How can you check a tree was really planted?
Funding the planting of a tree thousands of kilometres away means trusting someone you will never see. The question “does my tree really exist?” is a healthy one. It deserves better than a promise.
This article does not try to reassure you: it gives you the criteria to judge for yourself, whichever organisation you deal with.
What serious proof contains
Credible proof of planting is more than a nice photo. It brings together several elements which, taken together, are hard to fake:
- a photo of the planting itself, not an illustration or a general view of an orchard;
- a date, which should match the period of your order;
- a location, which really places the plot;
- the name you chose, linked to this specific planting;
- ideally a video, much harder to fake than a photo.
Each of these elements taken alone can be faked. Together and consistent with one another, they become a real guarantee.
Warning signs
Conversely, some signs call for questions before you pay.
- images that are too perfect, studio lighting, advertising-style framing: the field never looks like that;
- the same photo showing up for several customers, or from one month to the next;
- no date, no place, no name: an image without context proves nothing;
- clearly computer-generated images presented as proof;
- nobody you can reach if you ask for details.
An organisation that really plants has no reason to refuse a question. Often it is the answer to the question, more than the proof itself, that tells you the most.
Why real photos are not always pretty
An authentic planting is photographed by someone in the field, with a phone, often in full sun. The result is sometimes blurry, badly framed, the soil is dry, the seedling is small. That is not a flaw: it is exactly what a young planting looks like.
A young fruit tree does not look like the laden tree we imagine. It often takes several years before the first harvest. A photo showing a mature mango tree the day after an order would be a real reason for suspicion.
Follow-up over time
The planting is only a starting point. What sets a serious project apart is what happens next: is the tree watered, protected, replaced if it does not take? An organisation that talks about follow-up should be able to explain concretely who takes care of it and how.
This is also what gives the sadaqa jariya approach its meaning: a tree that dies three months after being planted produces nothing. The value of the act lies in its duration.
At Fruit du Paradis
The trees are planted in Africa, on the ground, by local teams. Each customer receives the photos of their planting, dated and geolocated, along with a video, in the name they chose.
These are images taken on site. No illustration and no generated image is ever presented as proof of a real planting. If you have any doubt about a planting, just write to us: the reply is made from the elements of the file concerned, not with a standard message.
A question asked before ordering is never out of place. It is even the best test.