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Watch a film about our work with trees

Trees

"Deforestation is one of the gravest threats to ecological stability and food production in Africa".

Paul Harrison in 'The Greening of Africa'

Life depends on trees - particularly in Africa. 71% of Africa's total energy use is fulfilled by trees - with electricity only contributing 6%.

In the rural areas where Excellent Development works people depend on trees for 90% of their energy. Therefore firewood is the number one priority use for trees.

Unsustainable harvesting has contributed to severe deforestation, which causes environmental degradation and often desertification, destroying wildlife and habitats. For the people living in these areas, deforestation results in hunger, thirst and fuel shortages. The increased soil erosion and reduced retention of rainwater seriously damage subsistence farmers' ability to grow enough food to eat and to sustain their livelihoods. And lack of firewood affects people's health and nutrition because of the cost of cooking food.

Excellent Development's work with trees

If managed in a sustainable fashion, trees can provide long-term environmental and economic benefits for those willing and able to invest in them. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, fertilise soil, prevent erosion, and help to absorb rainwater, whilst at the same time providing fuel, food, fodder, compost, building materials and even medicines from their wood, leaves and fruit.

Excellent Development works with communities to plant over 85 species of trees, half of which are indigenous, the rest being long-term localised exotics such as Mango and Guava. Our five extension workers train community members in how to propagate and grow the trees in tree nurseries – which are always set up near a dam to ensure a stable water supply. Then, the saplings are distributed to those who want them: the only qualification for getting a tree is that you must collect manure and dig a hole for the tree first but this is harder than it might appear, as the holes in the hard ground must be 2x2x2 feet in size to protect the young trees and enable them to retain water.

The species planted include indigenous, medicinal and endangered species. Examples of rare trees are the CITES protected medicinal tree Prunus Africana (Red Stinkwood), and the IUCN Red Listed trees Juniperus Procera (African Pencil Cedar) and Dalbergia Melanoxylon (the slow-growing Ebony or African Blackwood). Our protected forest projects further contribute to the conservation of these valuable species.

Some trees are very versatile in their uses. For example the rare African Blackwood is a source of traditional medicines, as well as providing wood for carving and instrument making. The name of the Neem tree, one of our exotic species, means 'Forty' in the local Kikuyu language – reflecting the number of different medicinal uses it has in Ayurvedic medicine – and its leaves also act as a natural insecticide. We also grow a number of species that are leguminous – they grow in, and fertilise, poor soil.

By growing seedlings during the drought periods, trees can be planted when the rains come - massively increasing their chances of survival. Both the presence of water and the training we provide contribute to our tree survival rate of 60-95% - very high for projects like this in semi-arid areas. In comparison, the overall tree survival rate for the whole of Kenya is only 2%! Increased tree cover helps wildlife particularly birds to increase, encouraging future natural tree growth and pest control. Trees also contribute significantly to soil and water conservation.

Watch a film about our work with trees

For more on Excellent's work on the conservation of endangered trees, including the protected forests and the African Blackwood, click here.

See the list of trees planted by ExcellentDevelopment and their uses.