The seedlings are intended to continue growing on the Palorinya Refugee Settlement site and develop into large, strong trees. Their purpose will be to provide shade, relieve pressure on existing trees, and strengthen the population's food security. An estimated 166,000 refugees from South Sudan currently live in the Palorinya Refugee Settlement. To accommodate the refugees, 94% of the trees in the area were felled to meet their demand for firewood and charcoal. If this rate had continued, Palorinya would have been completely treeless by 2023. The desertification and soil infertility that have already begun have serious consequences for agriculture. This unfortunately makes Palorinya a prime example of the devastating effects of forest depletion.
Involve local population
Given the alarming developments, it became clear during the project that planting trees would not be enough. Sustainability also had to be incorporated into the daily life of the refugee camp. Therefore, the long-term goal was to ensure that firewood increasingly comes from controlled sources and to raise awareness among the local population about deforestation.
Processes for sustainable wood use
The project continues to develop processes that produce a specific type of wood for building huts and heating, while the rest of the tree population remains intact. The involvement of the local population and the refugees has also made it possible to create jobs. The project received more interest than expected, which was particularly gratifying. Demand from landowners even exceeded capacity, but it is encouraging and shows that we are on the right track.
Thanks go to you too!
In the spring, we launched the Impact Bracelet in collaboration with Viva con Agua. NIKIN focuses on ecological aspects, such as planting trees in Uganda and producing sustainable fashion, while Viva con Agua focuses on social aspects and provides people with access to clean drinking water and sanitation. For each Impact Bracelet, one franc/euro goes to Viva con Agua's One WASH program, and one tree goes to a special reforestation project.
Share a photo with your Impact Bracelet on social media with the hashtag #shareyourimpact and motivate others to live a more conscious lifestyle and have the opportunity to do good.
(Images: Unsplash)
