Monday, March 3rd, we held an exceptional community assembly focused on the distribution of CARBON CREDIT CERTIFICATES (GOLD STANDARD), with 150 participants representing all the villages where FaJA LOBI is reforesting. The event was attended by the forest administrator, the police colonel, representatives from the ANR (National Intelligence Agency), and the DGM (General Directorate of Migration).

The meeting quickly turned into a lively discussion, with ample time for questions and explanations regarding the distribution of carbon credits. The villagers now have an even better understanding that reforestation is in their best interest. Every three years, for the next 40 years, a budget will be released from the carbon credit certificates.

This initiative provides the forest with the opportunity to grow and the local population with a budget to develop their economy. FaJA Lobi will guide them in establishing a real economy through cooperatives, ensuring the project’s long-term sustainability.

What makes FAJA LOBI unique?

Unlike other projects where most of the profits go to the project developer, 100% of the net proceeds from carbon credits (after costs) are reinvested into the community:

• 20% is allocated to the village for community infrastructure, such as streetlights, medical centers, school buildings, water wells, flour mills, etc.

• 60% is invested in agricultural economy and processing industries, which the communities will select and manage step by step within their cooperatives. FaJA Lobi will support and guide these cooperative collectives.

• 10% remains with FaJA Lobi for the maintenance of firebreaks, creating local jobs for the villages.

• 10% is used by FaJA Lobi for overall project management and monitoring.

Government Recognition & Carbon Credit Sales

Last week, we received a five-day visit from the Ministry of Environment for the project’s approval. Their comment was striking:

“You color outside the lines—everything here goes directly to local communities. This is real regional development!”

We therefore hope that European citizens will be willing to pay a small premium for our carbon credits. The more they generate, the greater the regional development impact.

For the local population, one thing became very clear: “Whoever burns their forest now is destroying their own future!”

Conflict Resolution & Land Rights

The carbon credit project will be implemented with the expertise of CO2 Logic.

In addition to this major milestone, a second resolution was adopted:

• When villages or clans have disputes over land ownership, they have agreed to continue working on the project while resolving their disagreements peacefully.

• Whoever has rightful ownership of the land will be entitled to carbon credit distributions.

However, the FaJA Lobi project must ensure the protection of all participants at all times, because “their forest = their livelihood.”

We hope that by the end of this year, budgets will be available for the next year.