Browse F.A.Q. Topics
About Forests
What are other benefits do Forests bring besides their economic value?
Many people overlook that the trees bring benefits when they are growing. Real-time climate change is one of the pressing concerns of our age, the result of human beings carbon dioxide previously trapped in fossil fuels back into the atmosphere. Trees (and other plants), through the process of photosynthesis, essentially reverse this process – and trap carbon dioxide in the process of growing wood. This process is called “sequestration”. In addition, trees also help to retain natural water, protect biodiversity, control pollution and soil erosion, and regulate temperature in human environments. The best part? It is a renewable resource that can probably go on indefinitely for generations.What gives Forests their economic value?
Trees are one of the oldest natural materials known to man, and besides being a beautiful material that can be applied in a broad range of ways from boats, floors, building and furniture, they can also be used for secondary uses such as wood pellets and firewood – each with well-established industries around them. If you look around just at your life, you will see the diversity of uses that wood and trees have been applied in. Probably the only real limit of the use of trees is the individual imagination. In addition, you will find that the price of wood tends to not move in tandem with economic cycles – and tend to be on an steady uptrend over the very long term.Why Donate Forests?
We believe that donation is as a movement and it holds a large promise to change the way we live, work and create things. We want to create a sustainable cirkel – an investment that keeps giving. It was only natural that we applied what we knew about this to an area we believed would create a large impact in the economy, society and our natural environment – forests. Forestry and wood is one of the oldest industries and areas of activity known to human beings, and despite that, we seem to consistently undervalue their benefits. We strongly believed that building a platform such as Ligaia could correct this – and bring much more of the natural benefits of trees to a wider audience of people over the internet.
Our Forestry Partner
Can I visit the trees?
Sure! But do get in touch with us first before you come! We do organise a number of tours through a network of quality eco-tourism partners, who are familiar with what we do and the needs of our customers. Also we need to coordinate with the plantation owner for the safety of the visit.Does it always take 20 years to see results?
No! Teak Consulting S.A. only sells Teak trees that have already been planted in the ground, so all varieties are at least a year old at the time of sale. Some varieties are older than a year, and naturally have a shorter time to maturity, and a correspondingly higher market value.What happens during the 20 year period?
First, the land has been carefully chosen (teak trees have to grow on a slight incline, so that they don’t drown), and prepared by workers to become suitable for reforestation. As a principle, Teak Consulting S.A. never clears existing forests to make way for Teak plantations. Biologically, the most crucial period to watch out for when growing teak trees is in the first 1 – 5 years of their growth, where they have to be cared for, and at the 5 year point, some trees might have to be pruned, so that the rest can go on growing well. Teak trees start acquiring a market value only sometime at the 10 year mark, and sometime at the 15 to 25 year mark – Teak Consulting S.A. strikes a deal to have them sold. That’s when the sustainable cirkle start and get rewarded for their foresight and patience.Why does it take 20 years?
That’s because biologically, that’s how long it takes for Teak trees to grow to maturity! Throughout this time however, Teak trees are sequestrating the most carbon dioxide in the first 10 years, and technically get the best market values sometime when they are about 15 to 25 years old. Furthermore the sequestering process, which binds carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, is not very effective after the 18th year.Why has Panama been chosen for sustainable forestry?
Panama has been chosen by Teak Consulting S.A. for a number of reasons – but the key consideration is that trees grow up to three to four times as fast in tropical than temperate regions. In addition, being on major shipping and trade routes, favourable government policy, personal safety, and a good standard of living and literacy also been other key considerations. After all we argue that an fair and sustainable start will help the outcome to become a success for the long-term goal.How does Teak Consulting S.A. acquire its land?
Teak Consulting S.A. transparently secures land through a mix of purchases and concessions from the Panamanian government, who are keen to promote sustainable forestry as an industry in Panama. All ownership documents are readily and transparently available to all potential customers, and we ensure that no primary forests have been cut down to make way for reforestation.Does reforestation benefit the rainforests?
Reforestation by Teak plantations helps provide legal and sustainable alternatives to illegal logging, as well as provides awareness about the general benefits of growing and using wood as a renewable resource. This first batch of 50.000 trees is the ignitor to partly buy land and plant trees for rainforests that never will be touched by human hand again, if we are able to prevent it.
The Company
What are Ligaia’s plans for the near future?
With your support, and from what we learn in our launch, we hope to be able to take our platform to an even wider array of partner forestry organisations (like Teak Consulting S.A.), to offer an even wider reach of quality forestry products from a diversity of geographies. Moreover, in the near future, we also hope to be able to be able to create a secondary “social” marketplace, for customers just like yourself to meet each other, and be to be able to not only donate, but invest more actively in projects.Who is Ligaia? Where is Ligaia located?
Ligaia is a problem solving company focusing on sustainable forestry - founded in 2015, and located in Copenhagen, Denmark. We were born global with a great mission – and are currently launching a first public beta. If you are reading this – you’re probably one of the first few who are seeing this. So welcome! For our founding team, it has been a great journey building this so far, but we are only getting started. So things can and will get better! So please contact us a talk [at] ligaia.com if you would like to give us feedback. We would like to say in advance that we really appreciate it!What is Ligaia’s core mission? How does Ligaia achieve this?
Our core mission is to democratise access to ‘triple yielding’ donations that create impact for the People, Planet and Profit. We achieve our economic (Profit) and environmental (Planet) missions through enabling of primary forests, mostly in emerging markets, and our social impact through our network of quality partners. Our launch product is a bundled offering of Teak grown in Panama, which for US$68 which creates impact in all three objectives simultaneously.Who are Ligaia’s partners?
For our upcoming launch, we are working with Teak Consulting S.A., a reputable forestry partner committed to the highest standards of business practice. Teak Consulting S.A. also contributes to our social mission through the jobs they create in Panama in the plantation of primary teak forests (with above market conditions).
The Donation
How do I receive notice when the donation term has ended?
You have to keep your personal information, like your email address updated which are registeret with your personal certificate. We will contact you by email when the donation term has ended.Right of withdrawal and cancellation rights
Ligaia does not offer refunds. The right of returns does not apply to donations, whether cash or certificates. This donation will be issued to the chosen charities and the charity organisation is not required to grant a Doner’s request for a refund. Nor are the doner entitled to contact the charity organisation for refunds. If you register and donate with Ligaia platform and then change your mind, please let us know. We can’t give any refunds, but we can cancel your account, if you contact us in writing at support[a]ligaia.com). If you cancel your account your you will not be able to access your certificate in the future nor be able to vote for future donation distribution. The cancelation is permanent.What about fire and pests? Risks?
We are lucky that teak forests are fairly resistant to pests like termites, and is fairly fire resistant (up to a reasonable degree). Else, as far as possible – Teak Consulting S.A. tries to replant trees that have been affected for any reason at the beginning of their life cycle (up to 5 years) – those are the ones we can anticipate, plan for reasonably, and take the appropriate corrective actions. Over an on top of that, there are other risks which are more remote, yet unpredictable (e.g. Political risks).What happens if Ligaia or Teak Consulting S.A. goes bankrupt?
That’s been covered! The way that we do our business is that all our plantations are structured as separate legal entities – that are protected in the event(s) that Teak Consulting S.A. or Ligaia go bankrupt! The land is leased and can not be taken in the leasing periode which is the lifetime of the upbringing of a tree. 20 years. Your certificate is on a leased platform which is payed for in advance for all 20 years of the upbringing of a tree. Finally are the trees owned by the Ligaia Foundation and can not being touched by any without fulfilling the mission af reinvestment for trees or charity funding.How do I receive notice when the donation term has ended?
We will send you an email to notice you about the end and we will ask for you vote for how the payout should be reinvested to charity project chosen by us and our board.How is my money being invested?
Of our initial bundled product offering of US$68 with Teak Consulting S.A, US$18 of this will be channelled to social impact, administered equally through the two charities Pencils of Promise and UNICEF. Ligaia takes a US$13 fee for us to live on, and continue doing the work we do, like ensuring you certificate and keep you up to date. The remaining US$37 goes to Teak Consulting S.A, part for them to set aside money to upkeep their investment over the first 10 years, pay their workers, finally, to live on and continue the work they do sustainably.I would like to buy a sizeable amount – do I still have to do this online?
Great to hear! For purchases above US$2000, please contact us directly to arrange a private consultation with one of our members of staff. Given for the related transaction fees – this might work out better for you (and for us too!).How much potential return can I expect to be invested in future trees and charities?
All this is contingent on a number of factors that affect the quality of the plantation, but also largely on the price that we get for the trees as the end of the lifespan of the plantation. However, the historical returns to teak plantations can range anywhere between 8 - 14% per annum, over the entire period of the plantation. We believe that is a fairly handsome return that will be reinvested in planting new trees and donating to charities. Our plantagen of 50.000 trees sums up to plant approximately 500.000 new trees and roughly $10 million earmarked to projects voted by the donation community.
Who We Support
Can I purchase the products without a donation?
For this round of our launch, unfortunately no. However, as our product range and diversity grows, we will probably launch products that are heavily weighted much more toward economic objectives. However, as you can imagine, the social impact from job creation and environmental impact from carbon sequestration are inextricable features of ALL our products. So you could say that aiming for “triple returns” is practically “hardcoded” in our company DNA.Why does Ligaia work with Social partners like Pencils of Promise?
As previously mentioned, forestry and trees tend to take quite a long time to see some results – and we felt from our consultations with early customers that many of them wanted to create a social impact already upfront. As such, we have bundled all our products with a mandatory charity donation, administered through quality partners that achieve social impact already quite immediately – not long from when you make your purchase.
