What is the Plant It Forward program?

Regenerative agroforestry nonprofit Trees for the Future (TREES) is rooted in education and training, empowering farmers to restore their land in ways that benefit both their livelihoods and the planet. As demand for sustainable solutions increases and their programs gain popularity across target regions, the organisation has acknowledged the challenge of reaching every farmer in need.

TREES’ community-based model positions the organisation well to expand its reach through a network of trained local leaders. Across Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, TREES employs 180 field trainers, known as technicians, each responsible for working with 150–200 farmers. These farmers are grouped into cohorts of roughly 25, with each group led by a standout farmer who demonstrates strong leadership and a quick mastery of agroforestry practices. These lead farmers support technicians with hands-on training and help guide their groups through the program. Over time, TREES has observed many lead farmers sharing their knowledge with neighbouring farmers on their own.

While TREES’ traditional Forest Garden program relies on full-time staff and spans four years, the pilot Plant it Forward initiative has shown that TREES can expand its impact more rapidly. By tapping into the expertise of lead farmers and top graduates, the organisation can efficiently scale and replicate the Forest Garden model, powered by people who understand the transformation firsthand because they have already achieved it on their own land.

The project

Since its inception last year, the farmers of this Plant It Forward (PIF) project have planted more than 946,000 trees (an average of 4,149 trees per farmer).

Community farmers are signing up because they’ve seen and heard of the benefits that it has brought to their neighbours. In 2025, when Ecologi visited the project, farmers at the market were telling us that they wanted this PIF project, along with the same opportunities that the other farmers had.