🪚 A story about chainsaws

✈️ Let's take a trip to Borneo, a Southeastern Asian island ~3x the size of the UK that was once covered in lush, tropical rainforests. The land is home to the critically endangered orangutan, as well as valuable carbon stores. 

But the forests are quickly disappearing due to illegal logging, which has resulted in Borneo losing half its forest cover since the 1930s. Living in poverty and with little access to proper healthcare and basic needs, many Borneo residents have turned to selling illegal lumber for excess funds. But these actions – while necessary for survival – are hurting the planet, and putting orangutans in danger. 

That's where the non profit, Health in Harmony (HIH), comes in. The company started a chainsaw buyback program in 2017, where they ask farmers to hand in their chainsaws in return for money and a chance to set up an alternative livelihood.

• In the eight years since its founding, the initiative has helped residents open small businesses, become organic farmers, and even learn unique trades such as beekeeping. 

It's a win-win. On top of the cash and career guidance, HIH also provides residents who turn in their saws with access to affordable healthcare.

• HIH's healthcare clinic allows residents to pay by whatever means they see fit – whether cash, seedlings, manure, rice husk, or some other resource they have on hand. 
• The medical center also offers discounts to villages that show they have reduced their illegal logging overall.

🌳📈 Bottom line: In 2020, researchers from Stanford University analyzed the impact of the clinic and the accompanying conservation, education, and alternative livelihood programs. They discovered deforestation had fallen by 70% in the 10 years after HIH opened – equivalent to protecting more than 27.4 square kilometers (10.6 square miles) of rainforest.