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If you have a question or want to learn more about Gula Gula Forest Programs, please email us at info@gulagula.org or call +31(0)6 29 04 83 55.
If you have a question or want to learn more about Gula Gula Forest Programs, please email us at info@gulagula.org or call +31(0)6 29 04 83 55.
Any company can join Gula Gula Forest Programs and support expansion. CO2Operate offers CO2 analyses to understand your organization's CO2 emissions. After this analysis, you can offset excess CO2 by contributing to Gula Gula Forest Programs in West Sumatra and Timor. You can also buy Plan Vivo CO2 certificates to protect one of the Gula Gula forests. In addition, it is possible to financially support Gula Gula for a longer period of time.
If you want to know what suits your business, check out our commercial plans here or contact us.
Call +31(0)6 29 04 83 55 or email us at info@co2operate.nl
The bare necessities are mother nature's gift
Gliricidia does great service to the Timorese. The tree is a fast-growing species that thrives in degraded and infertile soils. Gliricidia is also an excellent producer of biomass (both wood and leaves), providing a huge amount of organic matter in the soil.
As a nitrogen fixer, Gliricidia is important for plant growth. Especially the leaves are high-quality, nitrogen-rich feed for (poultry) cattle.
Planting Gliricidia improves water infiltration into the soil. It also regulates surface water runoff, greatly reducing the risk of flooding and soil erosion.
Gliricidia roots deeply. Therefore, it does not have to compete with other crops for water and nutrients.
Because new branches develop quickly, Gliricidia can be pruned intensively. This management increases the amount of foliage and thus organic matter for the soil grows rapidly.
The many Gliricidia forests on Timor produce a large harvest of branches. Those branches are suitable for weaving fencing and are used as firewood.
Experience shows that branches 1.5-2 meters long do well right away as soon as they are in the ground. Moreover, Gliricidia responds very well to intensive pruning. All in all, then, Gliricidia is an inexpensive option for farmers to restore fertility to degraded land.
Gliricidia is an important part of natural soil regeneration and restoration of ecosystem functions. It is expected that after two to three years, the soil is restored to the point where farmers can plant economically valuable crops.
Source: Gliricidia-sepium-Factsheet.pdf (regreeningafrica.org)
CO2Operatehas been working with local experts since the beginning. They united in 2016 to form the independent NGO Rimbo Pangan Lestari (RPL). Together, we are constantly developing, improving and implementing Gula Gula Forest Programs.
RPL consists of driven young people, who now maintain a close friendship. Each has their own expertise and experience, some of them are university graduates.
RPL's GIS/remote sensing team maps farmers' land and ensures that we operate only on village land (adat) and not on State Forestry Administration land. In this way, we assure ourselves, villagers and the government of clarity on land ownership. In addition to GIS people, the GIS team consists of geographers and anthropologists. They are indispensable during the meetings with the farmers. Agricultural technicians advise the farmers and us on environmentally friendly methods of forest restoration, as they know all about organic cultivation methods and tree care. RPL has also hired an expert on tree nurseries and tree seed raising. He directs the nursery, which is growing all the time. Finally, there are financially skilled people managing the increasingly complex mix of funding streams.
Meanwhile, RPL employs nine people full-time under the inspiring leadership of a geographer. She oversees the unruly and complex reality of ecosystem restoration with her helicopter view.
With co-financing from RFO, a first large compost unit has been set up, delivering 6 to 8 tons of compost per month. Final tests are being carried out to find the optimal recipe for top quality compost. The demand for it is enormous. Not only with "our" farmers, but also with other farmers who mainly grow vegetables. The vegetables become more beautiful and stronger because of the nutrients from the black gold.
- Compost works longer than fertilizer.
- Compost costs much less and is available locally.
- Compost doesn't wash away as quickly as fertilizer granules during a rainstorm.
It cuts both ways: less fertilizer use and less cost to farmers. Less use of fertilizer is also better for above- and below-ground biodiversity. It also savesCO2, in part because the production of fertilizer requires fossil fuels.
Plan Vivo is the leading international standard forCO2 projects supported by rural communities. Some time ago, Plan Vivo was recognized by ICROA Code of Best Practices. ICROA is the world's leading accreditation organization for climate action with integrity and development relevance.
Plan Vivo focuses on the active participation of local communities. Plan Vivo projects work with communities facing major challenges in terms of an increasingly degrading natural environment.
TheCO2 captured in this process improvement of natural and social conditions are sold as Plan Vivo certificates (PVCs). PVCs are more than justCO2 credits. They would not have access to financial, technical and organizational support to achieve more sustainable land use and cooperation without these revenues from PVCs. It is a requirement that at least 60 percent of the income from the PVCs be directly invested in the project and its participants on the ground. A PVC thus encourages long-term sustainable land use by local communities and upcoming generations.
All this is under strict control and evaluated by Plan Vivo staff and regularly by external, independent parties. This covers operational costs.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals to make the world a better place by 2030. The SDGs were agreed upon by countries affiliated with the United Nations (UN), including the Netherlands. The goals came about based on global input from organizations and individuals.
The Sustainable Development Goals began in 2015 and will run until 2030. They are a global compass for challenges such as poverty, education and the climate crisis.
CO2Operateis working with Gula Gula purposefully and purposefully to achieve the three key goals. They are.
Fighting poverty is not only about financial aspects, but also and especially about the impact poverty has on people's lives, health, working conditions, education, housing and the natural environment. Gula Gula Forest Programs does this through the planting of economically valuable trees on degraded agricultural land. In addition to improved income through the sale of the fruits and spices, a diverse range of fruits and other edible products become available to the villages. Now that these products are also processed locally, farmers are generating a higher income by selling finished products.
In 2015, it became clear that the effects of climate change are a major threat to people and nature. The Paris Agreement signed that year states that action is needed to halt climate change and its effects. Gula Gula Forest Programs is contributing to this by sequestering large amounts ofCO2 through the development of new food forests on barren, degraded land.
Healthy ecosystems and biodiversity help strengthen resilience to increasing population pressure, land use intensification and climate change. SDG 15 aims to protect, restore and sustainably manage life on land in all its forms. Protection and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity are central to this. Gula Gula Forest Programs is conducting research on the impact on above- and below-ground biodiversity as forest is reduced. Clearly, the diversity of plants and animals is increasing.
In the fight against climate change, ANR is increasingly used to achieve reforestation. The method of making degraded land fertile without plowing the soil costs little and yields a great deal. There are different ways, depending on the conditions. For example, in the wet tropics of West Sumatra, the flattop plow is the basis of success. Timor, where it is much drier, requires a very different method.
In the first year, the alang-alang is bruised with a flattening blade. As a result, the long-grass weakens and stops growing. The germinated seeds of native rainforest trees that have ended up there through bird droppings and in feces of other animals seize their chance. The saplings grow rapidly because of the air and light that now reaches them.
The weakened tallgrass dies off from below. The soil absorbs the plant remains and becomes fertile from them.
In the second year, the soil, which now holds water better and better due to the decaying plant residues, is suitable for planting coffee plants, spice and fruit trees and other commercially attractive crops. Their yields provide good income and a diverse food supply.
In the third year, the ecosystem continues to recover. The site is now attractive to a variety of insects, mammals and birds. They settle in the area; biodiversity is improving by leaps and bounds.
After five to six years, the ecosystem services of a forest on previously depreciated land have largely been restored. It grows and flourishes profusely, offering the population a perspective of many years to come.
