Yale 2012 ISTF Conference Proceedings

Last year we had the pleasure of presenting our approach to forestry at the Yale School of Forestry's annual conference. Just in time for this year's conference, the ELTI (Environmental Leadership and Training Institute), a joint program of the Yale School of Forestry and the Smithsonian Tropical Forest Research Institute (STRI), published the conference proceedings from 2012.

The conference was titled Strategies for Landscape Scale Restoration in the Tropics, and the proceedings document captures approaches from government, conservation organizations, and businesses working to restore forest cover in the tropics. 

The panel we participated in, 'Private Sector Engagement in Forest Restoration', explored successful for-profit reforestation models in Central America.

And be sure to check out the other publications on ELTI's website.

William James Foundation’s 2012 Social Entrepreneurship Gathering

Planting Empowerment is honored to participate in the William James Foundation’s annual gathering this Friday held at the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC.

We’ll be speaking on the “Launching and running a business across continents” panel, which explores how social businesses operate multi-nationally.

Planting Empowerment competed in the WJF’s Social Enterprise Competition in 2007, and has served as a judge for the competition for the past five years.

The William James Foundation connects for-profit social entrepreneurs to industry experts and impact investors to help scale those entrepreneurs' ideas into sustainable ventures.

Yale Forestry Conference Presentation

Last month we had the privilege of speaking at the annual Yale Forestry Conference on a panel that explored private sector engagement in forest restoration efforts. In the presentation we discussed the details of our sustainable business model, including lessons learned and recommendations for developing community forestry projects.

For a summary of the presentation, visit the Yale School of Forestry blog, or download the presentation slides below.

Yale Forestry Presentation (1 MB)

Annual investor trip wrap-up

Photo of Parrucci standing with a spiny cedar tree in JanuaryParrucci stands with a spiny cedar tree in JanuaryIn early January Planting Empowerment hosted a group of investors in Panama for our fourth annual Panama trip. We spent a couple of days touring our planting sites, getting to know the communities we work with, discussing the issues that we’re at work to address, and exploring firsthand how our forest investments are impacting our partners.

The drive out to the Darien province of Panama is always an adventure. Besides the terrible drivers and wandering livestock, the gaping potholes usually take a toll on our rental car. Somehow we managed to escape this time with only minor vehicular damage. The Darien is different every time I go back – changed road patterns, new construction, more infrastructure, the kids are grown up – but the same environmental and economic problems persist.

Read More