Edola mints dollars from trees
May 03, 2011
THE whistling trees bend over probably in honour of Peter Edola, an investor in Dokolo district. He keenly looks at tree seedlings with the care of doctors attending to babies.
By Gerald Tenywa
THE whistling trees bend over probably in honour of Peter Edola, an investor in Dokolo district. He keenly looks at tree seedlings with the care of doctors attending to babies.
The towering trees surrounding Edola’s tree nursery return the favour by sheltering part of Dokolo from the strong winds blowing from Lake Kwania across the landscape.
Fifteen years ago, 54-year old. Edola left former Uganda Commercial Bank where he was working as a manager in Lira Town and turned to harvesting trees.
Edola says his salary was attractive but was not enough to look after his family.
After he left the bank, Edola maintained a good relationship with them.
He went back to his former employers and took a loan, which he used to purchase a portable sawmill.
He was also offered a tree harvesting concession by the defunct Forestry Department.
The National Forestry Department (NFA) five years ago replaced the Forestry Department, which has until recently been allocating land to private investors to plant trees.
Edola has planted 350 hectares out of the 400 hectares worth sh6b.
It is a different story today for Edola because he can not easily get lost in a crowd. Many residents in Dokolo recognise him as one of the richest people in the district.
“If I harvested all my trees today, I could fund the district’s budget for three years. It is a matter of patience because my trees will mature in 2017, †he says.
One pine tree can fetch as much as sh200,000 and this is likely to shoot up as the population increases and the country runs out of timber.
The taste of money from trees has lured Edola’s daughter into studying a degree in forestry at Makerere University.
Unlike some investors who cut down trees to make easy money, Edola took his portable sawmill and headed to Kacung forest after securing a permit and started planting trees in the late 1990s.
He established a tree nursery in a tiny portion of Kacung forest reserve which has given rise to the plantation.
His sweat is seen in the fast growing pines. At the peak of the tree planting season, Edola hires about 100 people, spending sh5m on wages. When the work subsides, Edola retains about 30 workers to tend the trees.
Dokolo is one of the youngest districts in northern Uganda dominated by wooded savannah plains.
It broke away from Lira district about a decade ago and is one of the areas where NFA
is promoting establishment of tree plantations.
According to Ester Nekesa, the supervisor of Kacung sector, Edola’s prosperity has inspired many people to take up tree planting.
“The face of tree planting in Lira and Dokolo has changed because people know that Edola has earned a lot from tree harvesting,†she says.
Nekesa says the NFA office in Lira gets flooded with inquiries of intending tree planters.
“This is good because it is bringing in investment. The trees are not only important for environmental reasons, but they can be a source of income and livelihood,†she adds.
Nekesa says Kacung forest is an important catchment area for Lake Kwania, which is a reservoir for fish species that have disappeared in other lakes.
“We have streams from Kacung flowing into Lake Kwania. If private tree planters invest in Kacung, they help to protect the livelihoods of people on the lake and protect the employment of many people,†she says.
Edola appealed to President Yoweri Museveni to reverse the ban imposed on tree planting, saying the ban is affecting many investors willing to plant trees.
“I understand the concerns of the President, but the ban should be restricted to people who were allocated land by NFA. They are either not planting or growing crops instead of trees,†he says.
Edola has been planting 80 hectares every rainy season and will only be left with less than 80 hectares for the coming season.
He advises NFA to work out a gradual process of evicting encroachers.
Adding that if it is done without much thinking, it will end up antagonising the community and affecting investments.
Edola adds that forestry is a community-based venture and if the residents are harassed, they will either uproot the seedlings or burn down trees.
“The community should not be ignored when developing plantations because the trees will remain standing for two decades if there is goodwill from the neighbours,†he says.
As we departed from Dokolo, Edola was standing at the edge of his plantation. He looked like a light of hope showing that it is possible to expand the greenery and achieve prosperity.
This takes determination, cooperation from the Government and the communities.
THE whistling trees bend over probably in honour of Peter Edola, an investor in Dokolo district. He keenly looks at tree seedlings with the care of doctors attending to babies.
The towering trees surrounding Edola’s tree nursery return the favour by sheltering part of Dokolo from the strong winds blowing from Lake Kwania across the landscape.
Fifteen years ago, 54-year old. Edola left former Uganda Commercial Bank where he was working as a manager in Lira Town and turned to harvesting trees.
Edola says his salary was attractive but was not enough to look after his family.
After he left the bank, Edola maintained a good relationship with them.
He went back to his former employers and took a loan, which he used to purchase a portable sawmill.
He was also offered a tree harvesting concession by the defunct Forestry Department.
The National Forestry Department (NFA) five years ago replaced the Forestry Department, which has until recently been allocating land to private investors to plant trees.
Edola has planted 350 hectares out of the 400 hectares worth sh6b.
It is a different story today for Edola because he can not easily get lost in a crowd. Many residents in Dokolo recognise him as one of the richest people in the district.
“If I harvested all my trees today, I could fund the district’s budget for three years. It is a matter of patience because my trees will mature in 2017, †he says.
One pine tree can fetch as much as sh200,000 and this is likely to shoot up as the population increases and the country runs out of timber.
The taste of money from trees has lured Edola’s daughter into studying a degree in forestry at Makerere University.
Unlike some investors who cut down trees to make easy money, Edola took his portable sawmill and headed to Kacung forest after securing a permit and started planting trees in the late 1990s.
He established a tree nursery in a tiny portion of Kacung forest reserve which has given rise to the plantation.
His sweat is seen in the fast growing pines. At the peak of the tree planting season, Edola hires about 100 people, spending sh5m on wages. When the work subsides, Edola retains about 30 workers to tend the trees.
Dokolo is one of the youngest districts in northern Uganda dominated by wooded savannah plains.
It broke away from Lira district about a decade ago and is one of the areas where NFA
is promoting establishment of tree plantations.
According to Ester Nekesa, the supervisor of Kacung sector, Edola’s prosperity has inspired many people to take up tree planting.
“The face of tree planting in Lira and Dokolo has changed because people know that Edola has earned a lot from tree harvesting,†she says.
Nekesa says the NFA office in Lira gets flooded with inquiries of intending tree planters.
“This is good because it is bringing in investment. The trees are not only important for environmental reasons, but they can be a source of income and livelihood,†she adds.
Nekesa says Kacung forest is an important catchment area for Lake Kwania, which is a reservoir for fish species that have disappeared in other lakes.
“We have streams from Kacung flowing into Lake Kwania. If private tree planters invest in Kacung, they help to protect the livelihoods of people on the lake and protect the employment of many people,†she says.
Edola appealed to President Yoweri Museveni to reverse the ban imposed on tree planting, saying the ban is affecting many investors willing to plant trees.
“I understand the concerns of the President, but the ban should be restricted to people who were allocated land by NFA. They are either not planting or growing crops instead of trees,†he says.
Edola has been planting 80 hectares every rainy season and will only be left with less than 80 hectares for the coming season.
He advises NFA to work out a gradual process of evicting encroachers.
Adding that if it is done without much thinking, it will end up antagonising the community and affecting investments.
Edola adds that forestry is a community-based venture and if the residents are harassed, they will either uproot the seedlings or burn down trees.
“The community should not be ignored when developing plantations because the trees will remain standing for two decades if there is goodwill from the neighbours,†he says.
As we departed from Dokolo, Edola was standing at the edge of his plantation. He looked like a light of hope showing that it is possible to expand the greenery and achieve prosperity.
This takes determination, cooperation from the Government and the communities.