Acacias for All is a social enterprise fighting desertification, poverty and gender inequalities. It started when a female Franco-Tunisian entrepreneur managed to convince her family, and farmers of her community in Bir Salah to start planting trees adapted to the semi-arid climate, mainly acacias and moringas, among their olive trees. When the at first her family and the men of her community did not support her, she started a crowdfunding campaign that raised €3,000. Then she used those funds to create a nursery to grow the acacia trees, which the women then agreed to plant. Women were more open to change and she gathered around 500 women of the cooperative of Bir Salah to try this idea. They tested the best practices for plantation and the impacts on soils. It took 4 years to get good results and people from around the country started to ask to join the movement. Now Acacias for all is in 14 governorates represented by local ambassadors and supporting the program #1MillionTrees4Tunisia to gather Tunisian citizens in tree planting activities and re-green the country. Acacias for All now has about 300 farmers across Tunisia participating in schemes that will help reverse the degradation of the soil. The final step was to develop sustainable fair value chains with the communities of farmers and youth in villages nearby. Starting in Bir Salah, Acacias for all gathered 42 women to plant olive, almond, moringa, acacias and aromatic plants with efficient irrigation systems, and develop a production units of olive oil, dry almonds and moringa tea. None of the new crops need artificial fertilisers and all, when fermented and mulched after harvesting, will help renew the soil that bore them. The challenge 2017 is to replicate this model to 6 new villages in the field of dates, honey, olive oil, moringa, dried fruits. Acacias for all is made up of 2 entities: - DREAM IN TUNISIA is an association under Tunisian law that manages the planting of trees, the training and the accompaniment of the farmer partners so that they have the tools to convert to agroecology, to restore their lands and to set up tree plantations that allow them to generate worthy incomes. It is the association that brings together many experts, often volunteers, to ensure the necessary agro-ecological transition in the arid and semi-arid zones of the country to adapt to climate change. - ACACIAS FOR ALL is a commercial SARL whose mission is to support the structuring of agro-ecological sectors, which did not exist until now in Tunisia, by promoting and marketing products that are good for health and the planet . It is focused on natural Tunisian superfoods and local products, which corresponds to the products that come from the plantations of the women farmers associated with the program. They have received have received numerous prestigious international awards and recognitions in the field of social entrepreneurship and environmental innovation (Ashoka, Echoing Green, Rolex Awards for Enterprise and Forbes 30 under 30)

Acacias for All now has about 300 farmers across Tunisia participating in schemes that will help reverse the degradation of the soil. For the women participating in Acacias for All’s work, the proposition is simple. In return for planting the new crops, the social enterprise will provide the trees, the training to grow and harvest them, and guarantee that whatever is produced will be sold in the shops with which Toumi and her five-strong team have negotiated contracts. Once established, the cooperative structure allows the women to buy further crops, the equipment to farm them and, critically, gain the financial independence that comes from participating in a successful business. Environmentally, the initiative is directly leading to soil improvement in a country where the desertification covers 75% of its lands, while 95% of arable spaces are being degraded. Now Acacias for all is in 14 governorates represented by local ambassadors and supporting the program #1MillionTrees4Tunisia to gather Tunisian citizens in tree planting activities and re-green the country. Their objective is to inspire the creation of similar movements in Algeria and Morocco to create a green barrier of Chénini Gabes in Agadir by associating with a specialized office in carbon offsetting. We have already secured a partnership with the Tunisian State to reforest 450Ha or 500 000 trees in the 7 southern regions of Tunisia (Tozeur, Kebili, Tataouine, Medenine, Gabes, Gafsa, Sfax) and Tunis as part of the planning of measures of climatic adaptations.