Eden Reforestation Project: Becoming Forest Partners

It only seems like yesterday when in 2021 Bungalow.Net reached the Grove Level Partner tier having raised between $50,000 and $99,999 translating into that many living, breathing trees.

Now we are proud to say that we are already stepping into the next phase of the project, the Forest Level Partners level, where the aim will be to raise between $100,000 - $999,999 turning the amounts into planted trees and feasible jobs for locals.

Let’s see what this truly means by immersing ourselves in the Eden Reforestation Project and all the good they do in the world.

About the Eden Reforestation Project

The global restoration network is doing two essential things at the same time: creating livelihoods for thousands of people living in extreme poverty and restoring forests in their area to help reverse climate change, global deforestation, and even habitat loss of endangered species.

The corporate partners of the project commit to a specific donation of planting a tree or a certain number of trees for each point of sale, service provided, or any other business model.

In the case of Bungalow.Net, this is a simple but effective formula: guests spend time at our holiday homes or parks and trees get planted per person per night spent on the other side of the planet.

This is great on so many levels, starting from the holidayer spending their time at a place where they know that they are doing further good in the world by choosing Bungalow.Net, but also for the company itself which is learning and teaching about corporate social responsibility.

The Eden Reforestation Project works with local communities to restore forests on a massive scale. They also provide economic incentives and simple planting techniques to support local communities in their restoration efforts. These systems are simple and this way can be easily replicated and implemented by anyone using only a few resources. This wouldn’t work any other way because most of the time these people have to deal with bad roads, unreliable electricity, and weak internet connection. Putting the local community at the center of their work generates great commitment to reforestation in their own country and creates a sense of ownership and long-term protection of these areas.

Today, the project operates in 10 project countries, plants nearly a million trees per day, and maintains planting levels even when faced with civic unrest, extreme weather, wild animals, or other disruptions. Meanwhile, the communities that are facing extreme poverty are given new opportunities for economic self-sufficiency, improved health, and education. This is how you heal the world, one tree at a time.

The role of Bungalow.Net

Bungalow.Net has been steadily working together with Eden Reforestation Project and has now become a Forest Partner, with the goal of planting 1 million trees while on this level. Recently, our efforts were concentrated in Papua, on the Island of Biak, with 400.000 trees planted by the BN Group over the years alongside the Nabire site.

We are happy to say that the Biak site is almost full, so we will move to a new, exclusive island on Yapen where we will plant around 53 km2 of the area with new mangrove forests. This will take less than 2 years and at that point, we will have completed planting well over 1 million trees in 3 locations!

About the Yapen planting site

This project site is located in a small bay historically covered with mangrove trees. Reliance on timber as fuelwood has driven deforestation in this area.

It is important to plant mangrove forests because they can reduce shoreline erosion and can protect coastal communities against coastal flooding, high winds, waves, and tsunamis. They are also an important puzzle piece because they protect both the saltwater and the freshwater ecosystems they straddle.

The Aibondeni reforestation site comprises of 53.5 hectares of mangrove forests along the southwestern coast of Yapen Island in Papua Province, Indonesia. The Aibondeni site gets its name from a region of Yapen and a nearby village, also named Aibondeni. Yapen Island is located off of mainland Papua (New Guinea) in Cenderawasih Bay. As part of the "Coral Triangle," this region houses rich biodiversity, including over 500 species of reef-building corals, six marine turtle species, and more than 2,000 species of tropical fish.

Reforestation at the Aibondeni planting site benefits the nearby villages of Yaimaria and Aibondeni. Community members from these two villages traditionally rely on fishing for their livelihoods. The tide on this side of Yapen is strong, leading to high sea levels during high tide and villagers have adapted to this by constructing stilt houses, which keep them far above sea levels.

Eden will implement its Employ-to-Plant methodology and hire community members from Aibondeni and Yaimaira to reforest their environment. By employing local villagers and planting native trees, Eden's Indonesia team will work to restore their environment while lifting local communities out of extreme poverty.

Every problem has a solution, and this one can be fixed one step, one tree and one job at a time. Next to the corporate partner option, which we are happily continuing, there is always a chance for anyone to “casually reforest”. With the Eden Reforestation Project you and your family can make one time donations or even setup a monthly plan, knowing that while you are doing your daily routine, a tree gets planted and a life is getting bettered!