Editorial - Tree Aid in Burkina Faso - Mike Goldwater & Blue Cube Productions

Yourouaogo Ouedraogo, a Forest Guard, with a Bombax Costatum tree in his field in Bissiga Village, near Yako, Burkina Faso. A nutritious sauce is made from the flowers of this tree.

Kowinga Hawa, 22, winnowing grain. This season’s harvest was poor and her family’s crops of maize, soghum and millet is insufficient for the year. Her husband will go to work in the local gold mines to earn extra cash.

Children play in front of a large baobab tree, a natural gathering place in Baribsi village.

Gomsida Roamba, a Forest Guard, working in the forest outside Bissiga Village.

Sali Sonde, who was made dumb by childhood meningitus, now 30 with 2 children, is a member of the Baribsi village women's shea butter production group

The Kisambo garden uses a solar powered irrigation system. Members of the garden crop moringa and baobab leaves as well as other vegetables and fruit.

Gomsida Roamba, Forest Guard with a member of the Women's Forest Livelihood project, protecting a one year old dawa dawa seeding they planted.

Members of the Women's Forest Livelihood project together with forest guards clear undergrowth to create a fire break to protect the forest during the dry season.

Miriam Ouedraogo, 25 and mother of 5, picking moringa leaves in the Kisambo village garden.

A woman in Baribsi village waters a Neem tree seedling she has just planted, part of a project to restore forest cover in the area.

; Miriam Ouedraogo, cooking a meal for 10 family members in Kisambo Village. She is including moringa leaves just picked from the village garden as one of the main ingredients.

Touidiguin Ouedrego, a forest guard, in a protective bee suit, takes a drink of water as he prepares to collect honey from local hives.

Touidiguin Ouedrego eating honey from the combs he has just collected from one of the village group's 10 hives.

Tene Tiendrebeogo prepares to extract honey from the combs she has just collected from one of the Women's Forest Livelihood group's 10 hives.

Members of the garden group in Koassa village watering moringa sapplings.

Susanne Seogo, president of the Women's Forest Group in Bissiga village, with her son.

Yvette Sama, 12, with a boabab sapling in front of Baribsi village’s largest baobab tree.

Yourouaogo Ouedraogo’s Bombax Costatum tree is about to come into flower in his field. The flowers make a nutritious sauce and the items hanging from this branch are there to warn people not to take his flowers.

TREE AID is an international development organisation which focuses on unlocking the potential of trees to reduce poverty and protect the environment in Africa.

In Burkina Faso, West Africa, TREE AID is working with local communities on Forest Governance – securing long-term access to natural forest resources for the poor, ensuring they can benefit from protecting and enhancing those resources.