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Regeneration project 

The GDS-Movement is committed to co-creating strategies, mind sets and skill sets that will enable destinations of the future to thrive and society and nature to regenerate. 

As 2020 draws to a close we thought what better way to celebrate our partnerships and collaborations than to support an agroforestry project in Ecuador. Working with Treedom we will be able to keep track of the plantation and watch our very own forest grow as we continue to work towards a regenerative and resilient future.  

Reasons why 

An ancient proverb teaches “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” 

The project in Ecuador 

Ecuador offers majestic biodiversity. From east to west, the country spans the rainforests of the Amazon river basin and its numerous tributaries, to a mangrove rich coast that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The central part is known as the Sierra and has plateaus that reach 6,130 meters above sea level. The most famous island, the Galápagos is 1,000 km from the coast and is rich in endemic species.  

The province of Manabì overlooks the Pacific and is not far from the city of Guayaquil. Manabì is divided into cantons. The canton of Jipijapa, in the south of the province, is the one in which the project will be implemented.  

The project includes the construction of an agroforestry nursery and the training of a technician, who will follow the project at the various planting sites and will be responsible for the geolocation of the trees.  

Coffee trees will be planted that will benefit the Focazsum cooperative and the 350 families of small-scale producers that belong to it. Coffee trees grow best when planted in the shade of other species and this method prevents the slash and burn policy that used to define coffee production.  

Coffee trees can grow up to 20 feet in height and the taste depends on the region’s climate, much like a terroir defines a vineyard’s wine. It takes up to five years before a coffee plant will produce its first harvest and the tree will continue producing for up to 25 years under good management.  

Project benefits include:  

• Construction of an agroforestry nursery 
• Training of a project technician 
• Promotion of agroforestry management of crops 
• Diversification of income for 350 smallholder families 
• Creation of a more resilient habitat for animals and plants
• Global CO2 absorption 
• Protection of biodiversity 
• Contrasting soil erosion and desertification 
• Direct funding opportunities of start-up costs for smallholder farmers 
• Empowerment of smallholder farmers and agricultural cooperatives 
• Attaining food security for communities 

A society grows great when old men plant trees under whose shade they know they’ll never sit.