1000 trees a year 1000 acres of rainforest forever

Dear friends,

I'm often reminded of the many reasons I have to be grateful for the support Camino Verde receives from you, our donors.  Just today I was reflecting on the fact that our team planting trees in the Peruvian Amazon is the strongest it's ever been-- the folks in that first photo you see there are a crack squad of reforesters.  The working relationships we build are more than just a checklist for basic ethics-- yes, we provide wages and benefits that are far beyond the average in our region of Peru, hire women as well as men, and are one of the few operations in our area providing jobs in rainforest regeneration, rather than rainforest destruction.  But even more meaningfully, we are a team, a family, a group that shares a common vision.  And-- I say with tongue in cheek-- we finally have a uniform.  

For the first time ever, donate $30 or more and receive a Peruvian made Camino Verde t-shirt of 100% pima cotton-- an ancient Peruvian heirloom variety.  (And yes, heeding the advice of a team that's half female means that the women's shirts are cut differently than the men's!)  

As the title of this report suggests, the tree you wear on your chest is a tree we've planted together.  That's right: for every t-shirt we give out to a donor, we'll be planting a tree in the Peruvian Amazon.  

Which brings me to our most exciting bit of news: planting season is on its way!  Here's a quickshot series of bullet points to let you know some of the other exciting things we've got going on:

• This year, we'll be installing agroforestry systems (read as "planting trees") including an Amazonian oil polyculture as a response to big ag plans for oil palm monocultures where once the world's most diverse ecosystem stood.  
• We're also doing the groundwork for a study on analogue forestry systems for our region. Analog forestry is a scientifically rigurous agroforestry strategy we're pursuing with our partners at ArBio Peru. 
• Thesis students at our nearest university, UNAMAD, in Puerto Maldonado, will begin research on the carbon sequestration rates for various species we've planted at our site.
• Our essential oil-producing hardwood trees are growing better than ever.  Rosewood, moena alcanforada, Amazonian cinnamon and others are hitting their growth stride.  One species is already providing meaningful quantities of essential oil.  This year, we'll be planting another couple of aromatic species, hundreds of trees per species.
• And more planting of endangered Amazonian trees! 280 species, 17,000 individual trees and counting.

Though there is no end in sight for our planting of trees, t-shirt supplies are limited.  Donate today!  We're so very glad to have you on our team.

Warm greetings from Tambopata,