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"I feel proud to do this kind of business"

Tanzania’s Nou Forest is home to Thomas Bayyo, his wife and children. Like many families in the area, they once relied on selling firewood and charcoal from the nearby trees to earn a living.

Thomas' children proudly display a tree sapling.Farm Africa is working with communities that live around the forest like Thomas’s, helping them find ways to earn money that don’t damage the forest or the precious resources within it.

Thomas was eager to become involved and joined a group in his area that was learning how to establish a tree nursery. We provided the seeds, tools and training the group needed to get started.

New skills

Members learnt basic business skills as well as practical skills such as how to prepare the land by mixing forest soil with sand, manure and clay soil to help roots develop. The 16 members had soon grown 1,670 saplings, which they sold for a good price.

Thomas used his share of the group’s profits to help pay his children’s school costs. He has now established his own tree nursery where last year he grew 1,120 saplings. So far he has sold 880 of them for just over £80, which he has used for school uniforms, books and other household essentials.

He has also been able to plant his two acre plot of farmland with maize, beans and sweet potatoes to feed his family, as well as buy some chickens.

High prices

Thomas is keen to expand his business and find new markets where he can sell his saplings for a higher price. He also wants to share his knowledge with other community members and encourage them to establish tree nurseries. He said: “I feel proud to do this kind of business.”

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