Strengthening Ecosystems and Communities: Our New Partnership with Veritree in Kenya, Tanzania, and Senegal

We are happy to announce our newest collaboration with Veritree, a partnership that furthers our commitment to reforestation, community empowerment, and ecosystem restoration. Together, we’re supporting impactful projects that include planting mangroves in Kenya and Tanzania and cultivating agroforestry trees in Senegal, aligning reforestation efforts with sustainable community development.

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Restoring Coastal Ecosystems: Mangrove Planting in Kenya and Tanzania

Mangroves are vital to combating climate change and supporting coastal communities. Veritree has already planted over 60 million mangroves in Kenya and Tanzania over the past 2.5 years, with plans to scale up further. Mangroves protect coastlines, support marine biodiversity, and sequester up to four times more carbon than terrestrial forests.

This work goes beyond trees—Veritree’s projects empower local communities, with a workforce of 600 full-time and 1,200 part-time employees. Women make up 80% of the workforce in nurseries, and priority is given to hiring single mothers, widows, and young women who have shown exceptional commitment to conservation.

In addition to economic opportunities, the project supports women with initiatives such as:

• Economic literacy training: Helping them join Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs).
• Health and wellness support: Offering access to courses that promote community health.
• Infrastructure improvements: Constructing decent washrooms to make fieldwork more accessible for women.

The mangrove projects represent a holistic model, uniting environmental restoration with community development. This approach has already earned recognition, with Ecosia expanding its support by commissioning another 2.5 million trees.

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Empowering Women Through Agroforestry in Senegal

In Senegal, Veritree collaborates with Mother Trees, an organization specializing in sustainable agroforestry and led by Jon Leary. Agroforestry is a proven solution to degraded lands, providing food security, diverse income streams, and ecological resilience.

Key aspects of this Senegal initiative include:

1. Women at the Heart of Agroforestry

The Mother Trees program is fundamentally women-centered, promoting leadership and autonomy:

• Leadership roles: Women lead key positions in bookkeeping, project management, and cooperative organizations.
• Field technicians: Female technicians receive logistical support, ensuring safe and efficient operations even in remote areas.
• Collective farming: Instead of one-hectare plots, the model has been adapted to larger four-hectare collective plots, allowing women to maximize their impact.

2. Economic and Capacity Building

The project focuses on empowering women through:

• Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA): At least 60% of members are women, providing them access to microloans and financial literacy.
• Market access training: Women receive tools to grow, process, and transport high-value crops such as honey and horticultural products.
• Beekeeping and agroforestry training: At least 60% of trainees in these programs are women.

3. Tailored Support for Women’s Participation

Recognizing the challenges women face in rural Senegal, Mother Trees has adapted its training programs to suit their schedules and needs. By holding small workshops, they ensure every participant has the chance to engage fully.

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Our Shared Vision with Veritree

This partnership with Veritree amplifies a shared mission of achieving environmental restoration and social equity. By blending cutting-edge reforestation practices with a commitment to community empowerment, these projects are planting more than just trees—they’re cultivating a future where people and nature thrive together.

• In Kenya and Tanzania, mangroves are helping safeguard vulnerable coastlines while providing life-changing opportunities for local women.
• In Senegal, agroforestry is transforming degraded lands into productive ecosystems, empowering women as agents of change within their communities.

Together, these efforts are building ecosystems of hope—where every tree planted strengthens both the environment and the communities it supports.

Looking Ahead

As this partnership expands, the goals remain ambitious. In Senegal alone, the agroforestry initiative aims to train 5,740 farmers (50% women) in agroforestry techniques across 242 villages and establish a gender-balanced agroforestry federation in Kedougou. Meanwhile, the mangrove restoration projects in Kenya and Tanzania are setting new standards for scalability and impact.

We’re excited to see the transformative impact of these projects and invite you to join us on this journey to scale green and social momentum in Africa. Keep an eye on this space for updates, stories, and videos from the field as we continue to support Veritree in making a difference.

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From Impact with love,

Dr. Hannah Schragmann

Chief Transparency Officer

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