<![CDATA[Agroforestry-based carbon credit development offers opportunities to combine climate change mitigation with rural economic development. However, existing studies have mainly examined carbon trading regulations, carbon sequestration valuation, and agroforestry productivity, leaving limited understanding of how carbon credit initiatives are implemented institutionally at the village level and connected to Village Original Income (PADes). This study examines village readiness, institutional governance, and community empowerment in agroforestry-based carbon credit development, particularly their role in connecting community economic benefits with village revenue systems. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed in five regencies in West Java Province. Data were collected through field observations, interviews with village governments, farmer groups, cooperatives, facilitators, and community members, discussions, and documentary studies. Outreach and technical training were treated as community capacity-building activities. Data were analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, interpretation, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that village readiness is supported by land availability, community literacy, technical capacity, and local institutions. However, community-level economic benefits from agroforestry-based carbon credit activities do not automatically translate into formal village revenue. Most benefits remain managed by farmer groups and cooperatives, while Village-Owned Enterprises (Bumdesa) and village regulatory mechanisms remain limited. This institutional gap constrains the connection between community carbon benefits and PADes. The study contributes to carbon and rural institutional governance literature by demonstrating that the potential economic benefits of village-based carbon credits depend not only on land and community capacity but also on institutional arrangements that connect community benefits with formal village revenue systems.]]>
