In the dry highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray region, where farming is shaped by unpredictable rainfall and challenging conditions, Aregawi Gebresalassi has spent the last two years investing in a vision for the future.
A farmer from Begasheka in Kola Tembien District, Aregawi is one of more than 58,000 households participating in EthioTrees, a 30,000-hectare community-led restoration project in northern Ethiopia. For Aregawi, that journey began with trees.
With support from EthioTrees, he planted more than 600 seedlings, including mango, orange and native tree species. Today, around 85% have survived, transforming part of his land into a thriving agroforestry system.
Through EthioTrees' benefit-sharing model, carbon finance is shared directly with participating communities, creating opportunities for farmers like Aregawi to invest in their land and livelihoods. Aregawi chose to reinvest his payments directly into his farm.
As his trees matured, they created something else: shade. Beneath the canopy of mango and orange trees, Aregawi began growing coffee.
While Ethiopia is famous as the birthplace of coffee, most production comes from the country's south and west, particularly the Oromia region. Coffee is far less common in the dry northern highlands of Tigray, making Aregawi's crop something special. The region's high altitude and dry climate help create a distinctive coffee with subtle spice-like characteristics unlike those found elsewhere in the country.
The process remains entirely hands-on. Coffee cherries are harvested by hand, dried in the sun, hulled and roasted in small batches before being ground using traditional stone mills. Much of the harvest can be sold for income, but for Aregawi, the greatest reward comes at the end of the process: brewing and sharing coffee with family and friends, a tradition deeply rooted in Ethiopian culture.
Today, Aregawi produces around 120 kilograms of coffee each year . Yet his ambition stretches far beyond his own farm. He hopes that one day the world will recognize Tigray coffee and the opportunities it can create for farming communities across the region. Looking at what has been achieved so far, he reflects simply:
"I have made history."
For Aregawi, coffee is more than a crop. It is proof of what can happen when restoration, local knowledge and long-term investment come together. What began with trees has created new opportunities for his family, his farm and, he hopes, the wider communities of Tigray.
EthioTrees works with communities across northern Ethiopia to restore degraded landscapes, strengthen livelihoods and create long-term opportunities through restoration and agroforestry.
Beyond carbon
What began with restoring land has created new opportunities for Aregawi, his family and his community. The benefits reach far beyond carbon, helping communities invest in their own future while restoring landscapes for generations to come.
Aregawi's experience is one example of how restoration and carbon finance are creating opportunities across EthioTrees.
Watch our Coffee & Climate with EthioTrees webinar to hear directly from the people behind the project, explore how communities are shaping its future, and learn more about the impact being created beyond carbon.
