The timber and fruit trees will generate $3.7 million in revenues to the nursery operators and tree farmers over the lives of the trees, while addressing two compelling development goals: sustainable timber harvesting methods and increased business opportunities for rural Tanzanians.  Timber seedlings, such as pine and eucalyptus, mature in 10-12 years and offer an environmentally sustainable alternative to harvesting indigenous forests.  Fruit trees - including apples, avocados, mangos, peaches, pears, plums and other temperate and tropical tree crop species - generate substantial income for local farmers and decrease reliance on expensive imports.  While the majority of the fruit has been sold locally so far, EWW recently coordinated a shipment of apples from Iringa (southwestern Tanzania) to the capital city, Dar Es Salaam, in which farmers realized a 430% increase in prices.

EWW's move into sustainable timber harvesting also revealed a lack of affordable sawmills for small harvesters, a serious barrier to competitiveness since hand-sawn logs sell at a much lower price than machine-sawn logs.  Fredericksen and his team addressed this problem by modifying an imported design to make it towable and operable by just one person.  The $4,000 saw pays for itself after processing just 1.5 acres of trees.  EWW is currently working on creative financing options for would-be purchasers.

As for the future, EWW hopes to expand the program into a second phase, establishing 150 more nurseries, with sales projected at 800,000 trees.  Says Fredericksen: "I believe we're just getting started."