Gula Gula was started as a pilot project in 2009 based on research papers on agroforestry and its potential to store carbon while benefiting the local population.

Like Indonesia as a whole, the area around Singkarak Lake in West Sumatra has been severely degraded. Past deforestation and poor agricultural practices have left the village-owned landscape largely devoid of trees and replaced by grasses and shrubs.

The project aims to restore degraded land by working with the Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) method and planting a mix of species for forest and agriculture. The sale of carbon sequestration certificates, as well as income for agricultural and forestry products, has created positive development for the community as a whole and many local jobs.

Today, more than 500 smallholder families have joined the project and over half a million trees have been given the opportunity to grow on an area of about 500 hectares. Through a cost-effective method, reforestation has been achieved on degraded land. By working with nature instead of against it, a food forest, with biodiversity and productivity in focus, can be created in just five years.

The reforestation method is so effective and simple that even those with very limited resources can take part in the project. With simple tools and training in good forest management as well as local processing of what the forest provides, such as coffee, cloves, cinnamon and wood products, a good platform for a favorable development of the area is created.

The project contributes to the following objectives: