Reforestation for Natural Disaster Mitigation

Thank you so much for your donation to IDRAP’s work on Disaster Mitigation efforts in rural areas of Southeast Sulawesi Province in eastern Indonesia through reforestation of both rainforest and mangrove forests. Your generosity means everything to us and to the community we serve. We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to donating, and we are so grateful that you chose to donate to our cause. We promise to be responsible stewards of both your donation and your trust.

During this period, village communities who received free teak seedlings from IDRAP have started planting these seedlings in their gardens, especially in areas that are less fertile for seasonal staple food crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes, taro, and others. Thus, planting teak seedlings does not interfere with their local food production. There are 27 families who have planted the seedlings they obtained from IDRAP. Each family planted around 40-60 seedlings with a planting distance between trees of around 2 meters. In total, there are 1,500 trees that have been planted by the community with a land area of around ¼ ha spread across 27 plots of land. This planting activity was carried out independently by the village community, involving members of each family (including children) as part of educating family members to care about forest sustainability through the development of family/community forests.

The teak tree seedlings that are planted are still quite dense as part of a strategy to increase the chances of survival of the planted seedlings. In the future, when the teak trees reach a height of 5 meters, they will be cut down for thinning so that their growth can be faster. Trees that are cut down for thinning can be used by the community for household needs such as for household utensils or other needs. Thus, the trees that are cut down during the "thinning" phase can still be used by the community.

“I involve my children in planting trees in my garden with the hope that they will help preserve the natural forest by developing the family forest as a supplier of household needs in the future so that it no longer disturbs the natural forest." Laksono, one of the residents who planted teak seedlings in his garden.

Thank you all for your support. We are all preparing the lives of people who live amidst the threat of natural disasters, to be more resilient to disasters that lurk at any time and reduce the impact/risk when disasters occur, especially high waves, abrasion, landslides, floods and clean water crises.