Each planting season, Brinkman planters and staff come together through Plant 4 Pemba, turning a day of planting into support for community-led restoration and development work in Zanzibar.
This year, Brinkman crews raised $21,087.25 for Plant 4 Pemba. With a 10x matching contribution, that support translated into $210,872.50 for projects on the ground in Zanzibar through Community Forests International.
Building on these efforts, Brinkman Reforestation is contributing an additional $10,000, bringing the combined fundraising and company contribution to $31,087.25 before matching. This contribution reflects Brinkman's continued commitment to supporting community-led restoration and creating lasting environmental and social impact beyond its own operations.
Across Brinkman camps, crews hosted Pemba Days, auctions and other fundraisers throughout the season. Ben, Reuben and their crew led this year's fundraising effort, raising $6,630 through their Pemba Day and auction alone.
The funds are supporting a range of community led initiatives in Zanzibar, including training and seedling distribution, improved water access for agroforestry farmers, and the development of a new commercial kitchen for a 255-woman enterprise cooperative. Community Forests International has also continued working alongside local communities on land rights, climate adaptation, and the restoration of degraded mangrove ecosystems.
Through Plant 4 Pemba, Brinkman crews can extend the impact of their planting season to communities in Zanzibar.
"We know the value of a dollar — and of a tree planted in a limited season of opportunity. To see $21,000 raised by our people turn into more than $210,000 of impact on the ground is pretty extraordinary,” said Timo Scheiber of Brinkman.
The partnership is built around people and organizations with Brinkman crews to know and trust, with funds directed toward projects designed and carried out alongside the communities they serve.
Community Forests International is also working with a documentary filmmaking team in Pemba to share some of the people behind this work. The project follows Salama and Semeni, two local leaders involved in community land rights, climate adaptation, and efforts to restore mangrove ecosystems that help protect their communities.
A huge thank you goes to every planter, crew and staff member who organized an event, donated, bid in an auction or made Plant 4 Pemba part of their season, and to the Community Forests International team and their partners in Zanzibar for continuing to turn that support into lasting community and environmental impact.
.png)