Forestwise is dedicated to creating #RainforestValue in order to sustain the rainforests of Borneo. We want to develop a market for valuable products that are wild-harvested from the rainforest without damaging it. By helping to maintain the wild rainforest, we also conserve wildlife, generate employment and income for local inhabitants, while safeguarding fresh water, fresh air and fertile soils.
Picture: Kemal Juffri for Panos Pictures/Food and Land Use Coalition
Any farmer, community, cooperative, village or other type of organization that legally owns, manages or administers a forest area and is willing to protect it can apply to join Forestwise. Forestwise identifies which products have the most potential for creating #RainforestValue
Forestwise trains farmers and communities how to prepare products and set up efficient, traceable and certified supply chains that run from fresh forest produce through raw materials to consumer products. We aim to create most of this value as near to the forest as possible.
Forestwise sells rainforest products both in Indonesia and overseas. Each farmer gets the same fair price. We aim to maximise the financial benefit for the farmers to create a financial incentive to conserve the forest and to #StopDeforestation.
Identify communities that legally manage areas of rainforest and are willing to protect these.
Analyse the needs and wishes of individual rainforest communities.
Conduct field assessment of crops and production capacity in the relevant area of rainforest.
Analyse market opportunities for these product
Map the area of rainforest (by satellite) in order to verify production capacity.
Secure sales so as tobe able to set up hub.
Once sales security is established, enter into agreements with communities for the supply of raw materials.
Once sales security is established, enter into agreements with communities for the supply of raw materials.
Continuously monitor the protected area of rainforest by satellite.
Train rainforest communities in how to prepare the products.
Purchase rainforest products and process these in our factory.
The trees have been felled mostly for timber and paper production, and to make space for monoculture plantations. This destruction has disastrous effects for the people and the wildlife living both within and near to the rainforest, which they depend on for their existence.
An example how we work in the area around Sintang district:
We made contracts with over 1000 collectors from 31 villages in West Kalimantan in Indonesia to buy their illipe nuts.
The total area in these 31 villages is over 200.000 hectares, similar to the size of Luxemburg. By buying the illipe nuts, the forest where the illipe trees are located becomes more valuable, providing the local communities with another reason to keep protecting the forest.
We currently have forest protection agreements in place with 6 villages, who are our main suppliers of illipe nuts, covering a total forest area of over 36.000 hectares.
Our mission is to #StopDeforestation by developing a market for valuable rainforest products that are wild-harvested from the rainforest without damaging it.
We create alternative sources of income from crops such as illipe nuts, kukui nuts, coconuts and arenga sugar. We increase the economic value of the remaining forest, and give forest communities a sound economic incentive for continuing to protect it.
Forestwise processes these rainforest products ing the Forestwise factory in Sintang, West Kalimantan. Here they are processed into high-quality, valuable products for the cosmetics and food industries, thereby creating #RainforestValue.
Monoculture plantations generate an average revenue of around EUR 1500 per hectare per year. We believe this figure can be doubled. In Borneo, money is literally growing on trees for the forest communities!
