A look through Tree Aid's archives
19th August 2024
Share
Sitting on a dusty shelf, high up in Tree Aid's Bristol office store cupboard, we recently discovered a treasure trove. Tucked inside boxes and envelopes were hundreds of old photographic slides, photographic film, and vintage newsletters, covering our charity's history from its beginnings in 1987.
The archives give us an amazing insight into Tree Aid's beginnings as a small charity working in several African countries, from Benin to Zimbabwe.
From mud moulds, to boulis, and zai pits, it's fascinating to recognise techniques and methods we are still using today - all tried, tested, and refined over nearly four decades of work.
Join us this World Photography Day as we take a sneak peek into just some of what we've uncovered, meeting past project participants, and traveling back in time to the countries we work in.
Burkina Faso
Now home to our head office in West Africa, our work in Burkina Faso started in 1994. Although we don't have a date for these pictures, we can guess they were taken in the first few years of Tree Aid's work in this country.
Left to right: Baobab fruit hanging from branches; a young boy holding fruit in his arms; a family portrait; a Sahel landscape, a community meeting beneath a shady tree.
Right from the beginning we have been firm in our belief in community-led projects. This belief has stood the test of time and is an ethos that we carry into the ways we communicate with the people we work with, and the people who support us.
We believe that photographs and videos should show project participants in ways that empower them, and communicate their own unique stories within the context of the vital work that they are doing.
Left to right: A portrait of a young boy holding a slingshot; a girl pictured with non-timber forest products; a young girl gazes thoughtfully at the camera.
Ethiopia
Left to right: Two women tending to tree seedlings in a nursery; a landscape shot of Ethiopian highlands; a group of children standing beside trees; two men tending to tree seedlings.
Ghana
Left to right: A man looks over tree seedlings in a nursery; a group portrait of participants in an early Tree Aid project; a village elder poses for a portrait; a man stands beside a field of burning long grass; participants stand beside a water bouli.
Mali
Left to right: A project participant watering tree seedlings in nursery; a woman posing beside a planted tree seedling in degraded land; a young participant beside tree; young participants waiting to plant tree seedlings; a Malian village in the Sahel, with community members in traditional dress.
Left to right: A degraded landscape in Mali with newly planted trees; a young boy with watering cans; a field of zai pits, waiting to collect rainwater and supercharge soil fertility.
This journey through our archives has not only rekindled memories but has reaffirmed the enduring principles that have guided Tree Aid since its inception. The stories captured in these old slides and newsletters are not just our history; they are the foundation upon which we build the future.
Join us over the coming months, as we continue to dive into our history, sharing just some of the stories from over 37 years of work.
Have some of our old newsletters, or a special memory from our past? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch.