Why Trees

As one farmer put it, “Without trees we have no life”. Trees provide ‘emergency relief' without handouts, and can prevent famine. Tree foods such as leaves, nuts, fruit, seeds and sap are a rich source of daily nutrients during the hardest months of the year and survive when other crops fail during drought.

Trees provide other basic daily needs, such as fuel, building materials and medicines. Even the rope that pulls the bucket from the well can come from the bark of a baobab tree. By developing the enormous income potential of tree products, families can pay for their children's education and health care and achieve self-reliant, long-term development. TREE AID provides the training and tools to enable villagers to harness their local resources and build sustainable enterprises.

Read our Not Just a Tree leaflet to find out how TREE AID works with villagers to ensure that planted tree seeds that get the best possible start to life and grow to be strong healthy productive trees.

You can help us to plant trees by purchasing the Plant a Tree gift from our gift catalogue. With this gift you will receive a card for you to personalise and a certificate stating that a tree will be planted in Africa's drylands.

Click here to see our tree wheel and learn more about what a difference trees can make.

Find out more about what trees provide by looking at our Tree of the Month.

Take on our Grand for Trees Challenge to raise £1000 to change lives using trees.