"Forest for Life: Creating Forests, Creating Lives" Project Completes Its Cycle to Assist Those Affected by the First Wave of COVID-19

Providing 1,000,000 saplings to create green spaces

May 13, 2021, Bangkok - The Forestias Project by MQDC is committed to creating green spaces in various areas. When the first wave of COVID-19 hit in 2020, many people lost their jobs. Therefore, the project collaborated with partners including the Department of Forestry, the Phuttharaksa Foundation, and The Givers Network.

The idea of providing saplings to communities for care emerged to alleviate the problem by offering funding to communities while they nurture the saplings for approximately 90 days.

The condition for participating communities is that they must be low-income individuals affected by the loss of income and not involved in government assistance programs. They collectively provide a space of about 10-20 square meters for sapling care, including teak, mahogany, rosewood, golden teak, mahogany, chingchan, canna, padauk, and easy-to-care-for, nutritious garden plants that can help save household expenses and can be sold for additional income if there is a surplus.

Today marks the completion of the project’s objectives, generating income for families in the community. It has provided income for 1,000 families and distributed saplings returned from community households to those wishing to create green spaces. Recently, the project concluded this phase by donating 300,000 saplings to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for planting in public parks.

Mr. Kittiphan Uiyamapan, Senior Director of The Forestias by MQDC, stated, "The successful implementation of the Forest for Life project is a great opportunity to expand the concept of creating green spaces to the public. The remaining trees from the donations will be planted in the forest of The Forestias by MQDC in Bangna, Kilometer 7, which is a true forest in the heart of the city."

Dr. Wit Sunthoranant, Vice President of the Phuttharaksa Foundation, stated that the Phuttharaksa Foundation and The Givers Network have collaborated to select participating communities throughout the project, totaling 27 communities or 1,000 families, to care for approximately 1,000,000 saplings. They provided financial assistance for sapling care to the communities as budgeted, which is 15,000 baht per family, totaling 15 million baht, and supported sapling costs for communities engaged in sapling cultivation in the project area, amounting to about 10 million baht, totaling 25 million baht.

"Throughout the year, this project aimed to enhance skills related to sapling care, with training provided by forestry teachers from the Department of Forestry and supplemented by local wisdom. The goal is to enable self-sustaining livelihoods in the short term and contribute to increasing green spaces in Thailand in the long term. We received positive feedback from the communities, who expressed satisfaction in caring for the trees and receiving income to alleviate living expenses. Some families have restored good relationships within their families and communities, and some see opportunities for long-term career development."

The Forest for Life project has been effective in raising awareness about tree conservation, generating income for struggling families, fostering community unity, and creating green spaces. The conclusion of this project specifically addresses assistance for those affected by the first wave of COVID-19, but in the future, this project will continue when there are circumstances requiring assistance and suitable concepts align.