It's better with trees

Hello Debra,

I am in the States for two weeks in August to be with family, returning to Arusha later in the month.

In mid-October of 2024 Kisioki and I will be coming to the various cities in the state to speak about the ICSEE

Our tentative schedule is posted below. If we are coming to an area near you, do get in touch with the event planning committee to arrange a meeting or to host an event.

As you know, we've been very active in climate change adaptation, but haven't mentioned mitigation. Of course, each of our stoves reduces CO2 emissions by 3.5 tons a year and our solar powered pumping and home lighting are indeed mitigations.

In addition, read below to learn about our first foray into climate change mitigation based on tree planting, in collaboration with Planeterra Foundation and G-Adventures.

Thank you for being at the root of it all,

Twende!

Robert Lange

August, 2024

Save the dates

I’m delighted to announce that Kisioki and I are planning a tour of several U.S. locations. We are focusing on presenting the ideas and actions of the International Collaborative. We’re interested in meeting like-minded people like yourselves—those who have the potential for a deep interest.

The schedule below is approximate. Exact dates and locations may change.

Do you live near one of these areas? Let us know if you might be interested in hosting or planning an event. Our planning committee can provide you with support and materials.

Boston      Oct 13 to 22 (minus one full day for travel to NYC)

Colorado   Oct 23 to 25 ( no programs but possible meetings)

California  Oct 26 to Nov 6 (San Francisco, San Diego, Stanford, etc.)

Annapolis   Nov 7 to 9

New York   Nov 10 to 15

Everything's better with trees

Reducing the rate of temperature increase

Whatever can be done to lessen the rate of increasing temperatures is good. In rural Africa, poverty and dependence on reliable rain and weather are matters at the heart of life. Here, the survival of society, livestock, and people must come first. The society must adapt to the changing climate.

In their lifetime, the average American produces seventy times the carbon dioxide emissions of a Tanzanian. Each year, the U.S. military emits about five times as much carbon dioxide as the entire country of Tanzania. So we do accept that ending global warming is not in the hands of rural Africans.

An opportunity for planting

With this said, we went forward with this opportunity to plant trees. This will make life better for the Maasai, and will go in the right direction for climate change mitigation, even if only slightly.

Planeterra Foundation and the travel company, G-Adventures, wish to do some serious tree planting in the Rift Valley where we work with all our project sectors.

We will propagate trees from seed and also raise up supplied seedlings, mostly acacia trees native to the area. We are preparing a shaded flat plot of about 40 x 40 meters (about 430 sq. ft.) that will make an excellent plant nursery. It is adjacent to our Manyara feedlot and training facility at the foot of the Ngorongoro Highlands escarpment.

Water, staff, customers

At the new nursery site, we get piped water from the town of Mungere. Water also flows across our land at the lowest place. We plan to install a solar-powered pumping system to augment the water supply.

We engaged two Maasai women as full-time nursery staff who will live on-site in a bungalow we are building. They will plant, weed, and prepare trees for delivery. We will hire additional Maasai women part-time, as needed. Everyone will be very happy to have a new employment opportunity.

Improving the landscape

Situated near Mungere are a diverse group of people, settlements, businesses, and institutions. They will be our tree customers. Instead of working with forest restoration, the trees will go to people who wish to improve their immediate environment.

We will ask businesses, enterprises, schools, and clinics to pay a small amount for each tree. We are also providing them with information on successful tree maintenance.

The International Collaborative will provide trees at no cost to the Maasai bomas where we install our stoves and solar grids. We are providing information and demonstrations to help ensure the success of the trees.

We’ve recently seen more Rift Valley land being taken out of grazing and farming. Maasai men who own land legally are increasingly breaking it into lots and selling it to people building family residences. Selling trees to the new owners can improve environmental health and make up for some of the pressures these new residences will make on the environment.

Thank you to our collaborators

The Planeterra Foundation generously awarded us a year-long grant. We can finish setting up our nursery and be distributing small trees in just a couple of months. We hope to be able to renew the grant and go on to plant trees in our other project areas where the people work in many ways to improve life.

There is so much potential for increasing the health of the landscape with trees, and we hope to keep the collaboration going and growing.

For many years we have enjoyed a wonderful collaboration with G- Adventures travel company.

G- Adventures brings their clients to a village like Mungere en route to world-famous wildlife areas, including the Serengeti. The visitors spend an hour or two with us, working with the expert women installing a stove or solar system.

In return, G-Adventures pays us enough for the women to get a good wage as installers, and to cover the cost of the stoves and other materials.

Now, G-Adventures can include a side trip to the nursery to meet the staff and see the example of making things a little better with trees.