In Africa, most of the meaningful stories do not begin with grand plans, big budgets, or boardroom meetings. They begin with people. People who see a challenge in their community and simply start doing something about it. In the villages around Koro Camps in the Central Tuli Block of Botswana, such a story begins with women, seeds, and the belief that caring for the land and caring for families can go hand in hand.
At first glance, it looks like a tree-growing project. But spend a little time here and you realise this is about much more than trees. What is taking root here is more than a conservation project; it is a story of dignity, opportunity, and renewal, where healing the land goes hand in hand with strengthening the lives of the people who care for it.
Rooted in Community
Across parts of Botswana, erosion has left scars on the landscape. Areas that once supported healthy vegetation have become increasingly vulnerable, affecting both the environment and the communities that depend on it. The response could easily have been another top-down conservation project. Instead, the Roots of Renewal Project, sponsored by the Okavango Diamond Company and implemented through Terra Conservancy for the benefit of The Timbo Foundation, chose a different path. The project starts with the people who know this land best.
Local women are provided with greenhouses, tools, and support to establish small indigenous tree nurseries from their homes. Their role is to collect indigenous seeds, nurture them into healthy seedlings, and care for them until they are ready for planting. Once mature enough, the project purchases the seedlings and plants them in degraded areas around Koro and Harena, helping to restore the natural landscape one tree at a time.
It is a simple idea, but often the simplest ideas create the biggest impact.
A Mother’s Hands
What makes this project different is that it was designed around the realities of rural life. For many women, leaving home for work is simply not possible. Children still need to be cared for, meals still need to be prepared, women play an integral part in village life, and opportunities are not always readily available. Roots of Renewal recognises this reality. Rather than asking women to choose between earning an income and caring for their families, it creates a way to do both. In many ways, the project honours a truth that communities across Africa have always understood: when women thrive, families thrive. And when families thrive, communities thrive.
Growing Hope
When you stand among the seedlings, you cannot help but notice the care that goes into each one. Trees teach patience because they do not grow overnight, and neither does change. Every seed planted is an act of faith in the future. It is faith in a future where indigenous trees help stabilise the soil and restore areas damaged by erosion. It is faith in a future where wildlife once again finds shelter and food. It is faith in a future where local women have greater economic opportunity without having to leave their homes and families behind.
The women involved in Roots of Renewal are not simply growing trees. They are growing resilience, confidence, and possibility.
The People Behind the Vision
Every meaningful project has champions. These are the people who believe in an idea long before others can see what it may become. They are the people who do the quiet work behind the scenes, months and months before there is anything visible to celebrate.
For Roots of Renewal, much of that vision came from Nonofo, whose passion and determination helped transform an idea into a living project. From securing sponsorship to coordinating the many preparations needed to get started, she played a central role in bringing the initiative to life.
Bringing that vision into reality required the efforts of many hands and many hearts. Shana led the Koro Maintenance Team in constructing the greenhouses that would become the foundation of the nursery programme. Working alongside Joseph, Nelson, and Temo, the team built the structures that now provide a safe and protected space where thousands of indigenous seedlings can begin their journey.
Recognising that successful restoration depends not only on infrastructure but also on knowledge, David from Koro River Camp shared his expertise with the women participating in the project. Through training and practical guidance, he explained the importance of indigenous trees within the local ecosystem and taught participants how to care for and nurture the seedlings, helping to ensure that the young trees have the best possible chance of thriving.
Supporting the construction process and providing valuable technical expertise throughout the development of the project was Mr Lord Dick, Nonofo’s technical assistant in construction. His practical experience and guidance helped transform ideas and plans into structures that will continue serving the community for years to come.
Documenting the journey from the very beginning was photographer and videographer Malou, whose work has captured not only the physical progress of the project but also the spirit of the people behind it. Through her lens, the story of Roots of Renewal can be shared far beyond the villages of the Central Tuli Block, allowing each one of us reading this here, to be a witness to the power of community-driven conservation and the impact that can be created when people come together around a shared purpose.
Roots of Renewal begins with planting trees, at the root, but roots are not only found beneath trees, they are found in communities, in culture, in families, and in people.
