This is GDF

Making Africa Green Again.

Based now in Los Angeles and established first in Ethiopia in 2006, Greenland Development Foundation (GDF) is a non-profit and non-governmental organization dedicated to ecosystem restoration, climate change reversal, and environmental responsibility. GDF pioneered Ethiopia’s reforestation and food-sustainability movements.

Our Mission

Our Mission is to replant forests, end world hunger, & empower communities with transformational education! Our mission includes motivating people of diverse religious, ethnic, and national backgrounds to trust, plant, and work together to restore natural environments and increase food security. ❤️🍎🍏🌳🌍

Our Vision

Our Vision is to “Make Africa Green Again” and to replant hundreds more of our most precious Earth environments in Africa, the United States, and beyond! We are committed to environmental justice and world peace! We lead the “We Plant Trees for Peace” Movement worldwide! #WePlantPeace
❤️🍎🍏🌳🌍

Our Story

Planted over 1,000,000 trees in Ethiopia!

Ethiopian-born American citizen Gashaw Tahir traveled back to his homeland several years ago and was shocked at the massive deforestation that had taken place since his departure. Rivers have dried, mountains have been deforested, and rising temperatures due to climate change are making plant life more difficult to maintain. Tahir decided that something had to be done. He gathered young people from his hometown — only a few dozen at first — but those young people recruited their friends and family until there were hundreds. On only two acres of land they planted thousands of seedlings. Now, Tahir owns 11,000 acres of Ethiopian land on which his group has planted one million trees.

Our Journey

The Goal For Our Home.
Natural. Sustainable.

Our Achievements

GDF is dedicated to replanting forests, ending world hunger, & empowering communities with transformational education! We pioneered the reforestation and food-sustainability movements through irrigation in Ethiopia.

GDF addresses the problems of climate change, deforestation, and food insecurity. The “climate emergency” is causing problems for human health and food security due to deforestation, land degradation, and soil erosion. With deforestation, temperatures are rising and rivers are drying. Wild animal populations decrease and biodiversity is lost.

 

GDF’s accomplishments are unique. Our Founder Gashaw Tahir was honored as a “National Green Hero” by the President of Ethiopia in 2009. He was officially recognized by the United Nations and White House as well as at the G-20 Summit in Toronto in 2010.

GDF is dedicated to replanting forests, ending world hunger, & empowering communities with transformational education! We pioneered Ethiopia’s reforestation and food-sustainability movements. Starting in 2007, GDF replanted over a million trees, including fruit trees, on 105 acres of deforested land near the source of the Nile River! Over 450 young people of diverse backgrounds were hired.

Gashaw A. Tahir Founder & Executive Director

Ethiopian-American Gashaw A. Tahir is the CEO for GDF. He is a world peace activist, humanitarian, and a National Green Hero of Ethiopia recognized by the United Nations who has dedicated himself to “reversing global climate change” by “Making Africa Green Again.” He was deeply concerned about the highly degraded environment and impoverished people in his birthplace and then moved to work on environmental rehabilitation. He established GDF and started with two acres of land and a few dozen youth in 2006 currently working on over 11,000 acres land in Ethiopia collaborating with over 450 young people and women. Gashaw is inspiring people to believe and know that we can make a difference in making our common environmental future that works for humans and biodiversity.

Our Team

Ayn Gelagay

Project Manager

Jenny Sherman

Marketing

Hayat Mohammed

Finance

Samuel Abebe

Business Advisor 

Seth D. King

Public Relations & Communications

Dr. James Dohn

Technology Advisor 

We have a modern day "Lorax," an American credited with planting 1 million trees in his native Ethiopia. The amazing personal project of Gashaw Tahir (SAY: Gah-sha Ta-ear) is even promoting understanding between Christians and Muslims.
Planet Forward
Gashaw Tahir, an Ethiopian, seems to be following in the footsteps of Wangari Maathai and has so far collaborated with Ethiopian youth to plant 1 million trees on 11,000 acres of land in Ethiopia.
Voice Of America
Gashaw Tahir Fights Deforestation, Plants One Million Trees In Ethiopia.
HuffPost

Green Legacy In The News

As seen on

FAQ

Most frequent questions for our founder and their answers

Greenland Foundation is a collection of family members and committed friends who are discovering creative ways to empower women and children. The foundation first came into being as a result of my visiting my homeland of Ethiopia in 2001. I was visiting my family who lived in Gojam, Dangela zone where I was born and grew up. Greenland Development Foundation (GDF) replanted over a million trees, including fruit trees, on deforested mountain land near the source of the Nile River! I established the nonprofit foundation first in Ethiopia in 2006, and in the U.S. in 2011. Greenland Development Foundation (GDF) is a non-profit and non-governmental organization dedicated to ecosystem restoration, climate change reversal, and environmental responsibility.

What are the three basic spheres that GDF works on? (We will be talking about three of them in perspective of Africa)
  • Fighting against global warming & climate change.
  • Stopping the climate emergency.
  • Standing for environmental justice.
  • Standing in integrity with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Goals!
  • Standing in integrity with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Goals!
  • Our first reforestation project continues permanently at the source of the Nile River in Ethiopia.
  • We are now building the world’s first eco-friendly; holistic, humane, biodiverse, & integrated; self-sustaining & self-recycling; artificial, chemical, pollution, & waste-free biovillage! #SourceNileBiovillage
  • Commitment to ending world hunger.
  • Planting fruit trees..
  • Planting harvestable crop vegetables.
  • Using irrigation to expand the harvestable season.
  • In our 2010 original pilot program in Metu, we used irrigation to expand food production up to all year long in Ethiopia.
  • Partnership with farmers of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds in Ethiopia.
  • Positive, humble, motivated, & grateful mental attitude.
  • Touch, move, and inspire people into action on what is most important to them in their lives.
  • Empowering young people, women, & indigenous communities.
  • Unity in diversity and peace for environmental partnership.
  • We lead the “We Plant Trees for Peace” Movement worldwide! ❤️🍎🍏🌳🌍
  • Transformational education from Landmark Education where being an extraordinary person is at the foundation of Landmark culture based upon measurable results. 💪🏼🦁✊🏾
  • Being a tortured refugee from Ethiopia migrated in 1979 to Sudan.
  • Starting out in America in 1982, when I first arrived and faced cultural shock.
  • Survival in the US as a refugee.
  • Facing the language barrier knowing only a few English words when I arrived.
  • Working to gain an AA degree as a mechanic in America in 1986.

Let's hear from you

Share your opinion about our Annual Day of Planting or any other thoughts, comments, or suggestions. We’d love to hear from you

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