Saying no to loggers: How the Kondu community protect their forest
35 years ago, loggers arrived in Kondu, a remote community in the Papua New Guinea rainforest, carrying envelopes of cash.
They offered clan leaders 50 Kina each (around £9) to cut down their trees. For families facing hardship, it felt like a lifeline. Many accepted, not knowing the long-term cost that logging would bring to their land or their way of life.
Saipa Lomani was just four years old when this happened. His grandfather, one of those who agreed to the deal, later made him promise: if the loggers ever returned, Saipa must find a way to say no.
Saying no to rainforest logging
Last year, they did return. But this time, the community was ready to say no because they already had a stronger, more sustainable partnership with Cool Earth.
We’ve been working with Kondu since 2023, supporting the community to protect their rainforest on their own terms. Saipa, now a community facilitator, says: “We don’t want the loggers to take our rainforest. We want to protect our trees and animals. And that’s what Cool Earth wants too.”
Our approach is simple: empower the people who know the rainforest best. The community of Kondu receives solar lights, biomass stoves, and solar streetlights, making everyday life safer and easier. Every six months, we also send funding directly to the community so families can afford essential items like rice, soap, cooking oil or school uniforms.
The risk of loggers will always remain
In a place where earning money means trekking six hours to the road and travelling two more to the nearest town to sell peanuts and greens, this support is transformational.
It’s a lot of work for little return. Especially when signing a contract with a logging company can be made to feel so easy.
“Even after many years, we remain vulnerable to logging and oil palm companies because its an easy way to make money. But we learned our lesson from our grandparents, and we don’t want to make the same mistake again.”
The bigger picture
For the people of Kondu, the rainforest isn’t just landscape. It’s life. The people of Kondu harvest fruits, build homes from sago palm, and rely on medicinal plants. Cultural knowledge about weather, wildlife and healing is passed down through generations. Protecting the rainforest means protecting all of this.
And the global stakes are enormous. Kondu’s rainforest spans 26,700 hectares (roughly the size of Birmingham, UK) and contains more than 15 million trees. These trees absorb an estimated 12 million tonnes of carbon every year. Losing them would devastate the community and accelerate climate chaos worldwide.
Since 2008, our community-led approach has helped protect 2.1 million acres of rainforest across Papua New Guinea, the Peruvian Amazon, and the Congo Basin, preventing around 500 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
These big numbers rely on individuals like Saipa, and our ability to support them in saying no to logging.
You can help communities say no to loggers
Five villages in the Papua New Guinea rainforest have reached out to us for support, determined to say no to loggers and keep their rainforest standing. And with your help this December, we can back them up.
Throughout December, every donation you make is doubled, helping us provide even more support to the communities like Kondu, who stand on the frontlines of rainforest conservation.