Campaign launched May 2021
For every t-shirt sold in this campaign, led by EMI to help artists and fans take positive action on the climate crisis, £1 will be donated to ecolibrium to plant a tree in Malawi with the charity Temwa. Donations will help communities in Northern Malawi, who are on the frontline of the effects of climate change, to reforest and regenerate the land as well as supporting livelihoods for the people living in these areas.
ecolibrium is a UK charity working with the music and live events industry to reduce carbon emissions from travel, and to balance unavoidable carbon emissions with climate positive investments such as tree planting, rainforest protection and ecosystem regeneration as well as supporting projects that generate clean renewable energy. We are delighted to be working with EMI to help support the climate solutions that are urgently needed to combat the climate crisis.
Thank you to GreenTea Peng, Olivia Dean and Jack Savoretti for championing the launch of the t-shirt campaign and for all the artists, bands and fans who are making a difference by supporting this initiative. Let’s keep taking climate action together.
Every t-shirt and every tree making a difference
The tree planting will be implemented in Nkhata Bay North, a remote area of Northern Malawi with a population of 55,000 smallholder subsistence farmers. Around 58% of the community live on incomes below £15.50 per person per month. Poverty, climate change and environmental degradation make these communities highly vulnerable to food shortages and extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts. For 18 years, Temwa has been helping to build more resilient communities in the area through sustainable agriculture and forestry projects; HIV support; provision of safe water; and education opportunities. Temwa has planted more than a million trees in the region.
Temwa’s community-driven approach means that projects are designed and implemented in partnership with local governance structures such as Village Development Committees. Local communities will identify participating villages, and select planting sites that provide clear local benefits including: reforesting barren community land; planting alongside watercourses to prevent flooding or drying up of rivers; and boundary planting on smallholdings to help retain soil and provide food crops. The trees help protect the local environment but also provide sources of food and income, bringing the community together to protect and nurture these trees.
The initial round of trees from the t-shirt campaign will be started in tree nurseries in mid-2021 and planted out in Winter 2021, the next round of trees will be planted in the 2022 Malawian growing season. We look forward to sharing regular updates about the progress of this tree-planting project throughout 2021 and 2022. Check back for updates or follow ecolibrium on instagram, twitter or facebook.
Find out more about how ecolibrium can work with artists, music companies and events.
Find out more about Temwa’s work in Malawi.
Photo credit: Temwa