CSR commitments

Peru is home to 13% of the Amazon rainforest, second only to Brazil. The deforestation there is the result of the precarious position of local populations who transform the rainforest floor for agricultural exports (such as coffee or cocoa) or for subsistence agriculture. The forest is thus being depleted as agriculture expands.

In its efforts to halt this process of deforestation, Envol Vert is launching a regional project to assist local agricultural cooperatives and forest conservation teams in developing practices for the sustainable management of natural resources.

The funds collected through Maisons du Monde customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme in 2023 will help:

• Convert the agricultural plots into agroforestry systems or reforest them;
• Train and empower participants in the harvesting, processing and marketing of forest products;
• Promote the preservation of the Peruvian Amazon by enhancing the capabilities of agricultural cooperatives and organisations working to protect the local forests;
• Monitor and protect nearly 40,000 hectares of forest with park wardens;
• Develop community action plans for the conservation of endangered species.

In Colombia, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range is one of the world's most important biodiversity hotspots for the conservation of protected species. But, today, but only 17% of its original forests remain. This region is also home to the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco indigenous populations. As a result of colonisation, coca cultivation and drug trafficking, these groups were gradually stripped of their lands. That's why Tchendukua decided to act.

With initial support from the Maisons du Monde Foundation between 2018 and 2020, the association has taken important steps to enable the Kogi and Wiwa peoples to recover their ancestral lands. The initial goal of the partnership, based on the acquisition of 170 hectares of ancestral land in the Mendihuaca River Valley, has now been comfortably met, with 685 hectares having been being recovered. This has resulted in 700 people being resettled on their land! To take the project even further, the Maisons du Monde Foundation has renewed its partnership with the association until 2024.

The funds collected through customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme will help:  

• Support the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco in recovering a further 250 hectares of land at least, by providing training on legal processes.
• Assist between 15 and 20 families settle in, regenerate biodiversity and transfer ancestral knowledge to younger generations.
• Promote dialogue between indigenous and non-indigenous people to raise awareness of the need to preserve these cultures and ecosystems.

For more information, visit the project page on the MDM Foundation website or the association's website.

Hedges are true allies in our fight against climate change because they act as natural barriers to soil erosion or as places of refuge for birds, insects and small mammals. And yet, we are currently still losing 11,000km of hedgerow every year, while only 3000km are planted. Wild trees are disappearing from our landscapes for good. This environmental disaster is compounded by the plight of cut-off farmers, who often lack the financial, technical and physical means to restore their enclosed landscapes.

Founded in 2019, Des Enfants et des Arbres gets schoolchildren aged 9 to 12 to help farmers all over France to plant trees on their land. Over two planting seasons, 4000 children have already helped the association to plant 15,000 trees on 90 farms! From this year until 2024, we have chosen to support this association to help them take their work a step further and increase the number of project beneficiaries (farmers, children, local stakeholders).

The funds collected through customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme will help:  

• To extend the association's reach, taking it from 60 to 100 projects per year;
• To make children aware of the benefits of trees and make planting a part of the school syllabus;
• To spread an inspiring, pragmatic and positive message on the virtues of trees in the world of farming.

For more information, visit the project page on the MDM Foundation website or the association's website.

The island of Nosy Boraha, classified as a priority site for protection by the Malagasy State, includes 4000ha of forests, 800 of which are deemed to be remarkable (i.e. containing trees considered special due to their age, shape, size, associated legends and so on), and 172ha of mangroves. The island's biodiversity is under threat due to overexploitation of resources and intense deforestation.

In light of this problem, GRET is running awareness and training projects on location for local populations and has asked the State to create a protected area, both on land and in the waters surrounding the island, in order to preserve this habitat. After six years of partnership with GRET, the Maisons du Monde Foundation has renewed its support in 2022 so that the association can continue to grow and implement new actions over the next two years.

The funds collected through customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme will help the project:  

• Create anti-forest-crime, awareness raising and ecological restoration programmes;
• Ensure legal recognition for the protected area;
• Create market gardening training for local populations;
• Develop community ecotourism on the island.

For more information, visit the project page on the MDM Foundation website or the association's website.

The Mediterranean basin is one of the four most endangered biodiversity hotspots in the world. Here, the cultivation of a large number of plant varieties and species is a factor in maintaining genetic diversity. However, cultivated biodiversity has also been eroded for decades. Only a handful of the most productive and profitable varieties, like vines and olive trees, are still being planted.

To address this problem, Conservatoire Méditerranéen Partagé helps private and public stakeholders plant orchards to preserve and promote the rare and ancient fruit varieties of the French Mediterranean basin. In so doing, the organisation helps maintain the region's cultivated biodiversity.

The funds collected through customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme will help the project:

• plant 10 orchards;
• plant 2000 trees of 10 different Mediterranean species;
• preserve 100 rare and ancient fruit varieties from the region;
• put on training days and workshops on agro-ecological practices and the challenges of protecting cultivated biodiversity.

For more information, visit the project page on the MDM Foundation website or the organisation's website.

Does the name of our partner organisation ring any bells? You may remember that from 25 to 29 March, Maisons du Monde employees went out and met Conservatoire Méditerranéen Partagé during Solidaritrips.

In Ecuador, Napo province is undergoing deforestation at a rate higher than the national average, due to population pressure and mass exploitation of certain rare tree species, such as the cinnamon-like Ocotea quixos. To improve the living conditions of local Kichwa communities, which are severely affected by deforestation, the Ishpingo foundation is helping them establish agroforestry models to sustainably manage forest resources.

Since 2010, tree nurseries and an experimental farm have been set up. Four fruit growers' associations, bringing together 112 farmers, have also been created. In 2017, the first tests to process products (into things like jam, pulp and essential oils) were carried out, with the aim of creating a fair supply chain and thereby generating higher incomes for local communities.

The funds collected through customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme will above all enable the project to go on:

• Supporting and training 250 additional farmers in managing their fruit plots and production processes;
• Creating 15 new community tree nurseries to produce 60,000 fruit and timber trees;
• Educating roughly 1000 children from 9 schools, by creating a tree nursery and an arboretum with at least 100 fruit and timber trees in each school.

For more information, visit the project page on the MDM Foundation website or the Ishpingo website.

Customers brought along their friends and family to plant trees with the Fonds pour l’Arbre tree fund in three regions of France, Wavrin (59), Brie-Comte-Robert (77) and Bouaye (44), between 20 November and 11 December. Featuring: 

• A welcome address raising awareness of the importance of preserving forests and hedgerows in France, during which participants can enjoy a hot drink 

• Tree planting and mulching 

• A relaxed meal with all participants