Mr. Rudel hopes to reorient reforestation policy in the tropics through a demonstration project at the eastern base of the Andes in Ecuador. Previously, organizations in the Andean countries have tried, unsuccessfully, to establish forest plantations of exotic species in the high altitude valleys. Few landowners planted trees in these places due to a lack of experience with forest products and the long time before harvests could begin. In the humid lowlands, trees grow faster. Landowners in these areas have had recent experiences extracting and selling commercially valuable native species from mature forests, so they can appreciate their commercial value and want to reforest their lands. In one village poor women have learned how to germinate and replant commercially valuable native tree species and, organized into an association, they have acquired some land for a nursery. Mr. Rudel plans to expand this operation and begin a concerted effort to establish a market for their seedlings among landholders in the region. By making the tree seedlings available to landowners, it is hoped that deforested lands will be reforested. This reforestation would provide economic opportunity for small landowners and ecological benefits for the environment by preserving native tree species and contributing to climate stabilization as carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by the reforested land.