Each of KOMAZA's tree farms produces specific, measurable results for our farm families and our environment. By focusing on these important outcome measures, we ensure that our efforts and our donors' dollars are making the biggest impact possible.
We harvest trees in three stages—after two, five, and eight years.
Each half-acre of KOMAZA's tree farms:
Costs $480 to plant;
Earns our farmers $2275 over eight years to invest in themselves and in their children;
Earns KOMAZA $2275 over eight years to include even more needy families in our work;
Reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide by 56 tons.
In addition to these outcomes, KOMAZA's work has significant other benefits which are more difficult to quantify. Some of the wood products we sell will replace those produced unsustainably from indigenous forests. This reduces deforestation, which results in a greater reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide and a number of other environmental benefits. The income our families earn will also have an impact on their health and their children's education. We are instituting a careful panel survey to accurately measure and report on these long-term benefits of our work.
These figures are based on our current best estimates and derived from careful market analysis, expert advice and peer-reviewed academic work. The income generated by our tree farms will increase and our planting costs will decrease as we expand operations and realize the benefits of economies of scale.
