Plant Trees

Unfortunately, this is difficult to answer in general terms - on the one hand, because different tree species absorb different amounts of carbon and on the other hand because trees absorb different amounts of carbon during their different stages of development.

After planting, the trees need around three years before they start sequestering carbon. Then, in the first few years, the young trees bind relatively little CO2. But as soon as they grow in height, a lot of CO2 is absorbed – in their highest productivity phase up to 60 kg of CO2 per year. The amounts vary depending on the tree species, light intensity, water and nutrient availability at the location, etc. The older trees get, the more biomass is produced, but at the same time they also lose leaves and branches, and of course individual trees can also die, so that a certain amount of CO2 is released again. In the meantime, new trees are growing naturally, so that a balance is created in the forest over time and the biomass can be used to determine exactly how much CO2 is bound in the forest in total. The creation of permanent forests is always the goal of our projects.

The specification of the absorption capacity of a tree is therefore always only a rough average value. As a rule of thumb it can be said that tree absorbs an average of 22 kg of CO2 per year.

Basically, the benefit of trees compensating CO2 and protecting climate is given worldwide, no matter where emissions are caused and emitted.

There are several reasons why we decided to plant the trees in the Global South:

1. The social leverage is greater here, as together with our partners we attach great importance to local social interests. Thus, the local communities are offered the opportunity for education and training. In addition, the cultural traditions and needs of the local communities are strictly taken into account.

2. The ecological leverage is also much greater, as many more trees can be planted with the same budget due to lower wages and costs for the reforestation areas.

3. Finally, we can achieve more on the economic level: Together with our partners, we plant trees where poverty is very high, so that local communities can be strengthened through long-term employment and income opportunities. In this way, a positive idea of "sustainability" can also find its way into countries where climate protection has often been seen as a brake on development.

These ideas are based on the three-pillar model of sustainable development, which is based on the idea that sustainable development can only be achieved through the simultaneous and equal implementation of environmental, economic and social goals.

It is our goal to plant sustainable forests. The planted forests are therefore established for the long term and are under permanent protection. We and our partners work very closely with the local agricultural cooperatives to guarantee the long-term preservation of the afforestation areas. We also plant mixed forests of native tree species rather than low-cost monocultures to ensure high survival rates and guarantee that an organic and resilient forest can grow.

At the same time, about 10% of the trees are planted as so-called agroforestry species: Local farmers are provided with avocado or mango trees, for example, which they can cultivate themselves and thus secure their income. This ensures that the incentive for illegal logging is counteracted and that the smallholders recognise the potential of sustainably securing their own forests.

Our price is a mixed calculation of the costs for planting and long-term monitoring of the trees, which vary from project to project, and the costs acquired in order to reach you reading this and running the online shop.

Our price is quite low - yet we do not plant cheap monocultures, but only those mixed forests that fit the local flora and fauna and have the best survival rates.

All of our trees are planted with our tree-planting partners in the Global South. We want your contribution to plant a maximum number of trees! Although it isn't currently possible, we hope in future to be able to pinpoint the exact locations of your financed trees,  offer individual photos or even personalize trees with signs, but this would significantly increase the price of the trees planted.