West Timor faces severe degradation of forests into bush and degraded bare land. Overall emission are around 9 million CO2/year. Climate change and forest loss lead to high rates of water loss and droughts, while rural livelihoods highly depend on local water sources. Agriculture becomes harder to survive from in a context of climate change. West Timor has only one rainy season of about 3 months, but the result of climate change is that rainy seasons can no longer be predicted in duration and occurence. Deforestation causes erosion and has reduced the water holding capacity. Rivers run dry quickly, which puts livelihoods further at risk, as drinking water and water for agricultural purposes become increasingly difficult to sustain. There is widespread unemployment with income levels at about one-third the national average. Young people in particular tend to leave the area. Reforestation combined with wateruse-efficient solutions for agriculture can increase water availability over a longer period. If planned well, it could also provide better employment opportunties. West Timor has always been know for its beautiful fabrics made from local unirrigated cotton, coloured with natural dyes from indigenous shrubs and trees which (used to ) grow in surrounding degrading forests. Weaving has always been a major economic activity for the rural people, women in particular.

As young people tend to leave, the weaving techniques and activities also will decline. However, there is a good opportunity to improve the weaving techniques and develop hip, fashionable "indigenous" patterns for which demand is growing in Indonesia and the global market.
In this project, we aim to combine forest rehabilitation with the training of women in making fashionable fabrics that can be used in the fashion industry of the growing Indonesian market in the cities (and abroad). We are working with one of the Indonesian top designers from Jakarta to make weaving for the fashion industry a hip activity. This may also attract young people to stay in the area, especially when fair earnings can be achieved.

Besides poverty reduction, gender equality, responsible production and consumption, tree planting will support goals of climate action and life on land (biodiversity restoration). Initial focus of tree planting is on planting nitrogen fixing trees. This will support soil fertility improvements in an area where nitrogen is a serious constraint in vegetation and crop development. A large nursery to support the planting of these trees is already set up in the selected villages. Also, seeds from local cotton plants have been sourced from the initial start-up funding. Later on, trees and shrubs providing natural dyes will be planted in addition to the natural supplies of still remaining indigenous trees and shrubs. The local forestry Department has expressed high interst to support the program, and will provide large amounts of seedlings from their government-run nursery.

The land use map of the project site can be found in this link https://explorer.land/x/project/fafo/post/B1bRzI