Introduction

In 2008, Stichting Het-Groene Woudt (SHGW) and ICS came up with an integrated model combining; a commercial tree farming enterprise and a social initiative focusing on promoting small-holder tree farming, community livelihood projects and civic driven child development. The commercial and smallholder interventions will use “state of the art” technology that aims at increasing the forest cover of the areas while reducing poverty through generation of income. For these purposes, the Green Forest Social Investment (GFSI) Ltd. was established to implement the commercial tree farming, while the Green Forest Social Investment Trust (GFSIT) will be the implementing agency for the other components of the above mentioned model. The Board of Trustees of the Trust consists initially of representatives of Osienala, ICS and SHGW.

The Green Forest Social Investment Trust (GFSIT), as part of the Green Forest Social Investment Ltd, has therefore been established in response to address the issues of land degradation and deforestation in Suba district. Green Forest Social Investment Trust through its implementing partner OSIENALA (Friends of Lake Victoria) intend to carry out the reforestation project in Gwassi, Lambwe and Central divisions of Suba district and later at Kanyamwa escarpment. The project ventures into modern tree farming and aims at increasing the forest cover of the areas while reducing poverty through generation of income from the sale of timber and other non timber products. This project will produce very high quality soft and hard wood timber. This specialized high quality timber will be marketed locally and internationally. The project will also involve inter-planting of other trees such as jatropha mainly used in the production of biofuel as a better alternative to fossil fuel and medicinal plants whose extracts will also be processed and sold both locally and internationally.