Tony Rinaudo, The Forest Maker

Today’s guest is Tony Rinaudo who is World Vision’s Climate Action Advisor, but he is more famously known as The Forest Maker because Tony helped transform millions of hectares of dry land in Niger it what has been described as "probably the largest positive environmental transformation in all of Africa".

You see over 25 years ago, with the help of the local farmers in Niger, Tony began implementing a conservation farming system which is known as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) which basically involves growing trees as an integral part of agricultural land. This approach has been so successful that it has been applied in at least 24 African countries.

For many people, Tony is certainly an environmental hero, after making a positive impact on food security, and environmental sustainability and resilience for thousands of vulnerable communities around the world.

In this episode we talk with Tony about his 'mindscaping' super powers, the challenges of getting farmers to change their practices in Niger and how he overcame them resulting in the growth of 200 million trees on five million hectares of degraded farmland in that country alone.

This episode is about how to engage with communities to create positive change and proves that not all superhero’s wear capes.

Show notes available at www.bluetribe.co/podcast