FAJA LOBI IN IDIOFA

Jurgen Heytens starts in 2012 with planting trees and engaging locals to do this and to understand the necessity. Jurgen uses his own money and gifts of people to get this started. Now his organization employs 580 local people. He also does agroforestication (growing of vegetables, cacao, coffee, nuts,… in the woods) and local businesses (cyber café, information centre, hospital,...).

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MAIN CHALLENGE

Finding enough money to buy trees and plant them, we have enough areas to plant trees,but we need money to pay for growing them and planting them: €500 per 1ha forest (1.000 trees).

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CAUSE OF DEGRADATION

Cutting down trees, burning down the plantation.

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WHY THIS SITE?

Reason is the poverty of the ground: noting grows on it anymore because of the years of deprivation! Trees are cut down or burned down. These areas are very hot and dry and people fled to Kinshas because they can not grow food on the land.

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LONG TERM PROTECTION

Faja Lobi owns the ground for +100 years and because the local people created these forests and they benefit from them, they will survive forever!