If we want to plant out millions of trees, we need teams of planters to plant them out. To do this, we have created and are building teams of young local community members to participate in our tree planting and invasive tree clearing activities. This is an essential component of our vision insofar as we are creating employment opportunities for the local youth who otherwise struggle to find work in the seasonal economy of this region.
Many of these young community members have completed the schooling system (Grade 12) but find it increasingly difficult to obtain work in what is essentially a tourist region. As a result, many of them “hustle” for money, fall prey to drugs and alcoholism. Our intention is to integrate them into the community and provide them with an opportunity to uplift them
A significant percentage of the funds/donations we receive are used; a) to remunerate these young community members and provide them with ongoing work and b) to train and upskill them in a range of skills such as composting, vermiculture, growing and maintaining trees and forest food gardens that will help them in other areas of heir lives.
