Last month, we interviewed Elsa Gonzalez, the COO of Taking Root’s CommuniTree program in Nicaragua. We talked to Elsa about getting in trouble for climbing trees, what it’s like to be pioneering a national reforestation movement, and some of her favourite memories from the last 10 years of growing forests with farmers. Elsa has been with the organization since its inception, and she had no shortage of stories to tell.

On working with CommuniTree

What do you do for the CommuniTree Program?

I manage program logistics, maintaining close relationships with field technicians to achieve our program’s objectives. I also work with the other project leaders to create strategies that advance our reforestation program.

When did you start working with the CommuniTree Program?

I joined the program at its inception in 2009 and have been working in the field since April 2010.

How did you start working on the CommuniTree Program?

When I was at university, I met Elvin Castellón (Executive Director of the CommuniTree Program), and he told me that they had the idea of creating an Association that could use reforestation to create projects and generate jobs for those who had no job opportunities. I was one of the few women who was there at the beginning, and I became one of the founders of Aprodein [the local organization behind CommuniTree].  I worked on the whole process of its creation & structuring including selected the location of our first office in San Juan de Limay. It was in the course of that same year when I began to work as a facilitator of field information between Aprodein and Taking Root, and from then on, I haven’t stopped.

“I dreamt as a child in school of participating in municipal ecological organizations, giving talks to raise awareness among elementary and high school students about the importance of caring for and protecting the environment.”

Elsa Gonzalez

What do you enjoy most about working on CommuniTree?

My work has a positive impact in protecting the environment. It allows me to combine the areas of environment, technology, and ecology that no one else in our country is doing, making us pioneers and role models in the field of carbon dioxide removal.

On working with farmers

Why do you like working with farmers?

Working with farmers allows me to interact with their experiences, learn together, hear stories of how forests were before climate change and contribute to improving their farms by offering an alternative vision to how they live on a daily basis.

Do you have any special memories with the farmers you have worked with?

The signs of affection. The smiles of the families when they receive payments and job opportunities. The hopes to leave a better future for their families in the new generations. The fact that a family now has water when they used to not. Seeing the soils of farmers’ plots recover the fertility lost due to erosion when trees were absent. It’s as if each farmer becomes a part of our family, and they see it the same way.

“The excitement of knowing that you’re a part of these small changes is something that cannot be described.”

Elsa Gonzalez

How do farmers feel about growing trees as part of the CommuniTree Program?

At the beginning, because it is something new for farmers, there is some doubt and uncertainty. As time goes on, seeing the evolution of the plantations, any doubt that they had is eliminated, and they become the ones who promote the work and support of CommuniTree, telling others to participate.

On forests

Do you have a memory about a tree or forest that is meaningful to you? What happened?

“Well, as a child, I liked to study up in the trees, even when I was going to be punished. They were my favourite hiding places.”

There is a forest of Mr. Horacio Suarez that means a lot to me, because although it was not the first forest that I participated on, it is the one where an entire community came together to plant it. Over the years, the surrounding families have had so much compassion for how hard it was for them [Suarez family] to provide for their home. I never thought that we would see change so quickly.

What is your favourite tree and why?

I think I have two. One is the Genizaro. They say that a good tree has good shade and has leaves all the time which allows it to always give its protection. It is as if you hide from a lot of sun and it embraces you.

The other is the Mandagual, a tree that grows quickly and allows the farmer to see their income in the medium term. It regenerates itself once it is cut and it can withstand the adversity of drought for several days. It has beautiful colours and is easy to work with.

On the last ten years

What do you think are CommuniTree’s greatest successes over the past 10 years?

Positioning itself as the number one reforestation project in Nicaragua. The national and international impact, the credibility of the program, the expansion of plantations, the fruit and timber harvests, the economic remuneration of the farmer, and agreements created with other institutions. We have built trust with governments, both local and national. Raising awareness of farmers participating directly or indirectly in the program.

What have been some of your favourite moments working with the CommuniTree Program?

When I saw the first commercial thinnings of Mandagual and saw the transformation of the wood into woodcrafts. Seeing the face of the farmers when they received their payments for their work after so many years, and the gratification of fulfilling the promises to farmers of buying their wood. Also seeing the fruits of their labours that has been done in their plot and to see that there is a hope for change in society both economic, social, and cultural.

What do you expect for the CommuniTree Program in the future?

I look forward to a massive expansion of the program across the country and expanding our work into other countries. To ensure that each farmer, family, and child is aware of the need to care for and protect the environment. I also look forward to having solved the issue of reforestation at the national level with verifiable and achievable results, reducing the impact of the agricultural sector, and to be recognized worldwide with technological and scientific advances in the field of reforestation.