We know we always say it, but the support for our community is truly astounding! One partner we want to highlight this month is Welight. A Brazilian company who is working to make giving transparent.

They provide blockchain technology solutions, to allow individuals and companies to track the results of their donations through the Welight platform. This lets you see exactly where your donations are going and ensures legitimacy in an organization’s management of funds. Leaders in this field, Welight have an incredibly innovative business model and they have already found success in Brazil, distributing around $R500.000 to social causes so far.

In the past month, they have stepped in at a moment’s notice to help facilitate our SOS Araguaia emergency campaign to fight the fires in the Araguaia region, as well as helping us to set up our Brazilian donation platform. We rely 100% on donations so their help has been crucial in ensuring we can receive all of your amazing support.

Explore the platform >>>

Welcome our newest team member Carol Sacramento! Carol is now a crucial part of our growing team in Brazil and will be helping us develop and build the partnerships that will allow us to plant many more trees.

With a masters in Marketing and extensive, 15 years of experience working in the commercial sector, she made the career transition to the 3rd Sector. Following her passion and committing her time to help protect the future of our planet. She’ll be focusing on institutional development and economic sustainability as she helps the Black Jaguar Foundation to scale up our activities in the coming years. The next major goal will be 10 million trees by 2025 and from there it will only increase year by year until the entire Araguaia Corridor region is restored.

It already seems like Carol has been with the team for years and we are thrilled that she’s part of this epic reforestation journey.

Meet the rest of the team >>>

In two weeks time, your inbox and social feed will be filled with messages about Giving Tuesday. You may be asking yourself a few questions…

What is giving Tuesday? Why should I donate? Who should I donate to? Will my donation make an impact? What if I can’t afford to donate? We’ve been asking ourselves the same questions…

Giving Tuesday, also known as Dia de Doar in Brazil, began in 2012 to celebrate the generosity of giving. The aim was to create one day with the purpose of supporting causes close to our hearts. It is now a worldwide movement, celebrated each year at the start of the festive season. This year it will take place on Tuesday, December 1st.

But why should you give on this day?

This day is just like any other, and like every other day, the good causes you care about need funds to keep doing their important work. Maybe it seems strange then to have just one day when you’re called to give, or (for those of us who don’t like to be told what to do) we may even resist being instructed when to donate.

But more than raising crucial donations and helping to bring awareness to so many important causes, this day is a beautiful reminder of how connected we all are. This year, in the midst of a global pandemic and a climate emergency, we need each other more than ever. So, whilst Giving Tuesday is a day like any other, it can be a catalyst for a lot of love to be shared, and more importantly, a lot of positive change.

Who should you donate to?

That’s a good question and not one we can answer for you…Do your research, search online for a cause that you care about, one which is transparent and accountable, one which is making the change you want to see. For us, we work in reforestation and give to our planet, because when you give to our planet, you give to each and every one of us and all those to come.

Find out more about how the Black Jaguar Foundation uses your donations here.

Will my donation make a real impact?

There are so many initiatives that make a real impact in people’s lives. Whether this is on an individual scale, or in terms of the future of our planet. If you want to know where your money is going, ask the question and see if you like the answer.

What if I can’t afford to donate?

For many, donating money is not an option. In this case, you have a valuable voice that is capable of reaching many people who may not have heard about your chosen cause. Use it! Follow your charities, re-post on social media, tell their story. It will make a difference and giving Tuesday is the perfect time to start!

We sincerely hope that this Giving Tuesday you take part, in some shape or form. Get in touch for more information about how you can help. Thank you as always for your continuous support.

Warmest regards,

The BJF Team

Looking for inspiration? At the moment, our team are busy in the field planting as many trees as possible during the rainy season. Take a lot at some of the pictures from our last planting season…

In the coming years, we will be planting a lot more trees together, which means we need a lot more seedlings. Planting seedlings is one of the main methods we use in our restoration and so to grow all these new baby trees we are building a state-of-the-art BJF nursery, with a capacity of 500,000 seedlings!

This nursery not only comes with an increased capacity, but we’ll be using the best restoration technologies meaning even higher quality seedlings and more efficiencies. The nursery will also utilise solar energy to eliminate any dependency of non-renewable energy sources and we’ll be collecting and storing rainwater during the rainy season for irrigation. In the years to come, this nursery will produce millions of new native trees.

There will be a direct impact on the region, not only by helping to replenish the native biodiversity but through job creation both in the construction and maintenance of the nursery.

With your support, construction will start in the coming months, preparing us to scale up our activities next year. It will become the center of our operations in the region and a hub for restoring life along to the Araguaia Biodiversity corridor.

If you want to know more and find out how you can help with this next crucial milestone, get in touch!

It’s that time of the year again where our field teams are in full preparation mode, making sure that when the rains come, we are ready to plant! 

It’s been an unprecedented year and our team in the field has been nothing short of incredible. Adapting and creating solutions that mean we’ve been able to carry on our work in a safe and responsible way. This becomes even more important when we start planting. Our team increases during this period with the additional local support needed to help us plant the thousands of new native trees. To keep everyone safe, strict safety precautions will be in place at all of our restoration sites and nurseries.

An additional challenge in the Araguaia region this year has been the fires that have been raging in recent weeks. To support landowners and protect the recovering biodiversity in the region, we took immediate action. Establishing an emergency fund – SOS Araguaia – to help fight the fires and establish preventative measures. We’re now actioning fire prevention strategies for the coming year to stop the same level of destruction when the fires return next year…

However, in the midst of all this, amazing progress has been made. The new trees planted in November will mark the start of our first million trees that we will be planting in partnership with Movida and OneTreePlanted. 

You may ask why we don’t plant all year round? We’d love to! However, the region where we are currently planting has extreme dry seasons, the lack of water available to new plants during this period means their chance of survival is very low. This means our planting season runs from around November to March! Now, our team in the field will be growing seedlings, sourcing the highest quality seeds, constructing fences, and beginning to prepare the land ready for planting! 

We can’t wait to share all the planting progress with you in the coming months!

Jan Zandbergen has been the proud sponsor of the Black Jaguar Foundation (BJF) since 2015, and this month renewed their membership with the BJF. For them, the recent events have meant that supporting sustainable initiatives has never been more vital.

“Exactly with what is going on, we choose to continue to support BJF. Restoring our planet is now more important than ever. Oxygen, sufficient fresh water and plants that are necessary for making medicines, nature provides it all for us. We should cherish that.” – Peter-Paul Zandbergen, CEO

While supporting our reforestation work in Brazil, Jan Zandbergen is also making changes to their own business in the Netherlands. “As a family business, we are very aware of the importance of caring for future generations,” said Jochem Versloot, grandson of Jan Zandbergen and director, co-owner of the company. “We are therefore continuously looking for sustainable improvements in our business processes.”

These improvements have included diversifying their range and adding plant-based products, under the new branding, PLNT, and they have recently also been looking closely at their logistics operations, making the more sustainable choice to opt for new, lower carbon LNG trucks, which save on average 20% of the CO2 emissions.

Read more about why Jan Zandbergen chooses to support the Black Jaguar Foundation and how they’re working towards a more sustainable future…

Also in 2020, Jan Zandbergen chooses to support the Black Jaguar Foundation – Jan Zandbergen

Jan Zandbergen has been the proud sponsor of the Black Jaguar Foundation (BJF) since 2015. BJF is an international non-profit organization committed to the realization of the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, in the heart of Brazil, and thus one of the largest reforestation projects in South America.

We were honoured to be awarded the Prestige Award for the Reforestation Project of the Year! Shining a light on businesses and organisations making a real impact in Amsterdam and beyond. We are thrilled to have been selected for this award, standing out both for the scale and uniqueness of our project.

Judges also commented on the tone of hope that we bring amidst growing, global environmental concerns. It’s amazing to get this recognition and we will work to keep bringing you hope in these times of uncertainty! 

There are very few reforestation projects in the world as ambitious as the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor and we are all extremely proud to be working for such an inspiring cause. We hope you’ll join us in helping to preserve our planet and creating a brighter future for us all!