In our rural communities, life revolves around the essentials. At the end of the day, many of us pass by mama mboga or the kibandasky to buy a small portion of vegetables—just enough to make dinner. These small transactions are built on trust—you know that mama mboga will always have fresh sukuma wiki, and she knows sometimes you can lack the cash to pay but still she may never disappoint. This system works because both sides know they’re getting something valuable.
But then, there’s carbon credits—a concept that sounds distant and complicated for many. Ask anyone at the local market, and you’re likely to get a puzzled look. Why should carbon credits matter to a smallholder farmer who plants trees for firewood, shade, or fruits? The idea seems more relevant to big companies in distant places than to our everyday lives. And for a long time that has been the norm, but we seek to change it!
Why Carbon Credits Matter to Us
Here’s the reality: while planting trees has always been part of our lives, the way carbon credits are usually allocated leaves smallholder volunteer tree farmers out. In most systems, credits are given based on the area of land covered by trees. This means large landowners benefit the most, while the farmer who carefully nurtures a single Muchinduri tree on a small plot gains nothing. This doesn’t seem fair, especially when those trees can live for decades and capture significant amounts of carbon. Such a system is also a recipe for undeniable land ownership greed within the global space. We all know what that has meant in the past right? Colonialization? Wars? Strife and Injustice!
A New Way Forward: Forezava EcoChain
Forezava EcoChain is about changing how we think about trees and carbon credits. Imagine if every tree you planted and cared for could earn you something—just like how buying vegetables from mama mboga supports her livelihood. Instead of money, you receive tokens that you can use to buy farm inputs, food, or even get cash. It’s a way of making every tree count.
How Does It Work?
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Trust and Verification: Forezava EcoChain uses technology to build trust and accountability. Farmers, individually and voluntarily, document their trees with photos, coordinates, and growth updates. This information goes into a blockchain—a secure, unchangeable record that keeps everyone honest.
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Earning Tokens: As the tree grows and data is verified, the farmer receives tokens. These tokens work like rewards for your effort—similar to getting a little extra from mama mboga when you’re a regular customer.
Our goal is to plant one million trees and document their growth. This is about more than just planting—it’s about recognizing the value of every tree and every farmer’s effort. By doing this, we’ll show that smallholder farmers can be active participants in the carbon credit economy, not just spectators.
By making carbon credits more accessible and fair, Forezava EcoChain can transform how farmers in our community benefit from their everyday commitment to the environment. It’s time to make trees work for us, just as we’ve worked to nurture them.
About Author: Kevin Makova
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