The Forest Garden Approach (FGA)  is one of the most efficient and effective restorative agriculture development tools used today. It is a four-year, phased training methodology with its own professional certification available to everyone, everywhere. Certified Specialists work directly with groups of impoverished farmers to develop their own agroforestry practices. These practices can generate an average income increase of 400 percent while benefiting and restoring the environment. It is designed to maximize fruit and crop yields and provide consistent income and nutrition while also improving the quality of the land being farmed.


The FGA has three main phases:

Phase I: Protection ​Farmers build living, green fences to protect their Forest Gardens from roaming livestock and erosion. They learn to ​plant fast-growing fertilizer trees throughout their sites, often in alleys among their crops, to segment the field and further stabilize their soils.


Phase II: Diversification Farmers diversify their production by planting higher-value vegetables, fruit, nut, and timber trees while learning increasingly advanced skills to meet the family’s priority nutritional needs and market opportunities.


Phase III: Optimization​ Farmers learn about advanced Forest Garden management and conservation techniques that optimize the long-term health and productivity of the land.