Rainforests Growing for the Long Term
We realize it's a race against time to save the rainforests before they are gone. Purchasing existing acres is so extremely important, but that is only the beginning of saving rainforests. To buy an acre alone is not enough to preserve it for our future generations. Like any living body, that acre must be nurtured and cared for throughout its life cycle. The forest is a tightly-knit, symbiotic community of plants, animals and humans. All must interact in a complex harmony. All it takes is for one element to diminish or disappear and the balance is lost. When the balance is thrown off, the community careens toward disaster. We must keep them in the balance.
It’s more than just saving trees
Initially, TRC focused on saving rainforest acres, purchasing them before they are destroyed for commercial and profit-motivated reasons. But TRC has realized how important it is to maintain these precious lands for the long term. Hence the establishment of the Tajalli Rainforest Growth Fund. No, it's not a mutual fund but it bears similarities. Your "investment" in the fund provides for the care and feeding necessary to nurture the prevailing existence of rain forests for the long-term: one sees "growth", not in terms of profit, but in the continued growth and harmony of the forests into the future.
We "invest" in aspects of the rainforest community needed to keep the forest in balance. This fund involves and supports local indigenous groups so they may develop methods of achieving economic independence while maintaining their forest lifestyles. We give them the rightful choices to protect and maintain the future of their rainforest homes, while reaping rich resources such as natural plant medicines and extracts, artisan goods and other forest products which can be marketed & shared with the modern world on equitable terms. Simply put, there is more value in saving the rainforests than in destroying them.
Real world applications of the Rainforest Growth Fund may take many shapes and forms:
• Reforestation of 350 hectares with native mahagony and other species to provide sustainable harvest and hence, take the strain off of the surrounding forest (Bilsa, Ecuador)
• Funding of medicinal garden plots for community environmental and native plant education (Pronaturaleza, Peru)
• One hectare of native artisan grass plants used to make hats and other woven goods creating a sustainable economy for a community in the Peruvian Rainforest thereby preventing the destructive woodcutting previously needed in order to provide subsistence income (Peru and Ecuador)
• Support of the infrastructure such as the purchase of scientific equipment
The problems are complex and the solutions many. This fund gives us the flexibility to address these from many possible directions. Whereas the Save-an-Acre Program is geared toward acquiring land, the Tajalli Rainforest Growth Fund is about keeping that land intact for the future.
Tommorrow should matter today
We would like our future generations to see how the rainforests are, not how they were. How sad it would be if rainforests only existed as memories in books, photo archives and genetic imprints (not even counting all the never seen and now extinct species). Preserving our environment for future generations will be the ultimate act of selflessness in a world of short-term gain.
We ask you to invest in the future by making a donation to our Tajalli Rainforest Growth Fund. Donors will receive a certificate in their name (or to a specified recipient as a gift). The fund will be used where it is needed most urgently and at the discretion of the TRC Board. TRC will provide periodic updates at this web site on applications of the fund.
Tajalli Rainforest Growth Fund
Printable Donation Payment Form (checks):
Click here to open the form and print out and mail it to TRC with your check.
To make donations into other funds, please visit our main donation page.