Harnessing the power of shea trees
Learn about our work implementing the Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project See all Ghana projects
Why is this project needed?
There is a huge opportunity for communities in this region to benefit from shea trees, however their potential is not currently being utilized.
At present, these shea trees are being cut down to open space for farming and to process charcoal - following the trend of rising deforestation and land degradation in the country's agricultural regions.
By planting and regeneration shea trees, and training farmers in climate-smart farming methods, such as agroforestry, we aim to reduce and reverse the emissions caused by deforestation, and provide local communities with a long-term,sustainable alternatives to cutting wood for timber, charcoal and farmland.
Our aims
During this project, we will:
- Restore 2029 hectares of land through 200 female extension volunteers. We'll do this by promoting agroforestry, Soil and Water Conservation (SWC), agro-silvo pastoral land use, and shea tree growing and management techniques.
- Invest in 4 nurseries, and plant more than 200,000 seedlings. This will include the in-situ grafting of 15,000 shea trees in the field, and more than 120,000 shea trees in total.
- We will help to establish 3 women’s cooperatives, who will come together to sell their tree products collaboratively. These cooperatives will be trained on shea aggregation, marketing, auditing and warehousing.
- 1000 improved cookstoves will be distributed to women group members - this will help reduce pressure on local forests for firewood.
Image: Community members grafting shea seedlings
OUR FUNDERS
This project has been made possible by funding from the Global Shea Alliance and Soroptimist International
