Located at the northernmost limit of the African monsoons, the North Ethiopian Highlands are a hotspot of vulnerability to land degradation and climatic changes. In areas across Ethiopia, a variety of non-timber forest products can bring substantial amounts of cash income to farmer households. However, the significant potential of non-timber forest production remains largely untapped. To date, in Northern Ethiopia, there is not enough attention to the participatory development of community-wide benefits such as carbon storage, flood reduction and non-timber forest production when establishing enclosures.

To counter these problems, this project aims to boost community-driven woodland restoration on large and highly degraded slopes where cattle grazing is excluded. This will store carbon in the supported woodlands, both as soil organic carbon and above-ground biomass, and support ecosystem services development and valorization through increasing groundwater availability, honey production and frankincense production for landless farmers.

The project aims to boost biodiversity status, soil organic carbon, biomass, groundwater recharge, and cash income for landless farmers. The vast majority of the farmers identify the lack of access to drinking water as the main problem for their livelihood. The landless participants derive significantly less income from sales of agricultural products and sales of livestock as compared to farmers with land.