The Sahara Forest Project Foundation sets out to facilitate and promote research, knowledge and the use of technologies, which enable revegetation and the creation of new jobs through the profitable production of food, water, biomass and electricity.
Sufficient production of key resources, such as clean water, clean energy and a sustainable production of food, represent some of our time’s greatest challenges. It is not trivial how we go about to produce these products, and much too often the effort to solve one issue comes at the expense of another. The need for a more holistic approach to resource management is crucial and The Sahara Forest Project Foundation was initiated to address multiple challenges with design and engineering inspired by nature.
This is done by combining already existing and proven environmental technologies, such as solar power technologies, saltwater cooled greenhouses and technologies for establishing vegetation in arid areas. In this way The Sahara Forest Project is designed to utilize what we have enough of to produce what we need more of, using deserts, sunlight, saltwater and CO2 to produce food, water and clean energy.
Traditional production systems are set up as a linear process, turning resources into products, often with a waste-stream as a consequence. The Sahara Forest Project integrates technologies so that waste-streams from one industrial process are used as a resource for another. In this way we bring about a significant change to the traditional production systems and allow for a kind of growth that goes beyond being simply sustainable. We call it Restorative Growth and define it as revegetation and the creation of green jobs through profitable production of food, water biofules and electricity.
The concept of Restorative Growth has already gained significant support as an innovative way of thinking about resource use and has helped The Sahara Forest Project to enjoy significant international high-level support from decision makers, business and media alike.
The Sahara Forest Project Foundation acts as an incubator for new initiatives that bring the concept of Restorative Growth and The Sahara Forest Project technologies out to the markets. These initiatives are allowed to use the name and logo of The Sahara Forest Project under the patronage of the Foundation. The initiatives must operate on the basis of a true triple bottom line approach, where its activities are good for the environment, good for development and provide long term economic viability.
The SFP Foundation has established a set of Ethical Guidelines applicable to all commercial Sahara Forest Project Initiatives.
The work of The Sahara Forest Project Foundation is funded by philanthropic donations.
