The story of
Boompje voor Boja
Boompje voor Boja is a non-profit committed to a greener world. Discover everything about our organization, our collaboration with Instituto Terra, and the green future of the valley of Rio Doce.
The driving force behind Boompje voor Boja is René Rousseau from Belgium. René loves nature: he grows vegetables, is involved in bird and nature conservation, and has already planted over 2000 trees in Belgium and Portugal.
“Planting trees in remembrance of my mother”
Unfortunately, René and his family got bad news in 2020: René's mother turned out to be incurably ill. But Boja, as the brave lady is called by her family, immediately dealt with her illness very positively. That inspired René to also act positively: he wanted to plant trees in remembrance of his mother. Trees, or “boompjes” in Dutch. Hence the name “Boompje voor Boja”, which translates to “Tree for Boja”.
Collaboration with Instituto Terra
René contacted his Brazilian friends Lélia and Sebastião Salgado, a well-known photographer and the founders of Instituto Terra. This non-profit organization manages and reforests part of the Rio Doce valley, in the Atlantic rainforest of southeastern Brazil. Before Instituto Terra existed, logging had destroyed the area.
Boompje voor Boja collaborates with Instituto Terra. This non-profit manages and reforests the valley of Rio Doce, a natural reserve in the Atlantic rainforest in southeastern Brazil.
1,000,000 native plants per year
Since the couple Lélia and Sebastião founded Instituto Terra in 1998, the project has grown into a leading institution. They cultivate up to 1 million native plants per year, teach locals how to reforest, and work closely together with leading scientists and universities.
All that hard work pays off. Sebastião, Lélia, and their team have already planted over six million native trees. That makes Instituto Terra the largest private reforestation project in Brazil, with over 2100 hectares of rainforest recovered!
The ecosystem of the Rio Doce valley is recovering
But the impact on the valley of Rio Doce goes much further. For instance, Instituto Terra has made old water sources productive again. Trees that are planted around the sources absorb the groundwater, evaporating water through their leaves and indirectly providing rain to the forest. This positively impacts the entire ecosystem.
In short: Instituto Terra is the perfect partner for Boompje voor Boja. Like no other, they know the Atlantic rainforest, the native trees, and the appropriate planting techniques. That is why René, Lélia and Sebastião joined forces in 2020. Each tree you order from Boompje voor Boja will be planted by Instituto Terra in the valley of Rio Doce
In December 2021, Aurelia Taschen became Boompje voor Boja's very first junior ambassador. Aurelia is very committed to nature and dreams of a greener, more beautiful planet.
