Success Story

Economic drivers are threatening the survival of the world's tropical rainforests. It will take economic solutions to stop their peril. That is why we believe the most effective way to protect rainforests is to create sustainable sources of income for forest communities that rely on keeping the forest standing.

We help create community-owned businesses that improve the livelihoods of forest peoples and reduce their dependency on deforestation activities. In Chipaota, Peru, we impacted 9,000 acres of rainforest and provided 40 families a sustainable income source by implementing a new method to extract the fibers of a palm that no longer requires the entire palm to be cut down and also helped create a community-owned business that makes value-added brooms instead of simply selling the palm's raw fibers, thus increasing earnings 2.5 times.

Importantly, these opportunities reinforce the importance of the environment and the value of its conservation. Describing Rainforest Partnership's impact, one community member said: "Thankfully, I opened my eyes…I, and many others in my community, we were destroying the environment, we went around indiscriminately, we cut wood, we burnt the forest, and we were getting immediate benefits, but we weren't thinking about the future, we weren't thinking about the coming years…[but now] I see that we need to invest in the conservation of the environment. That's why I've decided to work for it… I want to look after the environment, to protect it. That's what I wish for the most."

Join Rainforest Partnership in protecting these precious forests and providing a sustainable income to the communities who live in them.