grow their own crops in synergy with nature rather than using older, more destructive methods, which are not as financially or ecologically beneficial.  

Mapping of where the HeroTREEs are planted continues using Kobo Toolbox software. So far in 2024, more than 100 farm maps have been prepared during external inspections, and these farms have now been added to the SAT Data Warehouse. This detailed work allows APOPO to keep track of which trees are planted, how many, and where, providing us with the data we need for future planning.

COMING UP

The HeroTREEs project has also been looking at ways to support other areas of the Uluguru Mountains and forests. APOPO and SAT have been working with the Wami and Ruvu Basin Authorities to identify conserved areas spanning 116 acres at the Mindu Dam area to start tree planting. Your support is also helping us determine the boundary between conservation areas and farming areas, which is critical as these boundaries have not been previously clearly defined. 

This will allow for the continued conservation of ecologically important land and allow farmers to grow trees and crops in harmony with the nature that surrounds them. 

Thank you so much for your continued support of this vital project, which works at ground level (excuse the pun!) to save the wonderful world that we live in. We can’t wait to update you next time!

Links:

• APOPO HeroTREEs

Hello and welcome to your latest update on your incredible support of APOPO's HeroTREEs program! It has indeed been another exciting quarter for APOPO, our partner SAT and our HeroTREEs project. 

As always, we have, in partnership with SAT been undertaking inspections of the farms, ensuring that the farmers are equipped and fully knowledgeable about the syntropic farming practices they have been taught.  

Perhaps the most exciting statistic for the last quarter is that, with your support, we have planted 3,400 trees in the Uluguru Mountains!

We have also been ensuring the proper management of seedlings at nurseries, which have been set up, for example, there are 6,000+ seedlings at Bong’olas Nursery alone! Of these seedlings, there are more than six plant and tree varieties, including Khaya, Ficus, Cedrella, Jackfruits, Avocado, and Macadamia. 

SAT and APOPO are now helping farmers generate more income through the HeroTREEs project, encouraging activities like vegetable production, which the farmers can sell at the market. Four Vegetable Demonstration plots were prepared at four villages including Choma, Tulo, Kibundi, and Ruvuma.

We now have 4 dedicated HeroTREE inspectors and they are being trained on Information and Technology issues to improve the monitoring activities through data collection by experimenting with various methods of record keeping. We will then choose the best software for monitoring where all the trees are planted and implement it.  

We also decided to expand our knowledge about syntropic farming and begin staff training programs across our global operational countries, enabling staff to produce their food and become more sustainable. For example, we now have a flourishing syntropic farm at our Tanzania Headquarters, and a thriving syntropic farm at our TB Detection program in Ethiopia, which has just yielded delicious apples for the HeroRATs and staff!

Most recently, we have planted a new syntropic farm in Angola, where we are undertaking the task of clearing the country of landmines.  37 of our team members have just wrapped up a transformative two-day training course in syntropic farming, led by the expert Roland van Reenan in Cuanza Sul province. This course marks a step forward in sustainable agriculture, teaching the team to create food forests that work alongside nature.

Your support of our team's journey into syntropic farming is just beginning. Stay tuned as we turn new soil and grow together, embracing eco-friendly practices for a greener future! Thank you!

Links:

• HeroTREEs on APOPO website