Trees for the Future. 2025. Forest Garden Technical Manual. TREES.
Modern farming is damaging the environment while failing to sustain farmers’ livelihoods. Trees for the Future (TREES) addresses this by providing farmers—the heart of our food systems—with hands-on agroforestry training. For more than 30 years, our Forest Garden Approach has helped farmers restore their land with diverse trees and crops, improving biodiversity, capturing carbon, and strengthening food security and incomes. By working with nature, farmers are reclaiming their agency, breaking cycles of poverty, and rebuilding our food systems.
The Forest Garden Technical Manual lays out a proven process for transforming marginalized agricultural land into highly productive and sustainable forest gardens. It offers detailed explanations, considerations, and guidance on the Forest Garden Approach and the various components, best practices, and processes needed to pursue it. This manual provides facilitators and practitioners with all the information they need to guide farmers through the planning, design, establishment, and management of their forest gardens. By facilitating the transition of subsistence farmers toward sustainable farming practices, this manual aims to make a lasting impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farming families.