The Friends of Usambara Society is a grassroots organization that uses sustainable tourism to conserve the nature and culture of the Usambara Mountains region. Friends of Usambara plants trees, protects and regenerates forests, combats desertification and promotes sustainable forestry.

• Our sustainable approach to community forestry simultaneously addresses poverty and environmental issues such as habitat restoration.
• FoU alleviates poverty through sustainable Tourism Development, community forestry projects, and agroforestry in the Usambaras. Tourism helps to generate income for the community projects.
• We conserve forests, trees, associated biodiversity, plus indigenous and exotic forestry knowledge in the Usambaras, and in Tanzania at large.
• FoU’s community service projects involve planting trees that provide food and income as well as improved soil and water quality for communities.

Over 20 million trees have been planted in the Usambaras since 2008, and our goal is to plant 100 million trees there by 2025, and 1 billion trees nationwide by 2030.

• To reach those levels, FoU and its tree planting partners must greatly expand funding.
• FOU has set an annual target of planting over 15 million trees in the Usambara Mountains. However this is not enough, and it will be necessary for FOU to expand its efforts to other Eastern Arc Mountain ranges in Tanzania to help the organization reach the billion tree level.
• In the Mountains FoU is focused on tree planting to meet environmental needs, such as protecting forest reserves, protecting water catchment basins, and reversing deforestation.
• Young people are the future of this initiative, so FoU forms 4-H Million Trees clubs in partnership with Primary and Secondary Schools so students can do their part in the climate crisis.