Sustainability
Every time you buy a product, we plant a tree. But have you thought about how those trees are planted and the real benefits they bring?
Through our Forests For The Future initiative, we support more than 284 families in Koungheul, Senegal with sustainable Forest Garden Projects. Although the idea sounds simple, it takes countless hours of hard work to make sure each tree is planted and every crop is grown for maximum impact. These projects help farmers tackle common local challenges, grow food for their families, create reliable incomes, and care for the land.
Sales of Eminence Organics Skin Care products help fund this work, but it’s the people on the ground who make it succeed. Team Leads like Bakary Camara bring these projects to life. Bakary has been the Lead Technician in Koungheul since 2015. He trained as a mason and spent a year in university before leaving school to plant cereal crops for a local organization. He later joined the Koungheul Forest Garden effort under the mentorship of respected Lead Technician Yoro Camara. After only seven months of teaching, Yoro passed away, and the organization quickly needed someone to lead a massive project spanning 250 sites and over 80,000 participants. Following an extensive interview process, Bakary was honored to be chosen as the new Team Lead Technician.
With the new role came tough challenges. Bakary was among many whose homes were destroyed and land taken for a government road expansion. Forced to move and rebuild his life with a new baby, he never gave up. He continued his work, helped develop the Trees for the Future Technician Forum trainings, and even built a house for his family by hand — offering that home as the training center for the upcoming Technician Forum.
These quarterly forums are key to the program’s success. They give farmers updated practices for their gardens and cover new reporting guidelines, safety and security updates, tree counts, Lead Tech reports, and hands-on demonstrations. This keeps trees alive and thriving and ensures effective methods reach every project site.
The dedication and determination of Team Leads like Bakary are essential. The time, attention, and hard work that keep these projects running smoothly cannot be overstated. We thank everyone for their long days, resilience, and commitment to making this program a success.