Fourth Year assessments of Eco-Libris planting partners are available now online

This is our last post for 2011 and just like we did in 2008, 2009 and 2010 we dedicate it to announce that the annual assessments (2010-11) of our planting partners are now available online!

Here's a little bit more about these assessments: As part of our pledge to quality service to our customers, we decided at the beginning of our operations to conduct annual assessments of our planting partners.The two main goals of these assessments are: 1. to verify the quality of the planting operations and to make sure the high standards we promise to our customers are kept and 2. to provide our customers with details on the tree planting operations they support to balance out their books.

This is the fourth year we're conducting these assessments. Right now, two of them (SHI and AIR) are available online, and the third one (RIPPLE Africa) will be available within couple of weeks.

You are invited to read them (see links below) and also visit our planting partners' websites to learn more about them. Links to past assessments for each of our planting partners, as well as links to their websites, are available on our planting partners page.

Here are links to the two reports that are currently available:

AIR's assessment

SHI's assessment

We will keep you posted of course with more data, photos and videos from the planting operations! Thanks again to our planting partners and to everyone that was involved in the work on the assessments.

Photo credits:

Photo 1: SHI, Panama

Photo 2: AIR, Guatemala

Happy New Year!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

SHI & Eco-Libris: Launching Culantro Rojo Organics

I'm happy to update you on a new article of Eylon Israely of Eco-Libris that was published on the spring newsletter of our planting partner, SHI.

Eylon wrote a great article that is focused on Culantro Rojo Organics, Panama’s first organic C.S.A. supplied chiefly by SHI’s farmers, which he established after relocating to Panama in 2008. I see Culantro Rojo Organics not only as an innovative social venture, but also a green initiative that has developed from Eco-Libris and the relationship we established over the years with SHI. I hope we'll see more of such green initiatives incubated in Eco-Libris in the upcoming years!

You can read the article at http://sustainableharvest.org/news-articles/articles/newsletter-articles/partnerships-in-action (The second one from the top).

To learn more on Culantro Rojo visit http://www.culantrorojo.com/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Annual assessments of Eco-Libris' planting partners are available now online

photo from the Eco-Libris' planting areas in Panama, courtesy of SHI: Nursery of 2,000 trees including mahogany,cedro espino (Bombacopsis quinata), cedro amargo (Simarouba amara) and chime tree

This is our last post for 2010 and just like we did in 2008 and 2009, we dedicate it to announce that the annual assessments (2009-10) of our planting partners are now available online!

Here's a little bit more about these assessments: As part of our pledge to quality service to our customers, we decided at the beginning of our operations to conduct annual assessments of our planting partners.The two main goals of these assessments are: 1. to verify the quality of the planting operations and to make sure the high standards we promise to our customers are kept and 2. to provide our customers with details on the tree planting operations they support to balance out their books.

As always, the trees planted by our planting partners provide multiple significant benefits to both the local communities in the areas where they are planted and to the environment. This year we had an example of it in Guatemala in the tragic circumstances of the tropical storm Agatha that took place in May 2010, causing horrific flooding and mudslides (see photo below, credit: Ann Hallum) that killed at least 145 people, washed away crops and highways, and hundreds of homes. Particularly hard hit was the Department of Chimaltenango where AIR works. Dr. Ann Hallum, the Director of AIR, reports about the difference AIR's trees made then on AIR's assessment:

During the summer of flooding, 2010, I witnessed most dramatically the power of trees (especially pine trees, with their deep tap roots). Over and over again, we saw that where there were no trees, the mudslides occurred, and in areas right next to a slide with trees, the mountainside held together. More than once, we saw a young forest planted by AIR stop the mudslides that would have destroyed small houses below, and a stream. As the AIR technician said, “the trees stood against the mud like little soldiers.” We are planting more urgently than ever!

AIR tree nursery; Santa Apolonia; Rebecca Hallum, Anne Hallum, with Luis Iquique and the resident committee, June 2010 (photo: Ann Hallum)

This is the third year we're conducting these assessments. You are invited to read them (see links below) and also visit our planting partners' websites to learn more about them. Links to both the first year's and second year's assessments for each of our planting partners, as well as links to their websites, are available on our planting partners page.

Another example is Malawi, Africa where our partner RIPPLE Africa is working. Their video below shows the effects of deforestation and bush burning in Malawi and also illustrates the woodland conservation program that RIPPLE Africa has initiated there.

This video shows both sides of reality in Malawi - deforestation and frustration on one side and reforestation and hope on the other side, which we're proud to support.



Another video we would like to recommend is Planting Hope - The Story of Sustainable Harvest International (Video generously filmed & produced by Myriad Media) that provides a closer look at the great work our partner SHI is doing in Central America, including the planting of over 2.7 million trees in countries such Belize, Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras since 1997.




Here are links to the three reports:

AIR's assessment

RIPPLE Africa's assessment

SHI's assessment

We will keep you posted of course with more data, photos and videos from the planting operations! Thanks again to our planting partners and to everyone that was involved in the work on the assessments.

Happy New Year!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

New video from RIPPLE Africa: Deforestation, bush burning and Forest Conservation in Malawi

Our planting partner RIPPLE Africa is working in Malawi, Africa and is doing an amazing job there. They've just published a new video, showing the effects of deforestation and bush burning, and also illustrates the woodland conservation program that RIPPLE Africa has initiated.

This film shows both sides of reality in Malawi - deforestation and frustration on one side and reforestation and hope on the other side, which we're proud to support. You can read more about RIPPLE Africa on their website - www.rippleafrica.org and learn on our work with them on the last assessment we published last year.




Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Annual assessments of Eco-Libris' planting partners are available online

(photo from the Eco-Libris' planting areas in Panama, courtesy of SHI: Nursery of 2,000 trees including mahogany,cedro espino (Bombacopsis quinata), cedro amargo (Simarouba amara) and chime tree)

This is our last post for 2009 and we're happy to close the year with an update from our website - the annual assessments (2008-9) of our planting partners are now available online!

Here's a little bit more about these assessments: as part of our pledge to quality service to our customers, we decided at the beginning of our operations to conduct annual assessments of our planting partners.The two main goals of these assessments are: 1. to verify the quality of the planting operations and to make sure the high standards we promise to our customers are kept and 2. to provide our customers with details on the tree planting operations they support to balance out their books.

This is the second year we're conducting these assessments. We do it under the guidance of our environmental advisor, Gili Koniak, and you are invited to read them via the links below. Links to both the first year's and second year's assessments for each of our planting partners on our planting partners page.

SHI's assessment: http://www.ecolibris.net/SHI_Assessment_second%20year.pdf

RIPPLE Africa's assessment: http://www.ecolibris.net/RIPPLE_ Africa_Assessment_2008-9.pdf

AIR's assessment: http://www.ecolibris.net/AIR_Assessment_2008-9.pdf

(photo from the Eco-Libris' planting areas in Panama, courtesy of SHI: Mr Guadalupe shows off his cedro espino)

As we reported earlier this year, we visited this year SHI and their planting operations in Panama. We will continue next year to work closely with our planting partners and we plan to visit at least one of the organizations on their planting sites.

We will keep you posted of course with more data, photos and hopefully also videos from the planting operations! Thanks again to our planting partners and to everyone that was involved in the work on the assessments.

Happy New Year!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Eco-Libris reached the milestone of 100,000 new trees!

In his interesting manifesto that was published last Sunday on the New York Time Magazine ("The Case for Working with Your Hands"), Matthew Crawford writes: "Working in an office, you often find it difficult to see any tangible result from your efforts. What exactly have you accomplished at the end of any given day?"

Well, he's definitely right and we're happy that although we do sit in an office, we have successfully created what Crawford calls a chain of cause and effect - connecting between the willingness of our customers and business partners (publishers, authors, bookstores and so on) to green up their books (cause) and the new trees planted on their behalf with our planting partners (effect).

Our accomplishments are measured in various ways, but one of the main measurements we have by the end of any given day is the number of new trees planted, and we're very happy to announce that we have reached the milestone of the 100,000th new tree that is being planted on behalf of our customers and business partners!

This is a very exciting moment for us, as we look back and see all the work done so far to follow our vision, making reading more sustainable. We're also very proud of our planting partners that are doing a wonderful job, not only by planting these trees, but also by ensuring that these trees are planted in high ecological and sustainable standards and their ongoing benefits both to the environment and to the local communities living in the planting areas.

So kudos to all the avid readers, publishers, authors, bookstores and others who care about the environment and work with us to green up their books, to AIR, RIPPLE Africa and SHI and last but not least to the wonderful team of Eco-Libris who made it all possible! Thank you all!

We will continue our efforts and work even harder to make sure the next celebration of the 200,000th new tree will take place as soon as possible.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

* The photos above are courtesy of The Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR) and RIPPLE Africa respectively

Annual assessments of Eco-Libris' planting partners are available online

This is our last post for 2008 and we're happy to close the year with good news - our annual assessments of our planting partners are now available online!

Here's a little bit more about these assessments: as part of our pledge to quality service to our customers, we decided at the beginning of our operations to conduct annual assessments of our planting partners.The two main goals of these assessments are: 1. to verify the quality of the planting operations and to make sure the high standards we promise to our customers are kept and 2. to provide our customers with details on the tree planting operations they support to balance out their books.

Our first year of operation ended in July 2008 and we conducted later on these assessments under the guidance of our environmental advisor, Gili Koniak. The process took couple of months and now the finalized assessments are available online at the following links:

SHI's First Year Assessment: http://www.ecolibris.net/SHI_Assessment.pdf

RIPPLE Africa's First Year Assessment: http://www.ecolibris.net/RIPPLE_Africa_Assessment.pdf

AIR's First Year Assessment: http://www.ecolibris.net/AIR_Assessment.pdf

We will do our best to continue and improve our quality assurance processes. We work closely with our planting partners and will continue to do so on 2009. Our goal for 2009 is to visit the planting operations of at least two of our planting partners.

We will keep you posted of course with more data, photos and hopefully also videos from the planting areas! Thanks again to our planting partners and to everyone that was involved in the work on the assessments.

Happy New Year,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

www.ecolibris.net