Eighteen months ago, Amit took Katia and me to see a six-year-old Shisham block plantation in Haryana. They had been planted to stop the advance of desert sand and restore soils that had become too infertile to grow crops. Thanks to the effects of the Shisham roots and leaves, the sandy soil is now rich enough to support a bright yellow winter crop of mustard, and nitrogen-fixing legumes in the summer, so the land is being reclaimed from the sand. But the limiting factor is lack of water for irrigation.

Every TFT office around the world has one day a year dedicated to going out together and experiencing nature. We call it Reconnecting Day. TFT Malaysia spent theirs wading through the Raja Musa Peat Swamp Forest Reserve. Set in the northern part of the state of Selangor, the peat forest is a unique wetland ecosystem that is receiving much attention due to its important role in reducing global warming. Go to our videos page to see how the guys got on.

Here’s a picture from a recent cocoa assessment in Ivory Coast. Yesterday Bastien Sachet and I were at the International Sweet & Snack Fair in Cologne to launch our member CÉMOI’s new cocoa transparency programme.