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What will be the right distribution key for future carbon revenues? That’s the question the Cooperative Committee considered on 14 May.

As you will recall, one of the main objectives of the Cooperative and its Cooperative Committee, made up of democratically elected representatives from each village (the majority of whom are women), is to draw up a key for distributing carbon revenues. It is certainly not up to arboRise to define how this income will be shared among the cooperative members. This choice must be made by those directly concerned, in accordance with local traditions and customs.

To prepare for this discussion, we asked the people most directly concerned, the land families, to think about the issue during visits to each village. 88% of all cooperative members took part in this consultation, and they agreed on the following consensus:

• Compliance with the cooperative’s rules by each member should be rewarded in proportion to the effort required to comply with each rule. For example, certain ‘costly’ rules (such as the installation of firewalls around the pitches) should be better rewarded than simple rules (such as the installation of marker tape around the pitches).
• Of course, those who do a great deal to foster the growth of trees on their plots should be rewarded, but the ‘undeserving’ should also be given a little, otherwise they risk leaving the project.
• The reward should (very clearly) be based on the result (the density and height of the trees on the land) and not for the effort required to achieve this result.
• External factors (infertility of the land, fires, etc.) should not be regarded as a fatality: it is the responsibility of the landowning family if it has chosen an unsuitable site or if its land has been affected by fires.

Then, this year, we hired the “measurers” to assess the quality of maintenance on the reforested plots and the growth of the trees. In this way, the performance of each plot is known to everyone.

On 14 May we provided the Cooperative Committee with a framework for reflection to help define the key to distributing carbon income. Please note that this is not a decision but a proposal that will be submitted to the land families for approval at the Cooperative’s General Meeting.

We began by recalling the results of the ‘tarpaulin exercise’ in 2024 in all the villages, and then by presenting the results of the measuring machines and satellite observations. Each dimension (fires, compliance with the rules, tree growth according to the results of the measuring machines and satellite images) is translated into a system of points per reforested plot, which, when added together, gives a result per plot-family, which can also be analysed by village, and so on.

Despite the relative complexity of calculating points and visualising them graphically, everyone understood the principle very well.

We then asked them to discuss and decide on two points:

1. To what extent should the distribution key reward the deserving and penalise the ‘lazy’ (the adjective is from the participants!)? We explained to them that a too extreme distribution key could create major differences between the land-families and lead to conflicts. Following their deliberations, the members of the cooperative committee decided that the distribution key should lead to a small difference between the deserving and the less deserving. A wise decision
2. How do you determine the share of carbon revenue allocated to the villages? Here too, we need to balance the desire of the land families to maximise their income, and on the other hand positive impact that an amount for community infrastructure will have (or on any jealous people in the villages). The Cooperative Committee proposes that the General Assembly should vote to allocate 10% to the villages.

The members of the Comité Coopératifs first consult each other in groups, then report back to the plenary, and finally vote by raised hands.

This first exercise in reflection within the Comité Coopératif was a success. It shows that it is perfectly possible to delegate this kind of responsibility to the Cooperative’s bodies. The members are very aware of their responsibilities and a real dialogue is taking place (a deliberation, as recommended by the ethical supervision). This reflection will take place every year, before the Cooperative’s General Meeting. Over the course of those meetings, we will add elements for reflection (for example, we have not proposed a discussion on the weighting of the fire/rules/growth dimensions). In particular, we must ensure that the women on the Cooperative Committee take more airtime in the deliberations.

Potential investors frequently want to verify our activities on the ground. This is totally understandable, given the significant investment involved, and we greatly appreciate these visits, which allow us to continually reassess the quality of our project.

In May, we welcomed consultants from Earthshot Labs, experts in assessing the compliance and integrity of nature-based carbon projects. The audit program was ambitious, as accompanied them to meet with communities in nine villages and assess tree growth on many many plots. At the same time, they analyzed in details all the data generated by our partners South Pole and EcoAct to compare this material with the reality on the ground.

Each interaction and observation generally raises new questions, increasingly specific and relevant, and the conclusion is always that nothing replaces a field visit.

On a 2022 plot of land in Borohila:

In Kofilakoro, just after the welcoming dance by the village women:

In Kofilakoro, closely supervised by the village children:

“Family photo” after the visit to the village’s sacred forest:

Peer group with the women of Tiegbenna, to address issues of discrimination and harassment;

Our forester, Seny Balamou, leads the discussion with the women and Ceci records the responses;

On a plot of land in the presence of its owner. The chief supervisor translates (he learned English in Ghana):

The women of Sokourala, proud of their seed harvest:

In Faranwandou, in front of the harvest of seeds ready for sowing:

A Faranwandou, devant la récolte des graines prêtes à être ensemencées.

In line with our commitment, we commissioned the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Ethique (CIRE) at the University of Lausanne to take a critical look at our actions and identify areas for attention. We were impressed by CIRE’s interdisciplinary approach, which brings together expertise in environmental ethics, health, education and care. With its contextualised approach, CIRE seemed to us to be the institution most likely to help us make progress. We certainly think we’re doing the right things and doing them well, but there’s always room for improvement.

The CIRE report meets our expectations exactly. We are reassured that no new issues have been raised. And we are committed to finding solutions to the issues raised:

• We will be addressing the points of attention relating to carbon credits and the selection of investors to whom we sell them in subsequent news items.

• As far as the promotion of women is concerned, we are aware that there is still a lot to be done. From strengthening existing women’s groups to training young girls, not forgetting safeguarding the forestry knowledge held by the elders, the themes are many and varied. We also want to make better use of the skills of our partner GUIDRE, which has a perfect command of training courses for women (literacy, maternity care, prevention of female circumcision, etc.). During our last visit to Damaro, we met another NGO, a partner of GUIDRE, which supports the development of women’s market gardening, and with which we are looking forward to working. In short, the field of possibilities is almost infinite. It’s up to us to exploit it, within the framework of our statutes.

• The issue of remuneration for our seed-families will be addressed in June, when the first ‘carbon income’ is distributed in the Linko sub-prefecture. We will ensure that a proportion of this income is devoted to the seed-families and village communities. And this will be the subject of deliberations within the Cooperative Committee (made up, as you will recall, mostly of women). For the supervisors, our ambition is to secure their jobs as much as possible, at least for the three years of the plantation phase. After starting with 6-month contracts, then 10-month contracts, they now have 12-month contracts. We are now looking at ways of guaranteeing them real social benefits as well. From the outset, we have been paying amounts to deal with sickness and to finance their pension provision, but we would like to see accident/sickness insurance and pension funds managed by specialist bodies.

• The tension between free and informed consent and the social pressure linked to the constitution of the Cooperative is complex. The aim of all institutions for the governance of the commons, as suggested by Elinor Ostrom, is precisely to introduce rules, and therefore constraints, to better manage the commons. And it is true that this exerts social pressure. Where is the line between group pressure (and the benefits of joining forces) and coercion? How can we ensure that this social pressure is not exerted to the detriment of the weakest? On this question, deliberation, as recommended by the CIRE, is certainly the best way to highlight any grievances linked to ‘too much group pressure’.

In Linko, seed families become ‘measurers’. The three-year planting cycle came to an end in 2024 and it is no longer necessary to collect seeds to sow new plots at Linko. In order to maintain the link with the 370 seed families (mainly women), we have suggested that they take on a new and equally essential role, that of “measurers”.

Every year, it is vital to know the state of each of the 840 plots reforested since 2021. So it will be the scorers who will visit the plots to assess the growth of the trees and check that they are being properly cared for by the land families.

In each village, we have set up pairs of women measurers, who will be responsible for visiting 5 to 7 plots in a nearby village (to avoid any form of social pressure). In all, 187 pairs for the 840 plots in the project. Since 99% of the women (there are also men among the seed-families – and we have, of course, ensured that the pairs are not mixed) are illiterate, each pair will be accompanied by a local ‘guide’, from the Community Management Committees in each village, who knows how to use a smartphone.

In each of our 26 villages, our supervisors have identified a person who knows how to use a smartphone. These people were to be trained to use the QField geolocation application and to enter data in an online questionnaire. But when the training took place with the 26 people, we realised that not all of them had a smartphone… We had to buy 19 smartphones. Then we noticed that their use of smartphones was limited to making phone calls and watching videos… That’s just the way things are! In the end, only 5 out of the 26 could really act as guides for the measuring machines. So we had to find other guides (otherwise the 5 local guides would have had 75 days each). We recruited them from among the ISAV students who had come to do an internship on our project in 2023. Then we had to adapt the schedule to take account of the students’ obligations (graduation) and Ramadan (some husbands might have been reluctant to have their wives act as measurers during Lent).

The measurers started their visits at the beginning of April and finished at the beginning of May, just in time to prepare for the meeting of the cooperative committee before the General Meeting of the land families.

The 187 teams of measurers:

• Visited 703 plots of land
• Walked more than 650 kilometres in the plots of land
• Measured 13,278 project trees (under 5m) and 5,174 trees that already existed before the project (> 5m)
• Assessed each time: the impact of fires, the quality of land maintenance and the risks due to livestock.

It’s a high-quality piece of work for a first attempt. Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen! And thank you, because it allows the project and the family plots to know exactly which plots are well (or not so well) maintained and where the trees are growing well (or not so well). This makes it easy to provide targeted recommendations to each field-family to make the necessary corrections. And what’s more, this data corresponds to the satellite images!

“On International Women’s Rights Day, let’s celebrate the strength, resilience and beauty of all women! Happy Birthday to all the women of arboRise-Guidre! #8March”

Seny Balamou, silviculturist on the Linko-Damaro team

Our project would be nothing without all the women involved.

• …as seed harvesters,
• …as members of the Community Management Committees,
• …as village delegates on the Cooperative Committee,
• …as scorers,
• …as supervisors,
• …as foresters:

… multiple roles for multiple talents. THANK YOU ladies for your decisive actions!

A must-read for this March 8: L’autre langue des femmes, by Léonora Miano.

Diassodou, here we are !

The 2025 reforestation campaign has just begun, with three teams of five people in the field!

Remember that arboRise is currently active in two regions:

• In Linko – Damaro – Konsankoro (zone 1, marked in green below).
• In Samana – Diassodou&Karala – Sokourala – Koumandou (Zone 2, marked in blue below)

The plan for Zone 1 forsees the reforestation of 500 hectares per year. Spreading the efforts over several years made it possible to keep the required resources within reasonable limits. The disadvantage is that CO2 sequestration and thus carbon revenues are very low over many years.

For this reason, we have opted for a tighter schedule in Zone 2, with a second planting cycle starting one year after the first cycle. So, after starting the reforestation in the sub-prefecture of Samana in 2024, we will start the measures in the sub-prefecture of Diassodou in 2025.

As before the opening of each sub-prefecture, we also carried out a detailed analysis of the context in Diassodou: Human geography, protected areas, forest cover and eligibility, etc. This analysis allowed us to spread the effort of presenting the project over several groups of villages. The aim of our local partner GUIDRE’s team on the ground is to present the project to all villages in the region in order to convince 25 villages to participate in the project.

Here you can see the ‘family photo’ after the presentation of the project to the authorities of the Diassodou sub-prefecture:

The team then presents the project to all the village communities in the sub-prefecture, as here :

In the villages that quickly decide to join the project, the team finalises the agreements with the interested seed and land families. And the delimitation of the plots of land can take place.

As in Linko in spring 2024, we are also distributing individual and collective equipment in the sub-prefecture of Samana.

The mayor and sub-prefect of the rural district of Samana are of course involved in this event. The picture shows a harrow for the plough and, above all, a metal fence to protect the women’s market gardening areas from stray cattle.

The second half of the year is mainly devoted to establishing monitoring plots on a representative sample of land. These plots will be used to measure tree growth over a 20-year period. Each plot is a circle 14.11 metres in diameter, the center of which must be fixed and the circumference marked out.

To guarantee representativeness, we estimate that 40 monitoring plots per 500 ha stratum will be sufficient to reduce the uncertainty interval below the target values defined by the standard. The final sample size will be determined according to the heterogeneity of the vegetation in the field. Our partner South Pole randomly determines the location of the plots (on which plots and where in the field). South Pole has also created a digital form that allows the GUIDRE team to send measurement results directly to South Pole.

…because it’s not just a question of establishing the plot, but also of carrying out a precise survey (species, circumference, height) of all the existing trees on the plot before we start our activities in 2021.

In September and until mid-October, the team had to contend with unusually strong thunderstorms for this time of year (confirmed by weather reports and the media: https://quoideneuf.info/article/cote-divoire-les-plus-fortes-quantites-de-pluies-en-aout-ont-ete-enregistrees-a-korhogo-odienne-et-man-sodexam

One of the aims of the Cooperative, and the main role of the Cooperative Committee, is to draw up a key for distributing the carbon revenues. It is certainly not up to arboRise to define how this income will be shared among the cooperative members. This choice must be made by those primarily concerned, in accordance with local traditions and customs.

But what will these criteria be? And how will they be weighted? Should effort and merit be taken into account, or should income be distributed uniformly? Can fate be invoked to justify certain disappointing results? etc.

Rather than discuss these criteria in the abstract, we opted for serious games, which are more effective. In practical terms, we used pre-printed tarpaulins with a number of scenarios on them, as in this case, where the aim was to distribute income according to the hazards suffered by the landowners:

Each member of the cooperative committee was given 20 (symbolic) coins representing the project’s carbon revenues and was tasked with dividing them between the 10 situations presented on the tarpaulin, then commenting on his or her choice in front of his or her peers.

As the day progressed, a consensus quickly emerged on the principles for distributing carbon income, for example:

• Compliance with the cooperative’s rules by each member should be rewarded in proportion to the effort required to comply with each rule. For example, certain ‘costly’ rules (such as the installation of firewalls around the pitches) should be better rewarded than simple rules (such as the installation of tape to mark the pitches).
• Of course, those who do a great deal to encourage the growth of trees on their plots should be rewarded, but the ‘undeserving’ should also be given a little, otherwise they risk leaving the project.
• The reward should (very clearly) be for the result (the density and height of the trees on the land) and not for the effort required to achieve this result.
• External factors (infertility of the land, fires, etc.) should not be regarded as inevitable: it is the responsibility of the landowning family if it has chosen an unfavourable plot of land or if its land has been affected by fires.

Over the following days, we repeated the same exercise in the 26 villages, 2 villages a day, with all the land families in the village and in the presence of the 2 members of the village cooperative committee. The idea was to show the farmer-families the complexity of the Cooperative Committee’s task, and it also made it possible to express out loud what everyone else is thinking: in the end, it will be those who achieve results who receive the most carbon income. Another reassuring lesson is that there are no real differences between the villages: the distribution choices are fairly homogenous.

At the very end of the tarpaulin exercise, we asked each village ‘how much of your carbon revenue would you be prepared to share freely with your village? Most of the participants said they would be willing to share around 10% of their carbon revenue with their community. This would enable the villages to develop their infrastructure (wells, market gardening, health post, school, etc.).

We also spoke to the land families about their opportunity costs. Indeed, if these farmers lend land to be reforested, they are potentially giving up income from their crops. We therefore immersed ourselves with them in the details of hillside rice cultivation to understand every aspect (yields, expenditure, length of crops, fallow periods, etc.).

In all, 255 people in the 26 villages, or 88% of all the family plots, took part in this deliberative process. For arboRise, participatory reforestation is not an empty word. It’s essential that everyone has their say so that everyone takes ownership of the project.

Thank you to the Somaha Foundation for helping to make this consultation possible.

In our experience, leaders are one of the levers of change in any organisation or social group. And our process also aims to facilitate the emergence of new leaders, legitimised by transparent elections in their village, then at sub-prefectoral level, within the Cooperative. Of course, the current political leaders (sub-prefect, mayor of Linko, village chiefs) are involved in the process. They are delighted with the momentum generated by the project in the region. Indeed, we are convinced that it is the networking of leaders (old and new!) that will be decisive.