A new model for responsible carbon sequestration

Ripple Effect and Riverford’s community fruit trees project in east Africa

Ripple Effect and our longstanding funding partner Riverford Organic Farmers have launched a 15-year community project to grow 44,000 fruit trees in Wolayita, southern Ethiopia.

The project will sequester at least 27,000 tonnes of carbon by 2037, at the same time as generating vital community benefits for 2,900 farmers in the form of improved nutrition and valuable income from the sale of surplus produce.

This is not just an initiative that helps organisations such as Riverford in the global north to achieve net zero – as important as that may be. Donald Mavunduse, Ripple Effect’s Director of International Operations says:

“What sets this initiative apart is that it is a comprehensive project that delivers wholescale improvements in the lives of communities in Ethiopia. ”The Programmes team at Ripple Effect believed we could bring our ethically-driven approach and depth of development experience to this area of work, delivering carbon capture, biodiversity enhancement and social change."

This ambitious fruit trees initiative is a follow-on from our Dairy for Nutrition and Income project in this region which is increasingly at risk from prolonged droughts and flash flooding.

The local farming families have been trained in our agroecology practices, enterprise development, and our cornerstone gender and social inclusion approach which ensures that everyone in the community participates and benefits from the work.

That project, completed in 2023, has also delivered key environmental benefits in improved soil health and water retention, which are also helping to reduce soil erosion.

Riverford have supported Ripple Effect’s work for more than 12 years: they share our values on balancing the needs of nature and people, and have demonstrated their dedication to reducing their carbon emissions.

Zac Goodall, Head of Sustainability at Riverford, says:

“We’ve committed to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and this project helps to offset the emissions we are unable to eliminate from our daily operations.

“I hope that more companies will recognise the important of investing in quality offsets which provide for communities and for nature, as well as genuinely sequestering carbon.”

Donald Mavunduse says:

“Riverford have a similar commitment to detail and have done tremendous work towards reducing their carbon footprint before joining us in this project. As a partnership we believe we have developed a model that is doing this work the right way.”

Fruit trees. Community focus. And “disaggregation”.

1. Fruit trees for carbon sequestration

All trees are a powerful bio-mechanism for carbon sequestration. Through the mechanism of photosynthesis they absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide (one of the most significant greenhouse gases) and lock it up in their leaves, branches, trunks and roots.

Fruit trees provide the vital additional benefits of nutrition and income for farming families, and grow quickly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our guiding principle is: the right tree in the right place for the right purpose. Planting a combination of nutrition-rich (avocado) and high market value (apple) trees, of locally-appropriate varieties, helps to ensure that farmers are committed to the long-term care and maintenance of the trees.

Mango tree seedlings were also included in the original planting plan for this project, but the plan was adapted when an infestation of mango white-scale disease meant they couldn’t be sourced locally. We will hope to include mangos, where appropriate, in future projects.

Zac Goodall from Riverford says:

“Boosting the use of perennial food sources like fruit trees will help to stabilise local food supplies, providing an important source of nutrition in a region that lacks diverse food sources, while also making their farming more resilient to climate change.”

Ongoing support, and measurement of the tree growth, will be delivered over the course of the project by a well-respected local development organisation, the Terepeza Development Association who we have been working with for many years. Carbon sequestration will be audited and verified annually by UK-based Climate Stewards.

2. Community ownership ensuring community benefits

A lack of national government regulation in the countries where carbon sequestration schemes have been introduced have often left local communities vulnerable to unequal partner engagements.

In response, Donald Mavunduse says:

“Ripple Effect and Riverford have designed this project together in the same way as Ripple Effect’s other development work: with communities and local stakeholders consulted, and a rigorous community assessment process.”

3. Disaggregated tree planting for environmental and ecological benefits

Industrial-scale monoculture plantations of trees take up large tracts of land, do little to benefit local communities, and are ecologically damaging.

In Ripple Effect’s Responsible Carbon project, the trees are owned and managed by the farmers – in this case 2,900 farmers spread across 28 kebeles in Wolayita.

Some farmers are creating community-owned orchards, but most have planted an average of 10-15 trees around their own farms, integrated into their current farms systems where they provide valuable shade, respiration, and soil stabilisation.

Rural communities across this region are on the frontline of the climate crisis, which is overwhelming their efforts to maintain sustainable livelihoods.

Our community fruit trees carbon sequestration project is an innovative model for bringing together funders and communities, which delivers measurable benefits to the people most in need of ecological repair, improved nutrition and a secure future.

If you’re interested in working with us please contact Corporate Fundraising Manager Becky Moorcroft on becky.moorcroft@rippleeffect.org.

Read more from Zac Goodall about Riverford’s commitment to this project in WickedLeeks: Carbon and fruit: A blueprint for responsible offsets - Wicked Leeks (riverford.co.uk)

And Riverford’s wider climate action commitments: Riverford Planet Action projects / Riverford