The situation
For poor rural families in Africa’s drylands trees mean food, shelter and a future for their environment.
But they need a cash income to meet basic needs too. Money is essential in accessing healthcare and education.
What TREE AID does
We support communities to earn income from trees and tree products.
We provide training to women like Ama Yahaya (right) in business skills and market understanding to make sure that villagers know what’s best to sell, how to sell it and when.
We work with producer groups to help them gain access to markets outside of their immediate village area, and to give them options for micro finance, allowing for investment in stock or improved processes.
All of this is reinforced by work ensuring that communities have the access and rights they need to their trees, and the soil and tree management techniques to maintain a healthy supply of tree products for their businesses.
The benefits
Villagers are able to generate the income they need to buy other foods and diversify their diets, they can pay for basic services and are more resilient to environmental shocks like drought and crop failure.
TREE AID particularly encourages the participation of women, as they are most often involved in ensuring that the household is fed, clothed, healthy and educated. Our enterprise support enables women to work smarter, not harder, and create the produce that provides income to make a real difference.
Local people gain the independence to reinvest their income and their skills in their wider future.
All of this adds up to improved standards of living.
Ama Yahaya
Ama Yahaya (above) and her daughter Makaram live in Kananto, Ghana.
She is now the sales representative for her shea butter enterprise group.
For Ama the opportunity to make a direct contribution to the development of her village is one she really enjoys. The extra income she is generating means she can send more of her children to school.
