Villagers on Principe, the ‘African Galapagos’, to be paid for protecting the ecosystem | Sao Tome and Principe

In the ruined colonial farm buildings of Porto Real, farm worker Kimilson Lima, 43, signed the agreement and is happy. “With this money we can have a decent floor in the house,” he said. “And indoor toilets.”

Lima is part of a groundbreaking experiment on the West African island of Príncipe, where villagers who agree to follow an environmental protection code will reap a quarterly dividend. To date, nearly 3,000 people have joined the Faya Foundation project, or more than 60% of the adult population. The first payment of €816 (£708) has just been made, a large sum of money on the island. “This will be truly transformative, both for nature and for people,” said the president of the autonomous region, Felipe Nascimento.

The distinctive nature of Príncipe’s flora and fauna has been known since Portuguese navigators discovered this 20-mile-long island in 1471. Uninhabited and separated from the African continent by more than 160 miles of ocean, Príncipe and its larger southern neighbor, São Tomé, had developed unique rainforests where giant land snails and crabs were among the main predators. Even today, new species are being discovered, earning them the nickname “African Galapagos”.

The Portuguese started a cocoa plantation economy, but after independence in 1975 this activity collapsed. In Príncipe, descendants of slaves and laborers from Angola and Cape Verde have become close-knit communities of subsistence farmers, camping out in increasingly decrepit colonial-era buildings. For the casual visitor it was picturesque, but problems increased for residents who were pushed deeper into unexplored parts of the island, cutting down trees and foraging for food.

Then, in 2010, South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth arrived, looking for a place to build a house, an idea that was quickly replaced by a philanthropic need to help. A former plantation house was converted into a hotel with staffed premises, but Shuttleworth didn’t stop there. His quest was to fund a type of sustainable development that also protected and improved the environment. “The normal path to development in Príncipe would be to cut down the forest and grow fair trade peppercorns,” Shuttleworth said. “But we want to reward them as stewards of their precious environment.”

That dream has now come true, much to the surprise of local skeptics. “They have been disappointed in the past,” says Jorge Alcobia, CEO of the Faya project. “They didn’t expect us to keep our promises.”

However, there is still a learning process on how to protect the environment. “We need to explain that this is not free money,” Alcobia said. “Dividends are reduced, for example, in the event of unauthorized tree felling.” Faya finances school improvements, organizes the moribund cocoa trade, and gives financial advice. “Many people here don’t have a bank account and have little experience managing money. »

However, all the money so far has come from the Shuttleworth fortune, a past and future commitment which amounts to around £87 million. Among the developments is a new village, where Clara Gomes and her daughter live. “My money is going towards buying a new kitchen and carpentry training,” she said.

His neighbor, Edmundo, sells cocoa to the project. “Before, I didn’t have anyone to buy it,” he said. “I hope they get the vanilla next.” He signed up for the dividend, but others remain skeptical. “It’s a monopoly,” shouted a passerby, “Is that good? What if everyone buys motorcycles and chainsaws?”

For one man, years spent foraging in the forest turned into a career as a wildlife guide. Yodiney dos Santos now leads scientific expeditions into the forest, discovering several new species, including a previously unknown owl. He knows very well how fragile this environment is. “My ancestors came here from Angola,” he said. “And, as food, they brought the edible West African snail, which then escaped. Now these snails are repelling the endemic snails of Príncipe.”

This unique social experience will be closely followed. “If this is successful,” Shuttleworth said, “I hope other irreplaceable ecosystems can benefit from this idea on a large scale.”