Moving forward with enterprise - Treecelet project
On the show Podjetno naprej our project founders of Treecelet, Miha and Jaka Hrovat, appeared.
We founded Treecelet because we want global change and because we know that this is the only way.
Treecelet is a project that plants trees through the sale of bracelets and zero-waste products and, more importantly, raises awareness about the issue of deforestation. And this very carpentry company is the inspiration that allows us to proudly live our true mission today.
When we started planting trees, we thought we were fighting only against global warming. This is a challenge faced by the developed part of the world. We worry about higher temperatures, the melting of oceans, access to drinking water, air quality, etc. And it is right that such things concern us, because only in this way will we survive in the long term. If we wanted to live sustainably with our current way of life, we would need as much as 6x more area than our Earth offers us.
But when we first personally visited our planting team in Tanzania, where we are also most active, we gained insight into the genuine truth that you only feel when you stand before these people. There, time has almost already run out. In the Usambara Mountains (northern Tanzania), more than 50% of the forest has been cut down, and today this strongly affects the climate. There is less moisture in the air, and therefore less rainfall as well. Where trees have been cut down, soil erosion occurs and the land is no longer fertile. In a world where people do not have jobs and money with which to buy food, this means a crucial difference between a hungry and a well-fed population. There, you can eat only what you grow in your own garden. If there is too little water and the soil is not fertile, the population goes hungry. And this hurts most when it comes to children.
This is exactly where we make a direct impact. And this is exactly where they need us most. I cannot describe to you the feeling of how happy the residents are when new trees arrive in the village. You never forget the genuine smiles, the individuals who come personally to say thank you, how the village chief welcomes you, and how the children run after the truck full of trees when they see it.
With our activities, we are not saving nature. It will survive, with or without humans. By living sustainably, we are actually saving ourselves. We are saving humanity and encouraging it to become part of nature. To coexist with all this beauty that surrounds it and, above all, to notice and respect that beauty. Everything our heart needs is here and now. We just need to see it.
Why do we plant trees?
We are aware that we will not change the world with our actions. But our goal is that by planting trees, we become an example to those who can. The path to a sustainable way of life begins with us. With the individual. And the more of us there are as individuals (and companies), the better an example we set for those who will one day become that.
How do we plant trees?
It does not matter which path we take. Everyone finds the path that is close to them. We chose planting trees. And we are immensely proud of that. We feel a responsibility to:
plant as many trees as we cut down.
compensate for the CO2 that we release into the air during a calendar year by planting trees
We plant trees as part of the Treecelet project, which was created right in the Hrovat carpentry workshop. Recently, however, due to a lack of time alongside our work at the Hrovat company, we handed the project over to a new team that will also continue our mission wholeheartedly. They continue planting where it is needed most. We are currently most active in Tanzania, Madagascar, and Indonesia.
