Good news from Ghana

Together with Click a Tree, we have already planted over 15,656 trees!

The team continues to grow

In the meantime, 14 full-time employees work in our project and earn their living with it. (At the beginning of 2020, there were still 6 full-time workers).

Reuben Asreasen, the new farm manager.


Gbe Bernard (left), here with project manager Clement, will support us in the future as project coordinator. He manages operations in both Kyinderi and Dambai.

The first harvests

Despite the difficult conditions and the rather poor rainfall of the past months, the first trees are now bearing fruit. These include papaya, bananas, guavas and limes.

Especially due to the currently very difficult economic situation in Ghana, this is excellent news for the local population in Kyinderi. On the one hand the fruits contribute to the direct nutrition of their own families, all surplus is sold on the surrounding markets.

Pictured: Limes.

Fruiting papaya tree.

Pictured: Banana tree.

The Mandala Garden

Due to the difficult economic situation, the team in Kyinderi is currently focusing more on fruit and vegetable cultivation to ensure food security for the community.

A very valuable contribution to this is provided by Anita Kotochi from Earth University in Costa Rica. She shares her knowledge about so-called mandala gardens with us.

Mandala gardens are usually circular beds in which different plant species are planted to strengthen each other. Practically a kind of syntropic agriculture, only small, and mostly designed for useful plants.

The results are sensational and provide all the employees with everyday food.

Anita Kotochi from Earth University in Costa Rica, visibly pleased with the valuable results of her work. Thank you very much for your strong support, Anita!

The Mandala Garden from above. Looks much smaller from the air than at eye level.


The Mandala Garden before/during planting.


The Mandala Garden after planting.


The first harvests from the Mandala Garden.

Updates from the Entrepreneurship School

Great news from the Entrepreneurship School: two former students, Shakuru and Kwaku Bio, are returning to Kyinderi.

Shakuru only temporarily for now, Kwaku Bio as a full-time employee after successfully completing his advanced education.

It is extremely motivating to see how these two young men have developed over the past few years - and with what optimism they now look to the future!

Shakuru

Shakuru, one of the former students of our Entrepreneurship School, is now studying microbiology at the University for Development Studies in Tamale.

He is currently back in Kyinderi for two months to share the knowledge he gained at the university with the local workers.

After successfully completing his studies, Shakuru plans to return to Kyinderi next year to put his knowledge to profitable use in the reforestation project.

Shakuru helps mulch the reforestation area.

Kwaku Bio

Kwaku Bio, also a former student of the Entrepreneurship School in Kyinderi, has successfully completed his three-year training at the Accra University of Technology.

He is now back in Kyinderi. Thanks to the positive developments of the reforestation project, we were able to find him a full-time job here.

New projects in the pipeline

Thanks to the extremely positive development of the reforestation project in Kyinderi, we are simultaneously developing other projects to ensure smooth further development.

A new tree nursery in Tamale

This nursery has a capacity of 1.5 million seedlings - and should thus meet our growth expectations for the next 2-3 years.

Monkrate reforestation project

In Monkrate (8°01'59.5 "N 0°07'49.4 "E), 5 kilometers west of Dambai, near the Oti River, we are planning another reforestation project. The proximity to the river makes year-round irrigation much easier.

The team begins preparations in Dambai.

An initial test area is prepared and reclaimed - initially with a focus on food production.

Drinking water supply for 12,000 people in Grube

In line with our holistic sustainable approach, we are constantly developing further concepts to raise the standard of living of the local population.

One of these new projects is the supply of clean drinking water to 12,000 people. In cooperation with partners such as Blue Gold and sponsors such as Grundfos, we are currently developing a drinking water supply strategy for the people in Grube (10 kilometers northwest of Kyinderi).

Furthermore, the planting of approx. 16,000 additional trees is planned here - again in the spirit of syntropic agriculture, in order to combat the ongoing food shortage in Ghana.

In addition to supplying the local population with clean drinking water, the knowledge gained from this collaboration will help us to further optimize the irrigation systems of our reforestation projects in the future.

This project is currently in the early development phase. Further updates will follow.

Bird's eye view of the pit.

We are happy to be a part of this project, we thank every single customer who contributes to this project.

A big thank you also goes to the team who is doing the work on site, together we are making a difference!

We will keep you informed as soon as there will be new updates from Ghana and from the new projects.

Thank you!

The Life Is Pain® - Team.