{"id":7355,"date":"2024-08-23T14:42:29","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T12:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/?post_type=chancemaker&#038;p=7355"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:47:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:47:45","slug":"james-thembo","status":"publish","type":"chancemaker","link":"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/en\/chancemaker\/james-thembo\/","title":{"rendered":"James Thembo"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>James&#8217; journey as a ChanceMaker began with a formative experience: one evening, he came home to find his mother cooking over a fire fueled by bean husks. Growing up, he had only known these husks as mulch for banana and coffee gardens. Seeing them used as a substitute for firewood puzzled him. When he asked his mother about it, she explained that all the surrounding land had been converted to farmland \u2013 not a single forest remained from which wood could be gathered. She was also convinced that growing trees on her land would reduce her crop yields. And even if she had a separate plot for trees, the native trees from which seedlings could have been grown had long since been felled for brick production.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>This experience stayed with James and sparked his determination to take action. As a young forestry graduate, he dedicated himself to reforestation \u2013 driven by a clear desire to work directly with local communities and build genuine, trust-based relationships with smallholder farmers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>Today, he is doing exactly that as Operations Lead for our partner Fairventures in Uganda. Drawing on years of listening closely to smallholder farmers and understanding their challenges firsthand, James leads a team of 40 \u2013 united by a shared vision: restored landscapes, thriving communities, and forests that flourish once more. Places where smallholder farmers earn a reliable income and young people find real opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center text-center text-gradient fw-bold mt-3 mb-2\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Initiative<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>For over 10 years, Fairventures Worldwide has been supporting smallholder farmers in Uganda and Indonesia in reforesting degraded land. Their holistic agroforestry approach combines agriculture and forestry by cultivating high-yield intercropping crops such as cocoa and nuts alongside trees on the same land. By planting fast-growing native tree species that are in demand in the timber industry, farmers are provided with additional income opportunities. This holistic approach, which integrates economic, ecological, and social aspects, transforms villages with high poverty rates into sustainable habitats for people and nature.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>Together with James Thembo and his team, Fairventures Worldwide is committed to forest restoration, strengthening community livelihoods, sustainable value chains, as well as training and coordinating Farmer Field Schools.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n    <!-- START Slider -->\n    <!-- Slider main container -->\n            <section class=\"container-xl my-5\">\n            <div class=\"swiper block-slider overflow-hidden\">\n                <div class=\"swiper-wrapper ratio ratio-16x9 rounded-5\">\n                                            <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/FV-Uganda-Team.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-100 h-100 object-fit-cover shadow\" \/>\n                            <div class=\"swiper-lazy-preloader\"><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                                            <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/A-Gentleman-Planting-A-Tree-in-Fort-portal-City-scaled.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-100 h-100 object-fit-cover shadow\" \/>\n                            <div class=\"swiper-lazy-preloader\"><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                                            <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/A-Tree-Planter-Poses-for-a-Photo-at-Katosi1-scaled.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-100 h-100 object-fit-cover shadow\" \/>\n                            <div class=\"swiper-lazy-preloader\"><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                                            <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Ntajumba-Benard-Poses-for-a-Photo-with-a-Friend--scaled.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-100 h-100 object-fit-cover shadow\" \/>\n                            <div class=\"swiper-lazy-preloader\"><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                                            <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Planting-trees-at-Kaazi-scaled.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-100 h-100 object-fit-cover shadow\" \/>\n                            <div class=\"swiper-lazy-preloader\"><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                                            <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Using-a-hand-hoe-to-plant-seedling-scaled.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-100 h-100 object-fit-cover shadow\" \/>\n                            <div class=\"swiper-lazy-preloader\"><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                                    <\/div>\n                <!-- If we need pagination -->\n                <div class=\"swiper-pagination-slider text-center\"><\/div>\n                <!-- If we need navigation buttons -->\n                <div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div>\n                <div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/section>\n        <!-- END Slider -->\n\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center text-center text-gradient fw-bold mt-3 mb-2\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vision<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>Healthy forests as climate solutions &#8211; small-scale farmers become pioneers in the fight against climate change.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center text-center text-gradient fw-bold mt-3 mb-2\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Program &amp; Activities<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>Fairventures works with small-scale farmers and local institutions \u2013 such as schools, churches, community councils, and local NGOs \u2013 in various regions of Uganda and Indonesia. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>Every year, new smallholder farmers are recruited by the field teams. In the Farmer Field Schools, farmers receive personalised advice to determine the best reforestation strategy and practical training in effective agroforestry practices. Seedlings from community nurseries are then distributed at the start of the rainy season.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\" data-sal=\"slide-up\" data-sal-easing=\"ease-in-out\" data-sal-delay=\"200\"><div class=\"cnt_col\">\n<p>The field teams support the farmers in planting and accompany them until harvest. All planting areas are documented. Comprehensive monitoring by the farmers tracks the growth of the trees, and replanting is done where necessary. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James&#8217; journey as a ChanceMaker began with a formative experience: one evening, he came home to find his mother cooking over a fire fueled by bean husks. Growing up, he had only known these husks as mulch for banana and coffee gardens. Seeing them used as a substitute for firewood puzzled him. When he asked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","funding_topic":[87,88],"country":[106],"class_list":["post-7355","chancemaker","type-chancemaker","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","funding_topic-sustainable-habitats","funding_topic-wellbeing-economies","country-uganda-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>James Thembo - ChanceMaker Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chancemaker.foundation\/en\/chancemaker\/james-thembo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Thembo - ChanceMaker Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James&#8217; journey as a ChanceMaker began with a formative experience: one evening, he came home to find his mother cooking over a fire fueled by bean husks. 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