●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (A). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Komaza: Turning smallholders' land into ‘micro-forestry'. Kenya suffers from years of deforestation, while demand for firewood and timber keeps rising. By 2030, the timber shortfall is projected to reach 35 million cubic meters and $30 billion a year; natural forests are being cut while large plantations can't expand for lack of land. Komaza (Swahili for “promote growth”; founded 2006 by Tevis Howard) builds “virtual plantations (micro-forestry)” by planting fast-growing, drought-tolerant eucalyptus and Melia volkensii on smallholders' unused 1–3 hectares. It accompanies them through seedlings, training, harvest, and a guaranteed purchase, buying the timber at a fair price at felling. With over 25,000 farmers (half of them women) and over 6 million trees planted, it is Kenya's largest forestry company at about 7,000 hectares — roughly 40% of the country's commercial planting — at a cost 80% below large plantations. The letter is A; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Kenya suffers from years of deforestation, while demand for firewood and timber keeps rising. By 2030, the timber shortfall is projected to reach 35 million cubic meters and $30 billion a year; natural forests are being cut while large plantations can't expand for lack of land.
Komaza (Swahili for “promote growth”; founded 2006 by Tevis Howard) builds “virtual plantations (micro-forestry)” by planting fast-growing, drought-tolerant eucalyptus and Melia volkensii on smallholders' unused 1–3 hectares. It accompanies them through seedlings, training, harvest, and a guaranteed purchase, buying the timber at a fair price at felling. With over 25,000 farmers (half of them women) and over 6 million trees planted, it is Kenya's largest forestry company at about 7,000 hectares — roughly 40% of the country's commercial planting — at a cost 80% below large plantations.
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
For Erasdas Jefwa Lazaro, a coastal-Kenya farmer with eight children, the fast-growing eucalyptus and native melia on his land are “more certain than a bank deposit.” Three years after planting, he thinned them, and with that income repaired his house and brought in electricity. “By the second and third harvests, my children can go on to secondary school,” he says — unused land turning into the family's very future.
Source nature: Landscape News (Global Landscapes Forum) / CIFOR / P2 major media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- It holds dual Verra VCS + CCB (Gold Level) certification, with third-party verification of carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and local livelihood improvement. Mitsui & Co., Conservation International Ventures, British International Investment, and IDH (LDN Fund) invested. BII describes “+40% income ten years after planting and +250% the next decade, from half a hectare of eucalyptus plus one hectare of melia.”P1 cert/international body / British International Investment / Verra(VCS+CCB Gold)
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- Realization of long-term income; independent evaluation of fast-growing trees' (eucalyptus) water/soil effects; continuity of replanting after felling
A second look
The big income gains (+40% ten years after planting, +250% the next decade) are a long-term outlook (real income at 8–15 years), still on the way for many farmers. Fast-growing trees like eucalyptus are debated for their water and soil effects depending on the area, and single-species ecological evaluation needs care (the company says it designs for no natural-forest conversion, conservation corridors, and site screening).
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top