The people in the region of Tigray in Northern Ethiopia are facing a severe crisis: a dry spell, internal conflict, crops damaged by locust swarms and COVID mean that farmers are struggling to feed their families. 

Aid agencies are focusing mainly on relief aid, and very little help reaches remote villages where farmers cultivate their small plots. WeForest has been active in villages two to three hours east of Mekelle for four years, and can see first-hand that people will not make it unless the next harvest is secured. 

WeForest has estimated that an equivalent of $18 per person would be needed to sustain these communities of 110,000 people, providing the seeds and material needed to cultivate their plots of around 0.5 ha each and secure the next harvest. The $2M raised will be used to source, purchase, transport and distribute seeds and equipment across the communities.

The forest and landscape restoration approach of WeForest’s work is always about creating long-term resilience: developing livelihoods to eradicate poverty. This campaign is supporting the bridge between food aid that is provided by relief organizations and our long-term approach. Together with our supporters, we are in the best position to make a real difference and save 23,000 farmers’ families – 110,000 people – from further cycles of poverty and starvation.

With the support of corporates, foundations and individuals, we can mend the cycle that has been broken by this crisis and restore people’s lives, lifting them from poverty while healing our planet. 

For more details about this fundraising campaign and the situation in Tigray, please contact the CEO of WeForest, Marie-Noëlle Keijzer at marienoelle.keijzer@weforest.org or +32 47 40 70 762 or visit our crowdfunding campaign at Global Giving.