Methodology

VCS 6023 / VM0047

The Mindoro project uses Verra's VM0047 methodology for Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation. It spans 10,000 hectares of degraded grassland and secondary forest in Occidental Mindoro, working with 12 Mangyan communities across 6 Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs).

The project focuses on native species restoration, re-establishing the dipterocarp and tropical hardwood forests that once covered these slopes. Alongside the carbon story, we are building productive agroforestry systems that create immediate income for participating families.

Funding

Project Funding

Funds support community engagement, nursery establishment, planting operations, monitoring infrastructure, and the VCS registration process. The project is 30% funded with active fundraising for the remaining $2.8M.

Agroforestry

Mangyan Robusta Coffee

In the hillside clearings of Occidental Mindoro, Mangyan farmers have tended robusta coffee trees for generations. Some trees are over 50 years old, producing beans with deep chocolate and hazelnut notes that rival specialty-grade coffee anywhere in the world.

The problem is not the coffee. It is the lack of processing infrastructure. Without a coffee hulling facility, farmers sell raw cherries at a fraction of the processed price, losing most of the value chain. Our first agribusiness investment is a community-owned coffee hulling facility that will allow Mangyan farmers to process, grade, and sell their coffee at specialty prices.

This is restoration economics in action: real income from real products, making the forest worth more standing than cleared.

Overview

The Largest Indigenous-Led ARR in the Philippines

Bukidnon is a province of rolling highlands in northern Mindanao, home to the Matigsalug-Manobo people. Their ancestral domain spans over 103,000 hectares of some of the most biologically diverse land in the Philippines.

Our project targets 17,000 hectares of degraded grassland and secondary forest within this domain, working across 21 barangays to restore native forest cover and establish arabica coffee agroforestry at altitude.

Funding

Project Funding

Bukidnon is in the pipeline stage. We have completed initial feasibility and community engagement, and are now raising the first tranche of capital to begin formal VCS registration and planting operations.

Agroforestry

Highland Arabica Coffee

Bukidnon's elevation (800-1,200 meters) makes it ideal for arabica coffee. The Matigsalug-Manobo communities already grow coffee at small scale, but without market access or processing infrastructure, most is sold as commodity-grade at local markets.

We are partnering with FEMMATRICS, a women's cooperative within the ancestral domain, to build a coffee processing and marketing program that can channel specialty-grade arabica directly to international buyers. This creates the economic engine that makes reforestation viable at scale.

Overview

Blue Carbon on the Frontline

The Bicol region sits on the Pacific coast of the Philippines, directly in the path of the most powerful typhoons on earth. Mangrove forests are the first line of defense for coastal communities, reducing wave energy, preventing erosion, and protecting livelihoods.

Bicol Blue is our pilot project for mangrove restoration and blue carbon sequestration. Working with CAMADA, a local community-based organization, we are restoring 10 hectares of degraded mangrove coastline as a proof of concept for a much larger coastal restoration program.

Funding

Pilot Funding

The pilot phase is funded. We are now gathering baseline data, establishing nurseries, and beginning the planting program. The next phase will expand to 100+ hectares with a formal carbon methodology registration.

Impact

Coastal Resilience

Mangroves sequester carbon at rates 3-5 times higher than terrestrial forests. But their value goes far beyond carbon. Healthy mangrove coastlines reduce storm surge by up to 66%, protect fisheries that feed millions, and provide nursery habitat for species that support the entire marine food web.

This project demonstrates that blue carbon can be a viable economic model for coastal protection, turning restoration into a revenue stream for the communities who need it most.

Origin

Ignatius Bwoogi and the Vision for Buikwe

Ignatius Bwoogi grew up in Buikwe District, on the northern shore of Lake Victoria. Watching decades of deforestation and soil degradation destroy the productivity of his community's land, he began experimenting with agroforestry systems that could restore the landscape while generating income.

His model combines vanilla and coffee cultivation with native tree restoration, creating multi-layer canopy systems that mimic natural forest structure. The vanilla vines climb the coffee shade trees, which grow under a canopy of native hardwoods. Every layer produces income while building soil, sequestering carbon, and restoring habitat.

Funding

Project Funding

Buikwe has received initial funding to establish the first demonstration plots and vanilla nurseries. We are raising an additional $150K to expand to 50 farming households and build the processing infrastructure needed to produce export-grade vanilla.

Partnership

Four Seasons & Market Access

Buikwe's vanilla has attracted attention from Four Seasons, who have expressed interest in sourcing directly from the community for their hotel and resort properties. This kind of direct-to-brand supply chain is exactly what makes agroforestry projects economically sustainable: premium buyers who value provenance, quality, and impact.

Through our Buji Vanilla brand, we are building the processing, curing, and quality control systems needed to deliver Ugandan vanilla at international specialty standards. The first product, a bourbon-infused vanilla extract, is already on the market.