Help Protect 75,000 Acres of Congo Basin Forest

Our experience has taught that people are the key to forest conservation.

The Rainforest Alliance is working with rural communities in Central Africa. Over the past five years, as these communities have taken control of forest harvesting, they have doubled their timber income. In order to conserve the ecologically precious forests of the Congo Basin communities must be able to earn a decent living through sustainable activities. That can be a complex undertaking.

The communities we work with share our passion for empowering women. One of our partners organized a training for women from five different communities so that they could learn to process the fruit of the njangsang tree, as well as maintain the machines that extract its seeds, which are widely used in cooking. Proper upkeep of the equipment leads to more and better-quality seeds, which can then be sold locally, giving the women a measure of economic independence.

In Cameroon, our conservation efforts include 12 community forests that cover about 30,000 ha and are home to some 10,000 people. Our senior manager for the region, says that women like these have earned a sterling reputation in the forest communities for their work ethic and integrity. “They respect her because she keeps her word. People know that commitment is followed by action.”