We’re an agroforestry enterprise envisioning a world where forest ecosystems are more lucrative conserved than destroyed
Forested Foods partners with smallholder farmers - starting in Ethiopia - to sustainably grow, process, and market the most distinctive, premium forest-based products.
The driving force behind our vision has been the harmonization of forest conservation, agriculture production, and a more equitable world for forest-based communities. Aligning communities’ socio-economic incentives and forests’ ecological needs is the hardline key to sustainably deliver high quality products to our clients.
Why we do what we do
A broken world order that works neither in favour of people or the environment
Deforestation is an increasing issue, causes land degradation, soil erosion, polluted water, carbon emissions, and jeopardizes all life. Ethiopia in particular has 2-4% of its forests left. This is detrimental to Ethiopia’s 80MM+ farmers (80%+ of population) as it exacerbates the negative effects of climate change that affect their agricultural yields and ultimately, incomes.
Meanwhile, forests continue to be threatened by these farming communities, whose quicker gains of selling timber or clearing land for traditional agricultural outweigh opportunities to sustainably cultivate and market forest-based products. The problem persists due to insufficient coordination across sectors and stakeholders to protect/restore forests while ensuring sufficient social and economic incentives for all. These issues of deforestation and inequitable supply chains require new business models that build sustaining incentives that works in favour of people and the environment.
How we’ll get there
Linking farmers to markets for forest-based products
Our theory of change is that through 1) deploying holistic agroforestry practices focused on biodiversity with farmers on-the-ground, and 2) creating strategic market linkages for farmers’ forest-based products, we can then 1) increase the yields and quality of forest-based products we source, process, and market, and 2) pay farmers premiums for their improved product volumes and quality.
What we actually do
Building end-to-end supply chains of premium forest-based products
Forested Foods is a vertically integrated agroforestry venture. We’re working across the supply chain, from cultivation to aggregation to processing to packaging, and finally, marketing.
We partner with farmers living in forests to sustainably grow portfolios of forest-based products, like shade loving spices, fruits, forest-based honey, gums, and resins. Our warehousing and processing facilities are based near the forest so we can work more effectively with farmers and the community members we employ. Once we process products, we also create market linkages to individual customers, retailers, food service, and wholesalers. We create brands that tell the story of our products - where they come from, by whom and how they were cultivated, and their unique characteristics.
Our Principles
At Forested, our regenerative agriculture principles are:
Conservation agroforestry: We protect intact native ecosystems through sustainable foraging
Biodiversity enhancement: We promote polyculture systems by intercropping, companion-planting, and designing multi-strata systems where possible, alongside increase pollinator abundance and invest in native botanicals
Organic integrity: We champion natural inputs and avoid synthetic chemicals for pest and weed management
Human-wildlife conflict reduction: We design regenerative agriculture projects that foster more peace between wildlife and communities
Circularity: We invest in composting on-farm organic waste and agro-processed by-products, and opportunistically identify new markets for the latter
Store and sequester carbon: We integrate nature-based solutions like planting, better soil management programmes, as well as promote renewable energy solutions to drawn down as much carbon as possible
Livelihood Resilience: We partner with farming communities and design programmes to improve incomes, access, and equity within markets