HISTORY:

In December 2006 the association TAKE-ESPERANTO of Wintzenheim, France, a group of Esperanto speakers involved in the building and construction industry, organized a worldwide design contest for young Esperantists. More than 300 designs from 24 countries were entered; based on the theme "Hope and Christmas". The city's Christmas tree, which they nicknamed "The Christmas Tree of Hope" was bedecked with those designs. One Japanese student wrote, "Why do we cut down trees for Christmas when everybody knows that there aren't enough trees in the world?" Well, why can't we Esperantists work with the United Nations Environment Programme's Billion Tree Campaign, which aims to plant a billion trees "Plant for the planet"?

So, our association searched for a place to plant trees. There were several proposals, for Brazil, Tanzania, Chad, and Croatia... To start off, we selected Brazil, because we received an allotment of 2,347 acres there. Competent local people, technicians, agriculturists, and professors from the University of Goias helped us. The working language of the project is Esperanto. We officially launched our project during Wintzenheim's Christmas bazaar, December 2, 2007. Now you can become a patron and select a tree from among 21 varieties. Please view the page What to plant.
The "Christmas Tree of Hope" evolved well over the year...