Samuel Bekele, AFWE Practitioner
Before we dive into the tool, let’s meet Samuel Bekele, a forestry field practitioner working with the Amharan Forest and Wildlife Enterprise (AFWE). Samuel is based nearby, where he supports community led restoration establishment initiatives across several kebeles.
⚠ The Persistent Challenge
Over the past few years, Samuel has helped farmers plant thousands of seedlings. However, he has also seen how many of these efforts struggle to survive beyond the first few seasons
❌ The Root Cause: Seedlings were sourced without regard for climatic suitability or traceable origin, resulting in high failure rates.
This year, Samuel wants to change that. He plans to guide his community in establishing a sustainable firewood woodlot that can thrive for decades even as the climate continues to change.
To do this, he will use the Where to Plant What (WTPW) tool to:
- Identify tree species that meet community needs (such as firewood and soil improvement).
- Select the most climatically compatible and traceable seed sources from Ethiopia’s National Tree Seed Source Registry.
- Plan procurement and logistics efficiently using the WTPW.
Let us follow Samuel’s step-by-step journey to climate-resilient procurement decisions using the WTPW.