Blog posts on smallholder agroforestry, indigenous communities, and tropical timber.
The dry season in Panama (January to April) brings sun, passable roads, and a lot of work for foresters. In December of 2013, we bought a small Stihl 250 chainsaw for the work ahead. The most pressing issue was thinning out the stands of teak: at about year seven, teak experiences acopamiento, or crowning, when the tops of the trees, initially planted at 3 x 3 meters start to touch.
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We recently published our forest map, which shows the location of our mixed-species timber and plantain projects. Clicking on any location will open an information bubble with more detail about that site. Our goal is to develop this into a more engaging interactive tour with video and photos, so let us know what you’d like to see.
Company recognized as having an innovative solution to conserve tropical forest biodiversity
Washington DC, Dec. 18th—Planting Empowerment, a sustainable agroforestry company working in Panama, announced today that it won the Startup category in the WWF Switzerland Tropical Forest Challenge.
Designed to discover global for-profit enterprises having a positive effect on tropical forest biodiversity, the WWF Switzerland Tropical Forest Challenge was managed by Ennovent, and honored businesses in Startup and Company categories. Winners went through a selection process that included a popular vote, pre-selection by a panel of experts, and a final challenge jury.
“We’re honored to be selected by WWF Switzerland” said Planting Empowerment advisory board member Emil Herkert. “As part of the growing movement to increase local control of tropical forests, Planting Empowerment has the potential to positively impact both the environment and local livelihoods in a big way. That they won this award speaks to the fact that human well-being must be at the heart of sustainably managing our natural resources.”
WWF Switzerland’s mission is to stop the global destruction of the environment and to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature. The Tropical Forest Challenge was managed by Ennovent, whose mission is to accelerate sustainable innovations for low-income markets.
The winners of the challenge will receive global visibility, networking opportunities and capacity building.
We normally avoid blatant self promotion, but ...
Planting Empowerment was recently shortlisted for the WWF Switzerland Tropical Forest Challenge, which seeks to
"Discover the most innovative for-profit enterprises from around the world that have a positive impact on tropical forest biodiversity."
Well sir, I'd say that's what we're doing.
If you have a chance, please take a moment to vote for us. Register on their website, then navigate to our listing and click vote. You should see something like this.
Thanks!
Planting Empowerment is a sustainable agroforestry company working with indigenous communities and smallholders in Panama.
