Investment Notes: Why we invested in the Rejuvenation Trees Project
The environmental movement has come a long way since its beginnings in the early 19th century.
Once marred by the unapologetic exclusion of people of colour and the poor (for example, the displacement of local communities to conserve “untouched” habitats, or the deposition of industrial wastes near marginalised neighbourhoods), talks of environmental justice, respectful indigenous knowledge, and “benefit-sharing” are now much more commonplace.
But for all the talk about uplifting and empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), there have been precious few models that have effectively worked to address historical harms.
By and large, many IPLCs have yet to reclaim territories lost to colonialism, and continue to bear the weight of historical traumas. As a result, they are also amongst the most vulnerable to the effects of poverty and climate change. In Australia, 40% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities live without two or more essentials for decent standard of livings, such as housing, clean water, and food - almost 4x the rate of non-indigenous Australians, and are also much more exposed to extreme heat, rainfall, and droughts.
Through our relationship with the team at the Tiverton Agricultural Impact Fund, Odonata Foundation, and Carbon Neutral, we came to know about the Rejuvenation Trees project at Kardutjaanup in Southwest Western Australia. A degraded 3,955 ha cropping property at the time of purchase, Kardutjaanup was also the site of a tragic massacre of the Kepa Kurl Wudjari People in the late 1800s.
Today, the Rejuvenation Trees project is owned and managed by the Esperence Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC), who represents the Wudjari People, in collaboration with Odonata and Carbon Neutral. They’re working to restore the property, protect the deep cultural connection of the Wudjari People to land, and to create economic vitality for the community.
If those weren’t enough, here are three reasons why we chose to support this important project.