Celebrating the start of Arbor Month, Nashua Mobile and Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), will be planting 490 trees in Molote Village, Magaliesburg on Thursday, 1 September at the Molote Community Hall at 10h00.

This would not be possible without Nashua Mobile’s commitment to lowering their paper usage and carbon footprint. In September 2008, in a drive to convert its customers to electronic billing, Nashua Mobile committed to donate R10 for every customer that opted to receive electronic rather than paper bills to FTFA to plant trees for disadvantaged communities.

“Nashua Mobile’s latest commitment of R383,480not only enablesFTFA to educate communities towards more sustainable lifestyles,” according to Joanne Rolt, Trees for Homes Manager. “We will also be able to plant a further 4,262 trees across South Africa, bringing the total number of Nashua Mobile trees planted to 11,540.”

Molote Village in the North West province will receive the 490 trees that will start off this year’s Arbor Month. Before they were forceably relocated in 1966, the Bakubung people, had a profitable and sustainable agricultural history. In 1994, thirty years after being relocated, the Bakubang returned to their ancestoral land. In 2002, 98 houses were built in Molote, 300 community members stay in these houses and their biggest challenge is thateighty percent of them are unemployed. In addition, education is limited to the younger generation as there is one primary school and a crèche in the village.

Therefore the community leaders are striving to bring projects to their community that will empower individuals to create jobs for themselves and reinstate their sustainable lifestyle to what it once was.

Says Tim Walter, Executive Head of Marketing at Nashua Mobile: "Planting trees is important both for environmental sustainability and for improving the quality of people’s lives. Nashua Mobile is committed to reducing our carbon emissions and to greening and beautifying South Africa because we see it as a way to help both the planet and people in the communities where we do business."

Says Thapelo Ishmael Moloko, Chairman of the Agriculture Committee:“I am very excited about the project. We have an orchard with 600 peach trees and in future we hope to sell fruit to our local market. If the community takes care of their own fruit trees they can add some of their fruit to ours, and make money.”

Also during Arbor Month, and in celebration of Heritage Day and Moving Planet, FTFA and Nashua Mobile plan to plant a further 1,000 trees in Soweto on 24 September.

For more information, to attend events or for pictures post event, please contact Joanne Lee Rolt on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 011 656 -9802