Profile: Nathan Baryahisahe
For generations, Nathan's family has taught the value of planting trees. Recent landslides and deforestation in his community in Uganda demanded a group effort of reforestation and protection—so Nathan turned to TIST, the organization behind Wren's Community Tree Planting initiative.
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Excerpts from a TIST interview with Nathan:
For generations, Nathan's family has taught the value of planting trees. Recent landslides and deforestation in his community in Uganda demanded a group effort of reforestation and protection—so Nathan turned to TIST, the organization behind Wren's Community Tree Planting initiative. Nathan recruited ten of his neighboring farmers, and educated them on the benefits of planting trees.
With TIST, farmers can protect their farmland, diversify their crops, and earn an income at the same time. In the village, people took notice. Soon they started a new "cluster" of farmers, with Nathan as their leader. Over the course of 2018, the group planted more than 9,300 trees. Row by row, the seedlings they planted are spreading their roots, creating a barrier against future landslides. After years of tending to these groves, Nathan and the other farmers will receive their first payment for each mature tree.
Nathan’s Cluster meets each month. The farmers initially joined TIST to finance the planting of trees to prevent landslides, but the farmers are doing much more now. Nathan has kept bees for decades, and through the TIST network of thousands of farmers, he is sharing this skill with other members. On the side, his Cluster is eagerly learning about financial planning and agricultural practices to improve efficiency.
Our community impact, quantified
Over the last month, 400+ Wren members contributed over $10,000 to the Community Tree Planting project. But what impact does that have?
New saplings planted today don't suck in a substantial amount of carbon for several years—essentially until the tree reaches maturity. Contributions from Wren go toward paying farmers, like Nathan, that have planted trees and protected them to maturity.
Because we only pay for trees that are mature, it is easier to estimate how much CO2 they have sequestered so far: 1,428 tons of CO2 🎉
- That's equivalent to you taking 2,100 one-way flights from SFO to NYC! ✈️
- The Wren Team
Mimi, Landon, and Ben