WHAT IS LIFT ?
Living Forest Trust (LIFT) is a Cameroon based institution, legalized in 2013 as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by order N°01111/RRDA/J06/BAPP of 16 September 2013 and later uplifted into a Research Enterprise by order RC/YAO/2016/A/2331 of 16 March 2016 in Yaoundé.
GOAL OF LIFT
LIFT promotes research on the valorization and rational utilization of biological resources to enhance rural livelihoods and sustainable development. As a Research based enterprise, LIFT conceives, implements and participates in projects aimed at enhancing the sustainable management of forest ecosystems, biodiversity conservation, the valorization of forest and agricultural resources, the fight against food insecurity and poverty reduction in Africa.
LIFT owns a processing unit where biologically farmed agricultural products and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are processed into innovative food and feed. In this research and product development system, LIFT is investing resources to train and regroup forest dependent communities into producers associations. In addition to training, LIFT supports each of these associations with production materials and tools for sustainable agriculture and the domestication of NTFP resources. All the crops and NTFPs that are sustainably produced by the farmers are collected by LIFT for processing and trade at competitive prices in poor rural communities. This approach of associating research and development provides new economic opportunities to the rural poor, thereby contributing to global efforts against food insecurity, poverty, biodiversity erosion and climate change effects in Sub Saharan Africa.