Saving 20,000 Endangered Frankincense in Somalia

Dear Donors,

Although full project funding is still in progress, important groundwork is already underway with frankincense custodian communities in the Cal Miskaat mountains. Your early support is helping us move forward with preparation, field validation, and community engagement for Somalia’s first sustainable frankincense harvesting system.

In recent months, our team continued field visits and consultations with Custodian Committees who manage frankincense forests in Ufeyn district. These meetings focused on reviewing traditional harvesting practices, identifying current threats to tree health, and discussing how improved tapping standards can protect both trees and livelihoods.

One community elder shared during a field dialogue:
“If the trees become weak, our income disappears — but if we harvest with care, they can support our grandchildren too.”

Building on earlier research we conducted with frankincense harvesters and elders, we are now refining the structure of a Sustainable Harvesting Guide that combines traditional ecological knowledge with modern forest science. This guide will be the core training tool for the 350 custodians and trainers this project aims to support once funding is complete.

We also continued small-scale pilot interventions that inform the project design. Community volunteers recently removed harmful parasitic plants from frankincense trees and applied improved care practices. These early actions are helping us test practical field methods that will later be scaled through formal trainings. At the same time, we are organizing the future custodian trainer network and monitoring framework so implementation can begin efficiently when the funding threshold is reached. This preparation phase ensures the project will be community-driven, technically sound, and ready to scale impact quickly.

Thank you for standing with frankincense forest communities and helping protect this endangered natural and cultural heritage.