Kauhata Reforestation Project: More than tree planting, It’s community empowerment and knowledge sharing
In the heart of Malaita, a powerful transformation is taking root.
The Kauhata Reforestation Project in Wairokai, West Are’are, funded by the UNDP’s Small Grants Programme (SGP), is not just about planting trees—it is about regenerating life, protecting land, and inspiring a shift from extraction to conservation.
Led by the Kauhata Foundation Trust Board , the project aims to rehabilitate forest areas severely degraded by human activities including logging through the cultivation of both exotic and indigenous tree species.
Community members have been actively involved in every stage of the process—from constructing nursery boxes and beds to transplanting seedlings into the field and caring for them until they become self-reliant.
Teiba Mamu, SGP Project Coordinator , underscored the broader vision of the initiative:
“This is more than reforestation—it’s restoration of identity, land, and purpose. The Kauhata Reforestation in Wairoka project shows how local leadership and community ownership can turn a degraded forest areas into a living legacy for future generations.”
A unique aspect of the Kauhata Reforestation Project is its active collaboration with the Ado Rural Farmers Association, another SGP-supported initiative in Malaita.
This peer exchange has allowed Kauhata’s team to source seeds and gain invaluable technical know-how in nursery management and reforestation methods.
Joe Rackets, Coordinator of the Kauhata Reforestation Project, emphasized the value of these local partnerships:
“We’ve learned a lot from Ado—how to handle nursery soil, germinate seeds properly, and even how to engage the youth.
“Their support has helped us grow stronger, and we hope to share what we’ve learned with other communities facing the same challenges.”
The project’s main activities—ranging from seed sowing to full-scale field planting—represent a comprehensive and sustainable approach to land rehabilitation, with community members taking part in field management to ensure survival and long-term success.
By focusing on awareness-raising and practical action, the Kauahata Reforestation Project aims to promote sustainable land conservation and encourage communities to transition away from logging-based income models toward environmentally sound alternatives like conservation and eco-agriculture.
As the trees take root, so too does a new mindset—one that values the land not for what can be taken from it, but for what can be restored and protected.
The Small Grants Programme (SGP) is a corporate programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 1992.