Indigenous-led climate projects across 5+ countries

Active cohort of 20+ Indigenous-led climate projects across 5+ countries, ~2M+ hectares. FPIC-verified biodiversity, carbon, water, and tree credits. Reforestation and agrobiodiversity programs.

  • We only work directly with Indigenous, local, Afrodescendant, or tribal communities. We take projects on a first-come, first-served basis. You can apply here.

  • No. This is the public pipeline we feel comfortable sharing. The projects with detail pages are far further into the pipeline, which takes time, its not just contracts or preliminary permission, it’s shared comfort with public storytelling, and confidence on both sides that recurring revenue is working.

  • Our pipeline is quite unique and is in rapid evolution.

    FPIC+. We have an involved, continuous, multijurisdictional, and respectful consent process with all our communities. This is not a one-time experience but a relationship with a collective that essentially resonates to a decision to have a relationship rather than simply arriving at one. This includes permission about public claims and many communities keep things anonymous at first.

    Land rights. Numbers will change as customary rights and legal title get negotiated. Some governments, parks, and private landowners with overlapping claims to customary territory will give permission for local communities to run projects — some won’t.

    Science. We need to negotiate with communities for their science so they get the programs that make sense to them and their ecosystems. It takes time before we feel confident going public about outcomes that we’ve generated.

What makes a community project.

Every public project on this page has passed its complete pipeline. That means governance review, full Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) with the participating community, and a land-rights check. These projects also have outcome metrics already generated — an important differentiator for our collective. Projects then enter Savimbo's certification pipelines — Cercarbono and ICR for biodiversity and carbon, with credits sold under fair-trade contracts that route revenue directly to communities. Most projects are Indigenous-led; some are led by Afrodescendant, tribal, or local communities working under similar governance structures.

Why some projects stay anonymous.

Collective projects can’t be anonymous within the collective; in fact, much of the work of FPIC is making sure the information circulates to the entire community, including elders, native language speakers, and women, for an authentic collective vote, which is part of the no-strings pilot process we use. But not all projects want to deal with the public view. They can authentically transact with a single private philanthropic or grant buyer without opening up to public discourse unless they decide to certify.

What projects produce.

Project credits include biodiversity (Voluntary Biodiversity Credits, ISBM-certified), carbon (forest conservation, reforestation, and low-tech biochar), water (developmental), agrobiodiversity payments (chagra systems), and tree credits (#SexyTrees reforestation). Communities choose which credit types to pursue based on their land, traditions, and goals. New projects usually join the pipeline through community peer referral or partner introduction; we prefer it when communities ask us for a strategic alliance.