Abdi's tree planting initiative in Garissa addresses climate change effects and food security, successfully cultivating over a million trees of various species. The project, initially a solo effort, now employs 20 youths across multiple sites, focusing on strategic planting and skill transfer. Abdi aims to scale up his efforts, aligning with national tree planting campaigns and expanding operations to neighboring areas for greater impact.
Garissa is facing adverse effects of climate change, including prolonged droughts and occasional floods, leading to food security issues due to unpredictable weather patterns.
Additionally, the reliance of pastoralists on the forest for charcoal and lighting is contributing to the extinction of indigenous trees.
The adverse effects of climate change on the region that includes prolonged droughts and sometimes floods, Abdi believed that planting trees could serve a dual purpose: acting as a water catchment area to combat the effects of climate change and addressing food security issues caused by the unpredictable weather pattens.
Garissa is mainly inhabited by pastoralist, who are heavily reliant on the forest for charcoal and lighting due to the lack of electricity in rural areas. This unintentionally contributes to the extinction of indigenous trees. Abdi, deeply connected to the environment, felt a responsibility to protect these native species.
This noble initiative has successfully produced over a million trees, with approximately 53 species, including exotic, indigenous, and fruit trees. The fruit trees are to encounter food insecurity in the region and all trees are strategically planted based on a seed calendar. Abdi has implemented a great process, involving assigning someone to collect seedlings based on the flowering schedule of each tree.
A Million Trees has grown from a solo endeavor, having one employee, to a team effort, with 20 employed youths working across three production sites. These sites are designated for seedling planting, tree nursery management, and relocating grown trees. Abdi places a strong emphasis on skill transfer to ensure that everyone involved possesses the necessary expertise. challenges posed by the high temperatures in Garissa
Abdi aims to scale up his efforts in alignment with the President's national tree growing campaign of 15 billion trees. He has set his own target of planting 100 million trees in the next 10 years, expanding to neighbouring Asal areas such as Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Tana River, and Garissa. However, the scale-up requires financial resources to facilitate production and employ more individuals. Abdi has secured 2 acres from KWS and aspires to extend the production to cover six counties.