José Ramos Horta Climate Action & Resilience Fund
"This Fund is a promise to build a Timor-Leste that is greener, fairer, and stronger for generations to come, instilling hope and optimism for the future.."
About the Fund
The José Ramos-Horta Climate Action and Resilience Fund is a new fund established by Dr José Ramos-Horta to build a green economy across Timor-Leste.
The fund supports rural communities across Timor-Leste through long-term tree planting and carbon farming. Farmers restore native forests, sequester carbon, and generate a steady income from verified carbon credits. The program spans over thirty years and aims to increase household income, enhance land health, promote local leadership, and maintain cultural ties.
Timor-Leste sits on the front line of climate change. We did not cause this crisis, yet we face harsher weather and seasons that no longer hold. We do not bring despair. Across the country, more than 200 young Timorese are leading a quiet resistance. They are restoring forests, protecting water, and reestablishing the land that feeds us. Through our community forestry program, families plant native trees on their own farms, creating a green mosaic that restores soil and brings life back. This is climate action in daily work.
Carbon credit sales provide farmers with direct and steady income. The income is dignified and life-changing. It creates local jobs and keeps knowledge in the village. Each tree is a step toward survival and self-reliance. From this success, we formed Rai Matak, 'Green Land'. The goal is on a national scale. Ten million trees.Twenty thousand families.Stronger villages built for a changing climate. We invite you to join us.
Please help us grow what works. In Timor-Leste, climate action is not a slogan. It is a path to dignity, prosperity, and hope. Together, we can show how small nations and small communities build a future worth inheriting. Stand with Timor-Leste. Help us grow a green and just future.
J. Ramos Horta
Climate Action & Resilience
Simple action | Many people | Big impact
Message from Dr José Ramos-Horta
Patron of WithOneSeed & Rai Matak
Sahe Da Silva, Director Foundation Rai Matak
Solidarity and action for climate resilience in Timor Leste
Enny Joana Gusmao
Enny is the Team Laeder at the WithOneSeed/Rai Matak community-led forestry program.
Message from Dr Kirsty Sword Gusmao
Kirsty visited Baguia in Timor-Leste and speaks about her impressions and experience.
Every BIG IDEA starts small
The story of mosaic forestry in Timor-Leste
Pandemic Warriors
Timor Leste farmers working to turn degraded land into new jungle
Culture
Ensuring culture is at the heart of the mission.
Environmental Impact
Plant 10 million trees, sequestering over 15 million tonnes of CO2e.
This is not plantation forestry; it is mosaic, community-owned forest restoration that integrates food, biodiversity, and income generation.
Economic Impact
Generate significant income to bring people out of extreme poverty over 40 years. Income from reforestation enables farmers to reinvest in their communities, driving local economic development and addressing essential needs such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
Community Involvement
Engage 20,000 subsistence farming families in tree planting and nurturing. This is climate justice in action, ensuring that those most impacted by climate change also benefit from the solutions. Environmental action isn't only about cutting emissions, it's about dignity, livelihoods, and hope for the future.
Public Awareness
Raise awareness about climate change and sustainable development in Timor-Leste. We are determined to act, not just as victims of climate change, but as active participants in the global solution.
Our approach is based on community-led climate action, solutions created by and for our people.
Communities at work
Community nurseries
Trees are propogated in village nurseries
Tree monitoring
Every tree is tagged and monitored
Farmer payments
Farmers are paid annually for the trees they keep alive.
Education & training
This is an intergenerational program that bridges generations through the knowledge of traditional medicine and forest foods.
Call to Action
The Jose Ramos-Horta Climate Action and Resilience Fund.
Why It Matters: Rural families depend on fragile land and limited cash income. A paid day of work provides real choice and stability. Tree planting restores soil and water, protects biodiversity, and absorbs carbon from the air. Each farmer retains ownership of the land and the trees.
What Your Support Makes Possible
Local training and leadership: Training village teams in nursery work, monitoring, digital tools, agroforestry, and small-scale business skills. These teams guide the work and keep the program in local hands.
Strong community engagement: Village meetings introduce the model and establish clear expectations. Farmers sign care agreements and receive support through a trusted local contact. We also collaborate with the national government to align the model with carbon policies.
Tree nurseries and planting: Village nurseries grow native seedlings. Farmers plant trees in patterns that protect food crops and encourage forest regeneration. This maintains farm productivity and creates lasting value.
Food security and income growth: Agroforestry enables farmers to cultivate food in the understory. Soil quality improves, and yields increase. Extra crops generate additional income, while carbon payments provide a second income stream. Many farmers now earn twice as much as they used to.
Confirmed climate impact: Local staff record trees annually using a unique DMRV platform. Each tree is tagged and measured. Ground checks, satellite images, and independent audits verify the results and support the issuance of valuable carbon credits.
Community wealth building: Surplus revenue is allocated to a community fund. Villages decide how to use it. Projects to date have included clean water systems, bridge and road repairs, community buildings, and emergency relief.
Integrity and transparency: Providing clear climate benefits and direct economic advantages for farmers. The work has been AA-rated by the carbon ratings agency BeZero. It complies with the Gold Standard ARR criteria and supports ten of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is locally led, transparent, and designed for long-term sustainability.
100% of funds raised go directly to projects in Timor-Leste
Our Patron
Dr José Ramos-Horta
Nobel Peace Prize (1996), Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (2002), Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC, 2013)