Trees For Good is a charity that raises money to plant trees and supports poor farmers in Zambia.

Zambia is one of the top five countries in the world suffering from deforestation
through the felling of trees for wood, charcoal production, expansion and over exploitation of agricultural land the country is losing about 300.000 hectares of forest cover annually.

Nations across the globe have been blind to their growing populations concentrated in urban areas.
They have cut down trees to pave the way for both industrial and domestic infrastructure.


In Zambia this has been compounded by the dependence on cheap wood for fuels for urban dwellers.

Some 70% of Zambians live in abject poverty. Due to the lack of jobs and many other contributing factors
this means that most are scratching a living through exploiting the most accessible and free resource forests.

98% of rural households use firewood as a source for cooking lighting and heating.

How do we break this cycle of cutting and burning trees?

Trees for good believe that we have found the solution.
As part of a European study of growing crops it was discovered that contrary to accepted belief
researchers discovered that planting rows of trees and crops together and carefully selecting
the species and varieties it was possible to a dramatic increase in yields -up to 30%.

Such a mix of trees and crops could be considered incompatible with the use of large agrigicultural machinery, but this is not true as you can see from the picture opposite.

The planting of Trees establishes a synergy of sharing the vital sources of light, water and soil nutrients. By having to compete with the crop the tree naturally lays down deeper roots.


The trees naturally develop a network of roots that extends beneath the upper layers of the soil from which
the crops grow there nutrients, this enables the trees to draw on water and nutrients that escape the roots of the crops.
Each tree grows more quickly than it would on an exclusively forest plot as the tree are no longer competing with a neighbour.
The Trees actively support the crops by sheltering them from the wind violent rain and scorching sun.

On our first project in ZAMBIA we are planting Jatropha trees which you can see planted in rows here
The Jatropha tree is a drought resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil.
and lives producing seeds for 50 years.

Jatropha produces seeds with oil content of 37%. The oil can be combusted with ought being refined
It burns with a smoke free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engines or used in cooking
and lighting.

This will reduce the use of wood for cooking and reduce the need to cut down trees for creating charcoal

Jatropha is the ideal plant for Africa because it can withstand long periods without water
up to 2 years and then it will grow again as soon as the rains come.

Zambia has 75 million ha of land of which 42 million are arable. 38 million ha of these are not used
for anything.

Only 1 million ha of land is needed to replace Zambia's import of petrol, which is (450.000 per day)
1.500.000 of diesel and 50.000 kerosene.

Although Bio fuels have recently received bad press we believe that it is possible to grow food and oil
in the same fields with planting spacing of 50 metres it is possible to grow food crops in between the rows.

On a small 10-acre farm in Zambia we are testing the theory that trees can be grown with crops
Trees are planted in rows with wide spacing between each row.


This allows space for food crops to be planted in between the rows
Seasonal crops such as maize, beans groundnuts; pumpkins, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and green beans can grow with the protection from wind and soil erosion.

The concept of planting trees with crops is nothing new. As little as 50 years ago trees were a constant feature of rural landscapes standing at the edges or even in the middle of fields and pastures, they provided wood, fruit shade and protection.

They had their place in the landscape.

Intensification and mechanisation have proved fatal to this tradition. Trees have been felled and trees pulled up all over the countryside. To the point where it is not unusual to witness mile after mile of agricultural land with ought a tree in sight.

The Dominant thinking is that trees belong in the forest and crops belong in the field.

At Trees for Good we want to bring the trees back into agriculture and prove that it is possible to grow just as much food as before in the same field as Trees.

To Donate to Trees For Good please make your cheques payable to Betty Sinyinza
and send it to 33 Deepdene Court Winchmore Hill N21 2NH