ECO – Cameroon Book

PLANTED THANK YOU FOR HELPING US PLANT ONE MILLION TREES!

“The eyewear brand with sustainability and social responsibility as its primary commitments.�

LOOK GOOD Being environmentally friendly and looking good is the best of all worlds!

ECO is designed by the boutique eyewear firm MODO to be on trend and easy to wear.

FEEL GOOD ECO Biobased eyewear is made from 63% plant-based materials, certified by the USDA. ECO Recycled is the only eyewear brand in the world made of 95% recycled materials. Plus, we are certified by UL Environment, so when you purchase ECO, you minimize the use of new resources.

DO GOOD ECO plants a tree for each frame you buy.

We have planted one million trees in Cameroon to date!

ECO was conceived by Alessandro Lanaro, founder of Modo. His idea was to create the first eyewear brand with sustainability and social responsibility as its primary commitments.

ECO is the only eyewear brand made of 95% recycled content. A tree is planted for every frame sold.

ECO empowers customers to donate their unwanted eyewear to people in need by reusing ECO’s packaging, which contributes to providing the gift of sight to 314 million adults and children without proper eye care worldwide. ECO’s mission has become a game-changer in the industry. As Alessandro says, “This is not just about a new hinge.”

“IT’S A CONCEPTUAL INNOVATION. ONE DAY ALL FRAMES SHOULD BE DONE THIS WAY. WE’RE HAPPY TO BE LEADING THE CHANGE.”

THIS IS THE CAMEROON STORY THE IDEA OF GIVING BACK TO THE WORLD

ECO was “born recycled.” With this book, we invite you to meet the people involved and witness the impact “One Frame One Tree” continues to make on both the environment and the Cameroon community.

In 2009, ECO started the program “One Frame One Tree” in partnership with NGO Trees for the Future. Since then, ECO has donated and planted a tree for every frame sold. So far, ECO has planted one million trees in Cameroon, Africa!

CREATED BY MODO EYEWEAR CAMEROON, AFRICA PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCESCA LANARO

ABOUT CAMEROON AND TRESS FOR THE FUTURE

POPULATION

18 467 692 SIZE

183 569

square miles

LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

2 000 000

trees planted through

171

farm cooperatives

Agroforestry Center created (Liebialem)

WHAT WE’VE DONE Our efforts focus on the Western Highlands, where we help farmers develop sustainable land-use practices.

Farmers now plant trees to improve the soil and crop yields and to protect the land from further erosion.

Trees have enabled many farmers to develop new sources of income, selling fruit, raising livestock, and producing honey. Over 2,000 people benefit from the program, which is expanding into the

surrounding communities. We have also supported the work of a U.S. graduate student to study the agroforestry adoption preferences between northern Cameroonians and Chadian refugees displaced in northern Cameroon so we can use agroforestry as a means increasing community between the two populations.

ABOUT Most Cameroonians live in or around the country’s 22 million hectares of forest and depend on the forest for their livelihoods. The country has moved away from industrial logging, which destroyed about 80% of its forests, but much remains to be done.

Substantial biodiversity and habitats for native plants

and animals have been lost, in addition to the harm done to humans. In the Western Highlands, 15 of the 50 unique bird species face extinction. Endangered primates such as chimpanzees, drill (a primate related to baboons), and gorillas also live in the forested highlands.

Cameroon is the home of over two hundred different ethnic and linguistic groups.

Cameroon has a high level of religious freedom and diversity. The prominent faith is Christianity, practiced by about two thirds of the population. Islam is practiced by about one fifth of the population.

Over three million inhabitants live in Bamenda.

IT ALL STARTS WITH A SEED

A seed that is given to Cameroon farmers and then planted in nurseries.

ECO PLANTS A TREE FOR EVERY FRAME SOLD

“Trees for the Future is dedicated to planting trees with rural communities in the developing world, enabling them to restore their environment, grow more food and build a sustainable future. We are proud to have a partner like ECO and we are thankful for their dedicated support, enabling us to achieve our goals.”

— JOHN LEARY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TREES FOR THE FUTURE “We have a responsibility to leave the world a better place than how we found it. Together with Trees for the Future and “One Frame One Tree”, we’re making a positive impact not only on the environment but for the people of Cameroon.”

— ALESSANDRO LANARO, CEO MODO

Bare-stem transplanting workshops are held by specialists like Kingsley Neba (left).

Cameroon farmers are taught by Trees for the Future about agroforestry and other sustainable farming techniques (right).

The workshops extend troughout the community and even to Public Schools, like the Ecole Publique Dschang Renka Michel where, with the help of their amazing school director Heleine Tsopmo (right), children learn farming techniques that will help them create a brighter future.

The literacy rate in Cameroon is estimated to be at about 70%. Most children have access to state-run schools. The education system is a mixture of British and French precedents, with most teaching in English and French.

Shu Neba holding a workshop

From the nurseries, plants and baby trees are transplanted into fields where farmers continue to cultivate and evolve their land and benefit from their improved soil and reccurring crop yields. Farmer: Asanji Godwin.

With sustainable sources of income, Cameroon residents like Anaje (left page) are able to feed themselves, their livestock and make a living.

MATTHIAS NDENGUE People of Mankon, Cameroon

“The greatest success was empowering struggling farmers with the proper knowledge to create a better future.”

— FRANCESCA LANARO, PHOTOGRAPHER, REPORTING FROM CAMEROON

THIS IS THE CAMEROON STORY THE IDEA OF GIVING BACK TO THE WORLD

MODO.COM