Kenyans living in urban areas can plant, grow and protect a tree for five years for only Sh50.
This is thanks to the Sh50 per tree or the ‘Ka-FinjeTu’ initiative, which seeks to have many Kenyans plant, grow and protect trees for five years for only Sh50.
The initiative is being driven by a local conservation organisation- EarthLungs Reforestation Foundation with the aim of helping the government meet its target of 15 billion trees by 2032.
The government has set a target of planting 15 billion trees in the next nine years. To reach the target, President William Ruto said every Kenyan should plant at least 30 trees each.
The Kenya Forest Service says the forest cover stands at 8.4 per cent, which is 1.6 per cent shy of the constitutionally accepted 10 per cent forest cover.
Victor Mwanga, founder and CEO of EarthLungs Reforestation Foundation Kenya, said the initiative is targeting urbanites who live in apartments or in estates and do not have anywhere to plant a tree.
“For instance, if you live in a highrise apartment in Mlolongo or Kileleshwa, where are you going to plant those 30 trees?” Mwanga said.
One could be told to go to Ngong Hills to plant the 30 trees, which calls for one to have a vehicle, find and buy seedlings and get the space, he said.
You would also have to make sure you find the right seedlings because you need to plant the right species in the right ecological zone, he said.
“If you have a desire to plant and grow trees, we will do it on your behalf,” Mwanga said.
“All you have to do is to contribute Sh50 towards an account we operate and we will plant, grow, conserve and protect the tree or trees on your behalf for five years.”
Mwanga added that the Sh50 will also go towards paying a monthly salary for unemployed women and youth living near the forest.
They will be mandated to plant, grow and protect the trees for five years.
In addition, one can monitor the tree through a mobile platform.
He said the trees will be planted in Kinale forest station in Kijabe, Kiambu county, which is part of the Aberdare Ranges.
The second phase will be at the Coast region, targeting mangroves.
KFS has established guidelines for adoption of a forest or part of a forest for tree planting and maintenance, protection and conservation in order to accelerate reforestation of degraded terrestrial, mangroves and dry land forests.
According to KFS, Kinale Forest is located 60km from Nairobi along the Nairobi- Naivasha highway via the Kinungi route.
It covers 10,500 hectares, comprising indigenous forests, plantation forests, bushland, bamboos and grassland.
“There is a lot of destruction and pressure in that forest and that is where we want to start," Mwanga said.
"The reason for that is to first get the people in Nairobi, Nakuru and Naivasha to plug into the 'Ka-FinjeTu' initiative."
Not only do we want to establish the reforestation programme there but we also want people to have an experience with getting their hands dirty,” Mwanga said.
He said they will work with KFS to look at other critical urban forests or forests near big towns and cities that require rehabilitation through the 'Ka-FinjeTu' initiative.
“It is not about the amount of money that will be made but the impact that the Sh50 will create to a marginalised forest community in terms of job employment and income generation,” Mwanga said.
By depositing a minimum of Sh50 to paybill number 400200 and account number 40016363, you are guaranteed of planting and growing one tree to self-sustenance.
He assured Kenyans that there will be accountability for every penny sent through the 'Ka-FinjeTu' initiative.
This, he said, will be done managing and monitoring the impacts of tree planting to ensure visibility and accountability for climate actions.
“We manage our network of restorative projects, data and evidence through our web-based dashboard,” Mwanga said.
This includes site management, user management and data collection requirements.
They take the data and measure it against established standards, ensuring it is complete, consistent and accurate to ensure that the trees are not being double counted and that each tree is incremental.
In addition, once verified, the impact data is published to a public blockchain.
“This enforces traceability, transparency and ensures the data and evidence remain unchanged and unaltered,” he said.
He said the ultimate goal is to request KFS to allocate them through the Adopt a Forest Framework for Collaboration a minimum of 500 hectares of degraded forest space in each county.
“This will ensure every Kenyan can contribute in planting and growing of trees in their county of interest,” Mwanga said.
