Fairventures Worldwide
Impact Sector
Restoring Nature
Type of Strategy
Empower
Project Location
Borneo, Indonesia
In a nutshell
Rainforests are the lungs of the earth – critical for keeping our atmosphere clean, and essential for countering climate change. Logging and land clearing has decimated forests, and local communities have suffered the consequences. Working with small holder farmers to grow sustainable timber provides a holistic solution: one that restores biodiversity, secures a steady income for local communities, and provides a valuable product for the world.
Climate Problem
Indonesia is home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world. Yet like many tropical forests, rainforests in Borneo are being cut down and destroyed for timber, palm oil, pulp, rubber and minerals. The degraded land that remains is often barren, and impossible to use for the cultivation of food crops. This only adds to the impoverishment of local rural populations, worsens water scarcity, and increases biodiversity loss. These issues deserve a holistic solution built for the long-term. The answer is vast, productive forests that provide communities with good livelihoods and absorb CO2.
There is growing demand from the timber industry for fast growing wood, and it’s possible to meet this demand sustainably. But supply chains are often not transparent, encouraging informal trade and illegal logging.
In this context, practices that are harmful for the environment and for workers thrive. Smallholder farmers lack direct access to the market to negotiate fair prices. Indonesia’s forest protection laws are inadequate and sometimes blatantly violated, usually without consequences.
Project Solution
Fairventures works closely with rural communities in Borneo, building farmers’ skills in agroforestry and supporting them to generate a sustainable income through caring for the forests. Farmers cultivate the trees on already degraded landscapes, such as former palm oil plantations. Among other benefits, these forests bring back biodiversity and sequester carbon. The timber trees are suited to the local environment, and are harvested and replanted every 7-8 years.
Fairventures is working to strengthen sustainable supply chains for these timber trees in collaboration with the private sector. In doing so, they are protecting Borneo’s rainforests with a climate solution that’s built to last.
Smallholder farmers are at the centre of Fairventures’ work. They build farmers’ skills, guarantee a market for their product, provide seedlings, and support them in planting up to a million trees. Equipped with key agroforestry techniques and liveable incomes, farmers have the ability and incentive to protect the rainforests. By linking smallholder farmers with the wood processing industry to create sustainable sources of income, Fairventures is building sustainable and transparent value chains.
“Trees capture poison from the air. They guard and protect us. And more importantly, we can pass them on to our descendants in the future. I hope this young durian plant grows magnificently. In a few years, my kids will be able to taste the result of our work.”
- Operational since 2014
- Team of 88 employees globally
- Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany
About the organisation
Fairventures’ mission is to empower local farmers across Indonesia and Uganda: by helping them to build stable livelihoods in reforestation, and by establishing responsible value chains in the timber industry. Fairventures works to grow healthy and thriving forests in collaboration with local communities, with the objective of ensuring the forests’ future as an effective and global climate solution.
Endorsing partner
Fairventures Worldwide carries the PHINEO Wirkt-Siegel certification for impactful climate projects.
How your donation helps
With your support, Fairventures can implement a sustainable and holistic approach to protecting forests and smallholder farmers in the long run. Reforestation is combined with crop planting, for the benefit of local communities. The project promotes fair trading by ensuring that smallholder farmers have a seat at the table in their supply chains.
Fairventures will use the donations to hire project staff and invest in nurseries, as well as to cover operational expenses for seedlings, tools, transportation, and training. All in all, this project has the potential to become a best practice example to other communities in Indonesia and beyond.
Smallholder farmers receive secure income for the long-term, and are incentivised to protect the rainforest.
Farmers benefit from expert forestry knowledge in Farmer Field Schools, learning agroforestry skills and applying them in the field.
Light wood timber trees are grown sustainably and in transparency. The trees provide a climate-friendly alternative to carbon-intensive building materials such as concrete, steel and cement.
Why we chose the project
"Fairventures’ holistic and well-designedmodel secures people’s livelihoods while protecting the environment. This project not only fits into global supply chains, but improves them – by ensuring a seat at the table for suppliers, increasing transparency, and selling a planet-friendly product."
Doreen Kubek
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All our projects are:
aiming for systemic solutions in due time
having a track record in achieving similar goals
addressing co-benefits such as health or justice
endorsed by renowned climate funders
vetted by our rigorous due diligence process
monitored by us and reporting back to donors
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Seed
KEY SUPPORTER
Grow
PROJECT PATRON
Flourish
CLIMATE CHAMPION
Receive bi-annual reports on how your funded project is progressing
Meet the people behind the project, ask your questions, and build connection (online)
Book an exchange with our Active team to discuss latest trends in climate funding (online)
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Fairventures Worldwide
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