200,000 Trees in Ethiopia | Eden Projects

One Day’s Wages is excited to launch a new partner project with Eden Reforestation Projects (ERP) to help with their ongoing project in Ethiopia. This partner project of $20,000 (USD) will help rejuvenate the land that has been rendered virtually barren, through years of total deforestation. The reforestation process will help provide jobs for local residents; providing economic security for their families for years to come.  

This partnership will help plant 200,000 trees in the 2011-2012 planting season, and provide a total of 2000 days of employment to eco-workers serving with ERP.  The revenue earned by the local residents will help provide an avenue out of poverty, allowing them to obtain a level of security for their families. Many of the people who have gone through ERP’s program can now send their children to school, and have started their own micro-enterprises. Most of the people can now afford to have their family visit a doctor when they get sick, and are able to purchase a balanced diet.

Who is Eden Reforestation Projects?

ERP is a non-profit organization that recreates healthy forest systems that restore hope, alleviate suffering, empower people, and build local economies in impoverished communities. ERP employs local workers at wages that are consistent with their economy.  These workers are almost always from the ranks of the unemployed.  In this way, they are also helping to break the cycle of poverty.

Why Reforestation Matters

In 2002 the WORLD BANK communicated the urgent need to replant 15 million hectares [1 hectare = 2.47 acres] of deforested land, per year, for ten years.  Each hectare of reforested land typically requires a minimum of 2,000 trees.  You can do the math yourself, but our calculators say this means the world needs to find a way to plant 30 BILLION – yes, BILLION – trees each year, for the next ten years.  That’s a pretty staggering statistic!

The global deforestation problem is not a “casual emergency.”  There is an urgent need to plant BILLIONS of TREES – and finding the most cost-effective means to do it is a big deal to the people involved with Eden Reforestation Projects.

The UN studies regarding Ethiopia (along with many other African nations) basically declare that the country will be in essence ecologically destroyed in the next 15-20 years if reforestation on a massive level fails to take place. The water tables are dropping, the soil is eroding, the soil is degrading, and subsequently the small plot farms are failing.  

In Ethiopia, like much of the developing world, the local economies are heavily agriculture based, and therefore are highly vulnerable to environmental degradation. Restoring the land is a critical element to revitalizing the local economies and empowering the people.

How You Can Help

• Calculate your one day's wages or invest any amount to fund this project.
• Start a birthday campaign and raise funds directly for this partnership!
• Form a group campaign (family, school, church, etc.) or share other ideas with us.
• Help spread the word. Email, Tweet, Share on FB, Like, etc. 

GIVE TO THIS PARTNER PROJECT

Our Pledge To You

100% of your donations (minus credit card costs) will go directly to this project.  As usual, we'll report back to our community about the progress of the funding and once funded, will report back with pictures, videos, and stories to convey the impact of this project. 

Ethiopia Update 2010 from Eden Reforestation Projects on Vimeo.