Success Stories

Association for the Protection and Restoration of the Ecological Balance (Tree of Life A.O.) was established in 2008. With the support of small entrepreneurs and external assistance, the Association is actively engaging in social activities and has managed to implement several environmentally friendly projects. The Association has created jobs for people with disabilities within the Obgești Association “Hope and Health”. Even if they initially only volunteer, they will soon receive a salary.

“As we love fishing a lot, we often got out of the countryside. It was unpleasant to constantly see rubbish mountains on lakes/ponds. And, already acting on behalf of the organisation, we have carried out over 40 projects to clean water from household waste, plant trees, engage young people, mayors of villages and cities, musicians and artists in green activities.”

Their social work is supported by representatives of the Moldovan small business and external financial assistance.

“All the projects we carried out on our own with the active support of small private entrepreneurs who helped us with everything they could: buckets, shovels, gloves, gloves, rubbish bags, water, food.”

They also obtained external assistance in 2017, allowing them to launch a grandious waste recycling project.

“The first external financial assistance was received in 2017 for the Smart Agroecology project at city level, where kitchen waste from the Mental Disabled Day Centre was processed into biohumus fertiliser. Vermicompost was used to grow vegetables and herbs, which in turn were used to prepare warm meals for vulnerable population groups. For one year, it has been proven to recycle 1 tonne of waste.’

AO Pump of Life involve people with disabilities from the OAs in its projects “Hope and Health”. Thus, recently, thanks to a micro-grant, they have launched a social activity model, which could later become a social enterprise and employ people with special needs to take up employment.

“Faced with the needs of people with mental disabilities on a daily basis, we have for a very long time been looking for a business idea that offers a high added-value product and allows them to be integrated into the production process. I call on us to try to achieve the UN goal “Leave no one behind”. After a thorough market analysis, we found a solution. First, we won a microgrant to purchase special boxes for trees and collect local seeds, and then another small grant that allowed us to build a greenhouse and set up a growing area. So in just one year, we managed to grow around 10 thousand young trees of high quality and even made our first sales.”

The association specialises in growing seedlings with a closed root system. Most trees are grown from local seeds. According to Valeriu Andreiciucthe president of the association, this system allows trees to easily adapt to the local climate, lives several times longer and has a high survival rate. The planting season also lasts 10 months per year, unlike those trees that have been grown without containers.

“Our trees are demanded by people and public organisations and can be used to develop green spaces in villages and cities.”

In the future, the association plans to launch a social enterprise that would enable the creation of new jobs for persons with disabilities. They also want to increase sales and diversify the range of services and products.

‘The market showed interest in the product and the trees on the sample lot were sold in full. However, additional equipment is needed to obtain good profitability indicators. There are also plans to launch fermented plant tea production to maximise the involvement of the beneficiaries of the Day Centre who are unable to move. The idea emerged when we saw how, in a fine motor development class, young people started twisting paper tubes. Just that, instead of paper, there will be currant leaves, raspberries, strawberries.’

Social work carried out by AO Pump of Life it makes a particular contribution to the environment and to people with disabilities. According to the representatives, the business idea of growing seedlings with the employment of people with mental disabilities can cover, directly or indirectly: 12 targets out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Promoting these environmentally friendly social activities helps to improve the quality of life, water, air and soil. The implementation of green projects can also increase the area of forests in the Republic of Moldova.

According to Valeriu Andreiciucsocial entrepreneurship is a responsibility towards the environment, citizens, helpless people. Such initiatives need to be supported, even if at the moment only the enthusiastic ones are gaining momentum in this type of activities.

“For us, social entrepreneurship is above all responsibility and belief. Some of the tree species we grow can live for thousands of years. We ourselves will no longer be there, which is why we believe that social entrepreneurship is an investment that delivers not only today, but also in the future. Sorry, only the most enthusiastic are trying to develop such businesses. However, we hope that this type of business will grow as quickly as possible in the Republic of Moldova.”

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