Tree Aid was started in Ethiopia and Sudan in 1987 by a group of foresters in response to the famine, chronic poverty and environmental crisis in Africa at the time. The aim of the organisation is simple: ‘to enable poor families, mainly women, to unlock the potential of trees and forests to meet basic needs and generate income’.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana have been relatively stable since the early 1990s, barring some human rights abuse and arms trafficking allegations. Ethiopia’s electoral process and human rights record have been criticised and it continues to suffer from conflict. The West African locust invasion of 2004 and drought of 2005 badly affected the region (60-90% dependent on subsistence agriculture). Income distribution discrepancies are broad across the countries and rural poverty is widespread. Northern Ghana is much poorer than the south.

Tree Aid works in partnership with local NGOs who share the same environmental vision for poverty alleviation. The NGOs are involved in similar activities to the charity, but Tree Aid is quite unique in its focus on trees and their contribution to the livelihoods of poor rural households in the region.