Treedom

Scenario

In recent decades, the world has witnessed a growing awareness regarding the urgency of the climate and environmental crisis.

Global deforestation-caused mainly by industrial agriculture, intensive livestock farming and exploitation of natural resources-has caused the loss of more than 420 million hectares of forests in the past 30 years (FAO, 2020). The disappearance of these areas has brought great problems because they not only guarded biodiversity, but were natural carbon sinks, rainfall regulators and habitats for indigenous peoples. We could also see a gradual abandonment of the countryside and rural areas and an increasing lack of economic and social sustainability for workers and farmers who instead continue to operate in this non-industrial sector.

Most reforestation projects take place in areas of the global South, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, where climatic conditions allow for rapid tree growth and where family farmers are often excluded from global economic circuits, another important dynamic to protect and strengthen.

In Italy, too, the urgency to plant trees and regenerate landscapes is real. Our territory suffers from soil erosion, abandonment of the countryside to which urban areas are preferred, and loss of biodiversity. There is a National Forest Strategy that calls for theexpansion of forested areas, but an integrated vision is needed, involving citizens, local authorities, farmers and businesses. Italy could assume a key strategic role in education and cultural promotion of regenerative agricultural models, thanks to its long agroecological tradition and the variety of its landscapes.

Description

Treedom is an Italian benefit company founded in 2010 in Florence, Italy , whose goal is to make the world greener, “one tree at a time.” The idea stems from the desire to try to meet the global need for environmental and social regeneration by making it an everyday and accessible action. Treedom combinesparticipatory agroforestry with digital technology, allowing individuals and businesses to plant trees remotely and track their growth online.

Anyone can choose to plant a tree through the Treedom platform, selecting from various species and countries. Once planted by a local farmer, thetree is geolocated, photographed and provided with an online diary, allowing the donor to monitor its growth path. This system creates a concrete and transparent connection between funders and growers, enhancing the work of rural communities.

Treedom works in more than 17 countries in the Global South, including Kenya, Tanzania, Haiti, Madagascar, Guatemala, and Nepal, as well as in Italy, where it promotes environmental restoration and agricultural involvement projects in rural and marginal lands. The species planted are selected based on the local ecological and agricultural context, often chosen for their food, economic or environmental benefits (such as fruits, legumes, shade plants).

Treedom’s approach is circular and regenerative: the tree is seen not only as a carbon sink, but as a key element of an agroecological ecosystem, also capable of generating sustainable microeconomies.

Treedom also stands out for its use of digital communication: each tree has an online page, can be dedicated, given away, told about. This transforms an ecological gesture into a relational, engaging and educational action that stimulatesinterest in sustainability in a way that is accessible even for those who live in the city or have no direct contact with the earth.

The distinctive element of Treedom is the choice not to plant trees “in-house,” but to rely on networks of local farmers, respecting their knowledge and guaranteeing direct ownership and benefits of the trees to those who grow them. This model avoids the risk of neocolonial practices or greenwashing and is based on trust, cooperation, and the dignity of agricultural labor.

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