Operating Model
1. Identification
We work with farmers who have either existing forest land they want to protect or degraded land they want to afforest. We give them an in-depth overview of our program including our reasons for doing it and the importance of forests in climate change mitigation. We also answer any questions and address any concerns farmers have.
2. Enrollment & Contracting
We conduct a basic demographic survey that collects information on land record deeds and bank account details to ensure eligibility. We explain that the program is voluntary and does not involve any lease or exchange of ownership agreement. We enroll all interested farmers in one village before moving on to other villages.
3. Ecological Restoration
We carry out soil restoration and afforestation on degraded land. On forested or partially forested land we do a survey to count and document the number and types of trees. Reforestation is done on partially forested land. All afforestation and reforestation is done with native species as recommended by botanists.
4. Monitoring
We use field surveys, photographs and satellite monitoring to get quarterly measures of the number of trees and their health. We also conduct regular field surveys with farmers to get their feedback on the program and to better understand the impact and use of the conditional cash transfers.
5. Conditional Cash Transfer
We use conditional cash transfers to encourage tree and forest conservation. Transfers are done quarterly via secure online bank transfer. Conditional cash transfers are dependant on farmers protecting a certain percentage of tree cover on their land as measured quarterly by photographs and satellite data.
6. Learning
We maintain extensive records of both the implementation and evaluation work we do. We do this to ensure that we are constantly able to improve and add to our program, making it more efficient and cost-effective. We also do this to be able to catch and address any negative impacts early-on.