The People’s Chaka (Ethiopia)

The People’s Chaka, led by Menschen für Menschen (MfM) and goodcarbon, is a community-led land restoration project in southern and south-western Ethiopia, which aims to reverse deforestation across 7,000 hectares in a highly biodiverse ecosystem of Afromontane forest in its initial phase (with potential to scale to 50,000 hectares) and prevent land erosion. Over its 40-year lifetime, it aims to deliver an estimated 2.4 million tonnes of CO₂e while also strengthening rural livelihoods through a revenue-sharing mechanism.

The project’s activities are expected to help safeguard 10 native tree species and 16 endangered animal species while delivering meaningful outcomes for more than 20,000 community members. Benefits flow through integrated programmes spanning healthcare, education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH), women’s empowerment, and job creation.

CAPE selected The People’s Chaka for its strong integration of climate, biodiversity and community resilience outcomes, and for the developer’s clear pathway to scale. It offers a model for how high-integrity forest restoration can deliver climate, biodiversity and community resilience outcomes.