Recent Developments

TIST: Rising carbon price enables more rapid growth of TIST tree growing in Africa and India

Growth of TIST’s pro-poor tree growing activities in sub-Saharan Africa and India has been held back in the past by the low price paid in the informal carbon market for its “high quality” carbon credits. The greater recent awareness of the need to act to address climate change has led to a large increase in 2020 in the price paid to purchase TIST’s carbon credits. The resulting increase in resources has enabled TIST to adopt a more ambitious expansion plan aimed at substantial further increases in the currently 90,000 farmer beneficiaries and the currently 18 million trees grown.


Jacaranda's innovative approach to improving maternal and newborn health outcomes in Kenya now being used to improve outcomes in Eswatini

22 July 2022

Every quarter Jacaranda reviews its impact and this quarter they give us a few high level program updates, a great story about nurse mentorship in practice, an update on their pilot in Eswatini, and news about Jacaranda's contribution to the new national goverment Emergency Obstetric Care mentorship guidelines that their team has been engaged in shaping, as well as a valuable snapshot of their digital health tool PROMPTS used by over 1.5 million Mothers representing 44% of expectant and new mothers in Kenya;  their 270 government nurse champions who have been trained by their MENTORS programme, and over 3,000 + providers that have been trained using DELTA, Jacaranda’s mHealth learning tool.

You can read the full article on the huge impact Jacaranda has had in Kenya and in Eswatini right here and if you have any questions please do contact us at [email protected]

 

TIST - Growing trees and farmers!

7 June 2022

Growing Participation

TIST Farmers continue to reach new milestones with their expansion efforts.  Their hard work, achievements, and enthusiasm make TIST what it is today. 

TIST Farmers believe in the power of sharing the big results they create on their farms and in their communities.  Through their expansion efforts, more than 30,000 farmers have joined TIST over the past two years and, as of today, 100,000 farmers have joined TIST in Kenya alone!  Through Seminars, Cluster, and Mobilization meetings, TIST participants open the door for others to come and learn about the value of teamwork, community, and connection and are a way to pass on information about TIST Values, background, benefits of Conservation Farming, and the objectives of TIST. 

Aboku David recently held one of these meetings in his Cluster, Tubur-Ogolai, and reported that it was a great achievement.  "Mobilization is going well," he said, "I have involved local leaders, stakeholders, and church leaders."  By meeting in TIST Small Groups and discussing strategies, David noticed that the farmers' motivation to participate in TIST activities has increased. His approach has been a success;  "TIST is growing well in my Cluster because I am moving from village to village.  My target is to make sure that everyone hears about TIST."  David also holds sensitization meetings under big trees "so that they can learn the value of trees."  His community is embracing the program so much that they have nicknamed him "A Friend of Trees." 

TIST Farmer: Kagina James Mutambuka

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I have gained a lot from TIST Uganda.  When I joined TIST I was invited to a course where I was encouraged to set up a nursery bed for supply of tree seedlings. This I did and I was able to grow more pinus patula trees.  I was also encouraged to plant more trees of different kinds: fruit trees and indigenous trees.  I have learned Best Practices towards the environment through trainings, growing enough food for the family, and thinning and pruning of my trees. I am so grateful for the payments that I have been receiving from TIST since I joined in 2012.  This has enabled me to buy more land and plant more trees. Thank you TIST Uganda for improving my livelihood. Kagina James Mutambuka, a farmer from Rubaya group. 

Uganda Education Fund Recipient: Ajilong Susan 

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Schools resumed on May 9th in Uganda.  During the last term, TIST sponsored 12 students through the Education Fund.  Three further students have been added this term for a total of 15 recipients!  Ajilong Susan is pictured above.  She is attending Jeressar High School and recently wrote the following in a letter of thanks to those who made this possible:  "I am writing this letter from the bottom of my heart that I am really glad because of the golden opportunity you have given to me.  Because of my poor parents who could not afford my school fees I was to miss education.  I am very happy for all what has been done for me.  I believe I am going to make it.  I have hope of excelling and also teaching others the benefits of planting trees.  Long live to all the TIST Uganda Leadership." 

Sustainable Development Goals Survey Update

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Survey locations as of May 2, 2022

As announced in an earlier newsletter, TIST has launched a survey to measure the impact TIST Farmers have on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  So far, over 2,000 surveys have been completed since mid-February.  The results show that 27% of surveyed farmers hold leadership positions both within TIST and their community.  Based on the responses, TIST Farmers reported a very positive outlook on where they view themselves in the future, a frame of mind that has been credited to the mentorship and sense of community of the TIST Program.  The next steps include increasing the number of women surveyed, expanding geographic diversity, sharing survey Best Practices, and increasing the number of interviewers.  

TIST by the Numbers

134,900+ TIST Members

23,700,500+ Live Trees

9,300,900+ Tonnes of Carbon Sequestered

If you'd like to know more about how to help the environment while iproving the lives of small holder farmers please do contact us at [email protected]

 

 

Jacaranda use PROMPTS to help strengthen connections between patient and provider, driving tangible health system improvements across Kenya

7 June 2022

Lilian has heard of too many preventable deaths amongst the mothers living nearby in Kibera, a vast informal settlement in the southwest of Nairobi. She herself had struggled to access timely, quality care when it was time to deliver her third child. Already in labor, she reached the facility only to find a line of women in similar stages of labor, all who had been there for over six hours. Eventually, she was forced to leave, thankfully delivering a healthy baby girl at the last minute in a nearby health center.

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Situations like this in Kenya are not isolated, where poor quality care continues to drive more than half of the country’s maternal deaths. Yet despite this, few formal channels exist for women to share their experiences at facilities. When Lilian signed up for PROMPTS, Jacaranda’s digital health tool, she quickly found it not only a lifeline for advice and information, but a channel through which she could report on her experiences of care in facilities -  from its clinical quality to whether she was treated with respect.

The anonymity the SMS-based platform offers not only empowers women like Lilian to have a voice in the health system, but also doubles as a powerful accountability mechanism for those providing or making decisions on their care. Their feedback is routinely shared with providers and health system managers, which helps pinpoint barriers to the provision of timely, quality, and respectful care, but also ensure that there are sufficient resources - money, equipment, infrastructure - to achieve and sustain it. For instance, the installation of curtains in the labor wards of a Kiambu hospital stemmed from repeated requests from PROMPTS mothers for better privacy

She is now one of ~400,000 women who have shared feedback, which is helping to strengthen connections between patient and provider. ‘On SMS, I can talk about my experiences confidentially and explain very clearly how I was treated.’ shares Lilian. ‘I give my feedback so women like those I saw in the line have a better chance of giving birth safely.’

Happy Earth Day from TIST!

25 April 2022

Over the past 20+ years, the TIST Programme has spread by word of mouth across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and India because the TIST Farmers believe in the power of working together planting trees, improving their farms, and sharing the big results they create. 

Carbon credits are intangible, but TIST Farmers create visible solutions, helping make the world a better place for their communities and future generations.  Results include more food for the family, improved stoves, money for school fees, and of course, lots of trees for shade, firewood, and fodder.   

TIST Farmers encourage us to be agents of change to protect our planet for future generations. 

Expanding TIST in Tanzania

The history of the TIST Program begins in 1999 with 77 subsistence farmers in Tanzania organizing themselves to tackle the challenges they faced every day: poverty, deforestation, and food scarcity.  TIST Leadership undertook three pilot projects in 2020 to reintroduce TIST in western, central, and eastern Tanzania and have reconnected with existing Small Groups in western and central Tanzania that have continued to follow the TIST Values and improve their farms and communities.  They are also doing a virtual expansion in eastern Tanzania using only digital tools such as Zoom, TIST Learning Center, videos, and WhatsApp.  You can follow along in the TIST Learning Center

TIST Cluster Servant Spotlight: Alice Kambura

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Over the past 15 years as a TIST Farmer, Alice Kambura has developed valuable leadership skills that she shares with her community.  Alice joined TIST in Kenya after receiving training and hearing about the many program benefits, particularly how tree planting, Conservation Farming, and improved cookstoves can help families, communities, and the environment. Today, Alice is a Cluster Servant responsible for training and serving other farmers.  One of the most important Best Practices for Alice has been Rotating Leadership, where many men and women have the opportunity to take turns leading and educating new farmers. She often trains TIST Farmers on Conservation Farming; a method Alice uses on her farm to grow maize.  Tree planting is Alice's favorite thing about the TIST Program.  She would like for more people to know about the benefits of planting more trees, maintaining the trees, and producing carbon credits.  Alice considers her training and quantification skills to be her biggest achievements.  “TIST changed the standard of living,” both her own and that of the community she shares her successes with.

Measuring TIST Farmers' Impact on UN SDGs

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TIST are implementing a survey tool to measure the impacts TIST Farmers have on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Thus far, over 840 surveys have been completed!

TIST Farmers generate substantial benefits by participating in the TIST Program.  These benefits have already been recognized by the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) when the TIST Program was awarded Triple Gold certification for exceptional climate, community, and biodiversity benefits. 

This new survey will collect even more information about the Program's benefits through interviews with the TIST Farmers.  It will also help us learn about areas where we can better serve the farmers.    

 

Exciting times at TIST as they launch their Uganda Education Fund supporting apprenticeships, and at the first Cluster Servants Seminar in 2 years!

1 February 2022

TIST Uganda held their Cluster Servants Seminar with all 76 Cluster Servants and 5 administrative staff attending to discuss:

  1. Technical challenges
  2. Learning Centre:  Members completed many courses and won Certificates of Achievements to celebrate their learning.  This is ongoing and they continue to win certificates for themselves.
  3. Importance of filling weekly surveys to learn how the Cluster Servants are serving the TIST Farmers
  4. Solutions for challenges faced due to the pandemic
  5. Best Practices developed
  6. Profit share payments
  7. Achievements since each member joined the program and areas for improvement

With Ugandan schools being closed for 2 years, the longest school shutdown in the world, TIST Uganda have launched their Education Fund and sponsored 13  of their farmers children who through injury and changes in family circumstances were no longer able to afford school fees, and otherwise would not be able to receive an education.

Full details can be found here.  And here