Frequently asked questions

Save the Sand is a 40-year community agroforestry and reforestation project in the Sabie and Sand river catchments, Mpumalanga. Households plant and care for 2.5 million trees on their homesteads and croplands, earning income for keeping them alive. The trees remove carbon, protect the catchment and produce fruit and nuts.

The project sits in Bushbuckridge, on the western boundary of the Greater Kruger. The Sabie and Sand rivers feed Kruger National Park and support around 2.3 million people through tourism, farming and services. The area lies within the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot and the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve, yet faces high unemployment, land degradation and water stress.

The project is developed by Sand Catchment (Pty) Ltd, the registered project proponent. Partners include SANParks, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (through the national trees programme), Good Work Foundation, the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve and ten Traditional Authorities. Earthood is the independent validation body.

2.5 million trees across 40,000 hectares, involving up to ~120,000 households in ten Traditional Authority areas. The crediting period runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2066.

The mix is weighted towards indigenous Lowveld species such as marula, knob thorn and apple leaf, with fruit trees such as mango, avocado and pawpaw. Indigenous trees store carbon for centuries and support biodiversity. Fruit trees give households food and income in the early years, which is what keeps trees alive. Households choose species that suit their land.

Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) using methodology VM0047 (Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation, v1.1), with the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standard v3.0, targeting Gold Level for climate and community benefits. Project ID: VCS 5375.

The project entered validation in September 2026, with Earthood as the validation/verification body. Validation is in progress.

The project is estimated to generate ~7.6 million verified carbon units (VCUs) over 40 years, after a 10% uncertainty deduction and a 16% contribution to Verra's buffer pool. Volumes are small in the early years while trees establish, rising from the early 2030s. These are ex-ante projections pending validation; actual issuance depends on measured tree survival and growth.

Additionality has been assessed under Verra's requirements using three tests: regulatory surplus (no law requires this planting), investment analysis (it isn't financially viable without carbon revenue) and common practice (household tree planting at this scale doesn't happen in the area). Without the project, households lack the seedlings, training and income needed to plant and protect trees.

Every tree is counted. The project uses a census-based approach: each tree is geo-referenced, tagged with a unique ID and recorded at planting. Growth is measured through field sampling, using species-specific or approved allometric equations, supported by satellite data. A 10% uncertainty deduction is applied to estimates, and every claim is checked by an independent verifier.

Trees are planted on homesteads and croplands alongside existing land use, not in place of it, so households keep farming. Under the census-based approach, VM0047 treats leakage as zero, but the project still monitors fuelwood use, crop production and grazing, and can establish dedicated woodlots if pressure on trees rises.

Each credit is issued once, with a unique serial number, on the Verra registry, and retired when used. For Article 6 use, the project is engaging the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. A corresponding adjustment has not yet been granted, so credits are currently suited to voluntary use.

An accredited Verra validation/verification body. Earthood is validating the project. Verification will follow monitoring periods, with full re-counts or statistical sampling of trees at least every five years.

Credits are only issued for trees that are alive and measured, so dead trees never generate credits. Custodians report deaths through a mobile app or community liaisons, field teams verify reports, and a full re-count or statistical sample (±10% precision at 95% confidence) is done every five years. Dead trees can be replanted. Household payments are linked to survival milestones, giving every custodian a reason to keep trees alive.

Every tree has a unique ID, GPS coordinates and a physical tag, and is linked to a named household custodian who confirms its location. A tree is recorded as dead if it shows no living tissue or can't be found at its coordinates. 10% of field checks are repeated by a second team.

Risks are managed through drought-tolerant indigenous species, planting timed to rainfall, water-wise establishment, replanting and an adaptive management plan. Trees are spread across thousands of homesteads and croplands rather than one plantation block, so a single event can't wipe out the project. Any losses after issuance are covered by Verra's buffer pool.

The project runs for 40 years. Many indigenous species, such as marula, live for centuries, and several are protected by law once planted. Fruit trees have shorter lives. After the crediting period, the trees remain household assets producing food and income, and the skills and value chains built by the project give communities reason to keep them.

The buffer pool is a shared insurance reserve held by Verra across all nature-based projects. The project's non-permanence risk rating is 16%, so 16% of credits (~1.65 million tCO₂e) go into the buffer and aren't sold. If carbon is lost, buffer credits are cancelled to cover it.

Trees are planted at low densities (up to 100 per hectare on croplands, 50 on homesteads) in settled and farmed areas, not as dense plantations, and are mostly drought-tolerant indigenous species. The project is working with water authorities to align with catchment management planning.

Custodians are households and smallholder farmers in the project area who agree to plant and care for trees on their land. Field teams visit door to door to explain the project, obtain consent and register each household. Joining costs the household nothing.

The project follows Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Phase One ran through community assemblies, focus groups and meetings with Traditional Authorities, in local languages, and was documented with signed resolutions and minutes. Phase Two, now under way, confirms carbon consent and finalises benefit-sharing arrangements with each of the ten Traditional Authorities. Communities can withdraw, and a grievance process is in place.

Benefits flow in three tiers: (1) direct payments to tree custodians, modelled at about US$1 per tree per year in the early establishment years (~US$7 million); (2) local jobs and procurement, with ~98% of project spend planned to stay local; (3) a 20% share of net carbon revenue once early financing is repaid. Payments are made by mobile money or bank transfer. Final arrangements are being co-designed with communities in FPIC Phase Two and may change.

Three reasons: survival-linked payments in the early years, fruit and nuts as trees mature, and a long-term share of carbon revenue. Marula also links households to a growing oil value chain.

Traditional Authorities hold customary governance over the land. They provide consent and legitimacy, help resolve disputes and benefit through a community infrastructure fund. They don't control household payments, which go directly to custodians.

Land remains under customary tenure through the Traditional Authorities, and households keep full use of their land. No one is displaced. Sand Catchment (Pty) Ltd holds the carbon rights through agreements with communities and custodians. Trees and their fruit belong to the household.

Healthier catchments and soils, restored habitat in a biodiversity hotspot, food security from fruit and nut trees, household income, local jobs, and training in agroforestry and nursery work, with a focus on women and youth.

The CCB Standard verifies that a project delivers real benefits for climate, communities and biodiversity, not just carbon. Gold Level recognises exceptional benefits. The project is targeting Gold for climate adaptation and community benefits.

The project tracks how household livelihoods change over time — income, food security, skills and resilience — rather than just counting jobs created. Monitoring is built into the same household ledger that tracks trees.

Contact us directly. We work with buyers on forward offtake agreements ahead of issuance.

Yes. We offer forward offtake structures, including pre-purchase with payment on delivery and agreements with a floor price and shared upside. Terms are agreed case by case.

Credits begin from the 2029 vintage, but volumes are small until trees mature. Material volumes are expected from the early 2030s, with first issuance expected around three years after planting begins.

Yes. Every tree is geo-referenced and linked to a registered custodian, so credits can be traced to the trees and communities that produced them, with personal data protected.

The project contributes to the national trees programme, SANParks' mega living landscapes work in the Greater Kruger buffer, and national climate and water goals. It operates as a public-private-community partnership linking government, private capital and Traditional Authorities.

Drought and climate, tree mortality, land tenure complexity, community participation over 40 years, and financing the years before first credit revenue. These are managed through drought-tolerant species and adaptive management, survival-linked payments, FPIC and Traditional Authority partnerships, the Verra buffer pool and a staged capital plan. A full non-permanence risk report forms part of validation.

Sand Catchment (Pty) Ltd is the project proponent, responsible for delivery, finance and compliance with Verra standards. Communities take part in decisions through FPIC and a proposed Benefit Sharing Framework.

Through Verra's public registry, regular monitoring reports, verified issuance reports and updates on this website. Buyers and investors receive more detailed reporting under their agreements.