Dominican Town Explores Ecotourism

What’s a small, Dominican beach town to do when it seems its only options are to stay forever trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty or sell out to big name resorts that often cause more harm than good? The town of Miches in the Dominican Republic is exploring a different solution: ecotourism. See how the people of Miches are seeking sustainable, ecofriendly means of development in this video featured in the New York Times.

Dominican Town Explores Ecotourism

Plant With Purpose works in similar areas to help communities develop in sustainable, empowering ways that utilize local talents, gifts, and resources to transform the community.

Oaxaca Wednesday: No Small Tomatoes

by Aly Lewis

As the sun set over the hills of Rio Plaza, my world was about to be rocked—by a tomato greenhouse.

Earlier in the week our friend Godofredo of Llano de la Canoa showed us his family’s tomato greenhouse. I had been impressed with the size and production of the greenhouse; it produces almost 2,000 pounds of fresh, high quality tomatoes a year that Godofredo sells for a good price to his community. Little did I know Godofredo’s family business was small potatoes—or in this case, tomatoes—compared to what I was going to see.

The large, community-operated tomato greenhouse in Rio Plaza was huge. The tomatoes where suspended on vines, as if they were hanging from the ceiling, not growing up from the ground. I was reminded of a cornfield, but instead of rows and rows of corn, the place was sprawling with tomatoes. Lost in my own tomato admiring reverie, I couldn’t even hear—or see—the group talking on the other side of the building. It was that big.

We had been later than expected when we finally arrived in Rio Plaza, and almost everyone had left for home. Everyone except one patient farmer, Claudio. He patiently answered our questions, explaining that the plastic covering the mounds of soil is to keep the weeds out and the water in. When Graciela, one of our Oaxacan staff members, asked him how business had been, he responded with a simple “Try one” and a twinkle in his eye.

More striking than the massive scale of the greenhouse and the time and care and knowledge the abundant crop represents is the remarkable impact the greenhouse has on the community of Rio Plaza. Without a greenhouse they can’t even grow tomatoes in the chilly mountains of the Mixteca Alta. Most families grow—and eat—only corn, beans, and squash and malnutrition is a serious problem.

With PWP’s technical expertise and the community’s hard work, they are growing enough to supply the entire village with fresh, nutritious tomatoes year round. The greenhouse also brings in around $3,000 a year, providing a huge supplement to local income. With the added income, families can receive adequate nutrition, invest in other sustainable businesses, and even send their children to school.

Congratulations, Rio Plaza, you’ve put my Tomato Terror to shame.

Don Claudio smiles as he packs up tomatoes from the greenhouse.

The greenhouse in Rio Plaza, photo courtesy of David Overturf.

Top Right photo courtesy of Ruby Coria.

***

Aly Lewis is Plant With Purpose’s Grant Writer. She researches funding opportunities, writes proposals, and submits progress reports on funding received. She also writes the content for Plant With Purpose's Sponsor A Village program.

Alternative Gift Season!

We here at Plant With Purpose are committed to planning and attending alternative gift markets throughout San Diego during the holiday season. It is a chance for everyone to escape the typical necktie and frumpy sweater gifts during the holidays. Plant With Purpose offers people the opportunity to choose charitable gifts to donate in the name of their relatives, friends, and associates. You can plant 10 trees in your brother-in-law's name, donate a family garden for your mom, or buy a wood saving stove in your dad's name. You can also buy coffee that supports our Tanzanian programs and check out the Jedidiah t's that are out just in time for the holidays! These are some of the options you will come across at these Alternative Gift Markets! Here are some AGM’s that are upon us!

November 29^th—Shoreline Community Church in San Clemente, CA 9am-1pm.November 29^th—Faith Community Church, 7:30 Saturday night and 11:30 Sunday morning

December 4^th—Radvent at Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA 4-8pm

December 6^th and 13^th—Union Presbyterian in Powell, Wyoming

December 5^th and 6^th—Threshold Ministries in Santa Maria, CA 12/5 from 10am-2pm and 12/6 from 11am-1230pm

December 6^th—Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake, CA

December 6^th—La Jolla Presbyterian Church, San Diego

December 6^th—Village Church, 9am-12pm

December 6^th—University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA

December 6^th—St. Paul Episciple- San Diego, CA

December 6^th—St. Peters Catholic Church in Fallbrook, CA 8am-1pm

December 8^th—University of San Diego, 12-2pm

December 10^th—Greenwood Senior Center in Seattle, WA

December 13^th—Flood Church, all four services

December 13^th—Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church, 9am-1pm

December 13^th—San Diego 1^st Church of the Nazarene

For more information about any of these events or volunteering please contact Corbyn Small at Corbyn@plantwithpurpose.org.

Trees of Life

Plant With Purpose and Floresta have been featured in Christianity Today for the second time this month! For those of you who haven't been able to pick up a print version of the magazine, the article highlighting our transformational work in the Dominican Republic is now online. Check it out below.

Trees of Life

by Deann Alford, Christianity Today

The rain started to hit Jimaní, a town along the heavily deforested border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, in late May 2004. After three days and 20 inches of torrential rainfall, the surrounding water-saturated mountains suddenly released tons of debris. Flash floods swept up boulders, some weighing eight tons, and sent a 15-foot wall of water and mud down onto sleeping villagers on the night of May 24.

Within minutes, about 2,000 lives were wiped out. The dead were found lodged in trees and entombed in debris fields and sandbars throughout the impoverished border region in south-central Hispaniola, the island comprising Haiti and the Dominican Republic. On the Haitian side, the entire village of Mapou was submerged, becoming a shallow lake. On the Dominican side, the waters destroyed about half of Jimaní.

Since 1986, 12 flash floods have hit Hispaniola, and each has created similar havoc. Flash floods are problem enough, but starting about 25 years ago, peasants began using intensive slash-and-burn agricultural methods to cut down forests for fuel and charcoal. Slashing and burning significantly increases the chance of landslides, and Dominican officials began instating stringent regulations in the 1960s to limit deforestation. But on the Haitian side, 90 percent of trees have vanished across the landscape, creating a brown-green line visible in satellite photos of the island, and leaving border towns especially vulnerable during flash floods.

Click here to read how Plant With Purpose has joined with farmers in the DR and Haiti to restore their land, strengthen their communities, and plant trees to make the next hurricane less devastating.

Balboa Park Goes Green(er)!

by Mackenzie Miller I can’t believe it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet, and I am already looking forward to Christmas. Poor Thanksgiving. Shoved between Halloween and Christmas. Store displays are already red and green, with candy canes, mistletoe and lights springing up all over San Diego. Balboa Park is no exception. Sunday, November 22 is the annual tree lighting on the Old Globe Plaza, which includes performances by the cast of The Grinch! The tree lighting kicks off the season, immediately followed by “Balboa Park December Nights,” the largest free community festival in San Diego. December Nights is expected to attract more than 300,000 visitors between December 4th and 5th alone. In the spirit of the holidays, participating Balboa Park museums open their doors free of charge from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. both evenings. I know what you’re thinking. Crowds. Trash. LIGHTS. Christmas festivities – traditional as they may be –

CAN be a little wasteful at times, can’t they? That’s why I was SO happy to find that Balboa Park is going GREEN for December Nights this year! San Diego Gas & Electric is covering the center of the Plaza de Panama with an energy efficient canopy of LED holiday lights, illuminating the Park for the entire holiday season. SDG&E is also offering to trade free LED holiday lights for old incandescent ones! As if that weren’t enough, guests will receive a free Home Energy & Water Savings Kit and a reusable shopping bag. The Balboa Park website gives great tips for San Diego Public Transportation, too. Who knew that the holiday season could be so energy-efficient? Thanks for looking out for the environment, San Diego! For more information on Balboa Park December Nights, and the Tree Lighting ceremony, visit: http://www.balboapark.org/

***

Being a Good Samaritan

by Kate McElhinney

I have been meaning to post this article since early November. That’s when my friend, Shannon Leblanc, shared a truly amazing and touching story of how she found a camera and managed to return it to its owner.

NBC 7/39 in San Diego found out about this incredible story, and here’s the article. It’s inspiring to me that there are still good Samaritans out there, and I am proud to know one and share her story.

Tireless Good Samaritan Tracks Down Camera Owner

Amateur detective reconnects daughter with last pictures of father

By STEVEN LUKE

Shannon LeBlanc of San Diego and Maggie Flynn of Las Vegas have never met. But thanks to a lost camera and some amateur detective work, LeBlanc gave Flynn a most precious gift: the last pictures of her father.

The mystery began when LeBlanc was returning to her office from lunch and noticed a homeless man snapping pictures on a new Samsung digital camera. The man told her he'd found the camera, so she bought it from him for $20, determined to find the original owner.

"It just really stinks to lose a camera and memories and pictures, so I just felt compelled to find the owner of that camera," she said.

LeBlanc looked for a name or address on the case. She contacted the Samsung with the serial number, hoping it was registered. She posted info on Craigslist's Lost and Found. Nothing worked.

So she turned to the pictures.

"It was the same girl in a lot of the pictures, so I knew it was her camera," LeBlanc said. "And I found the 'bingo!' which was a picture inscribed in the sand here in San Diego -- 'Maggie loves Louis' -- so I knew the couple's names.

"At one point in the middle of the week, I was like, 'This is a lot of energy I'm spending on this,' but I just felt I really wanted to find them."

Then LeBlanc found a picture at a local restaurant. She picked out the name of the restaurant, Greystone Steakhouse, from a menu in the picture, and had the date the photo was taken. She called the restaraunt and hit the jackpot. There was a reservation for a Maggie on that date, and the restaurant had her cell-phone number.

LeBlanc left a message and got a call back within minutes.

"She asked if she could get sappy with me for a second, and I said sure, and she said I'm out to dinner with my mom and some of my other family members, because tonight would've been my parents 27th wedding anniversary," LeBlanc said.

"Well, the thing about it is, my dad just died a little over a month ago, and my last pictures with him were on the camera," Flynn told LeBlanc.

Flynn still can't believe someone would take the time and effort to do such a thing.

"There's not many nice people out there who would go out of their way to do that," Flynn said. "They would just take the camera and forget about it, so I'm very grateful she did that for me."

"I had goosebumps" LeBlanc said. "God was involved. It was definitely meant to be that she got her camera back."

***

Kate McElhinney is the Marketing Coordinator for Plant With Purpose. She plays an integral role in executing the company’s marketing campaigns and PR efforts. Kate also coordinates the annual gala and oversees the production of the company newsletter, The Sower.

Oaxaca Wednesday: Building a Better Life

by Aly Lewis

With Plant With Purposeʼs help, the people of Ojo de Agua are literally building a better life for themselves and their families. Community members have joined with Plant With Purpose to install a carpentry shop to manufacture furniture. Now, what on earth does a carpentry shop have to do with restoring the environment and lifting people out of poverty? A lot actually.

I recently had the opportunity to meet with an innovative group of five men—all related—who are now making diverse, quality pieces of furniture that they can sell in the community to supplement their income. With the goal of simultaneously providing vital income sources and decreasing the family’s environmental impact, Plant With Purpose provided eight weekly sessions of professional carpentry training to this hardworking family. The family contributed 40% to the cost of the

professional machinery, and it has been well worth the investment. Selling firewood or other types of unprocessed wood provides little return on investment, forcing farmers to cut more trees or undergo the harmful process of making charcoal to feed their families. A nice piece of furniture can be sold for $100—much more than the $8 for a bundle of charcoal.

Unlike the smoky haze, dirt, and grime of charcoal making,

the shop was clean and orderly, a safe, healthy place to practice a craft. For Edén Miguel López, the youngest of the relatives, the carpentry shop has been a dream come true. Edén beamed with pride and gratitude as he shared that he had “dreamed of becoming a carpenter since I was a little boy.”

Edén and his hardworking family is an inspiring example of the innovative ways people are teaming up with Plant With Purpose to utilize their resources and talents to transform their communities.

Edén and his family have also started an agroforestry farm with Plant With Purpose's help.

Eduardo, Plant With Purpose staff member, explains how the project provides vital jobs and quality wood products to the community. It was probably a good thing their newest armoire wouldn’t fit in my duffle bag…

Tree bien! Unbeleafable!

by Aly Lewis

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now. So the blog has been a bit text heavy the last few days. In honor of all you bullet-point and picture-loving people, today’s post will be a tree seedling photo montage. Farmers have joined with Plant With Purpose to plant over 4.6 million trees, restoring their land and transforming their lives.

Here’s a sampling of our most photogenic seedlings:

Oaxaca from a different point of view

by Corbyn Small

Now I know it's not Oaxaca Wednesday yet, but since I also spent a week in Oaxaca a few weeks ago, I wanted to share with our faithful bloggers some of my reflections as Plant With Purpose's Outreach Coordinator.

On October 21^st, myself and some members of the PWP staff and about 10 individuals interested in learning what Plant With Purpose does internationally went to Oaxaca, Mexico for 5 days. This was my first trip out of the country as an employee of Plant With Purpose and it was everything I could have imagined and more. I had been sharing stories and testimonies with everybody that I met to get them excited about the transformational development taking place through PWP staff. However, everything I shared was second hand, either from reports, updates, or fellow staff, and all that I knew and shared was based on my trust in the 25 years of impeccable historical credibility that is Plant With Purpose today.

Well I am glad to be another source of encouragement to the rest of you as I say now that my experience was exactly what everyone said it would be. I saw the cisterns, latrines, chicken coops, and wood saving stoves. I met the families, students, rural farmers, and Plant With Purpose staff. It was all just as I had read and heard about! Hundreds of Plant With Purpose programs being implemented successfully by communities!

Over the course of our trip we visited communities in the mountainous Mixtec Alta region about a three hour van ride north of Oaxaca city. We intentionally started by visiting communities who have been working with Plant With Purpose for only 1-2 years. Then over the next 2 days we visited communities that had been participating in programs for 3-5 and 9-10 years. Plant With Purpose's overall strategy is to reach "transformational development" in 10-12 years. To explain very simply what this means, I want to share the differences between the 1st and 3rd day of our visits.

On the first day I saw many of the aforementioned projects, including cisterns and latrines. We

met many people who were happy to see our Plant With Purpose Mexico staff and each community hosted us most graciously. Throughout the day we received many thanks and blessings from community officials and leaders. On our second day we met a farmer named Claudio and his wife Milsa, whose current occupation was making charcoal. They were participating in Plant With Purpose programs and were very eager to be involved in anything else that PWP had to offer. On the third day we traveled to Loma Chimedia, a community who has been working with us for 10 years. Here we sat in a community center, which was planned and executed primarily by Loma Chimedia residents, and read timelines for the historical progress achieved by the community. We saw a vision statement that ultimately said their goal as a community was to work together to make it possible for their children to stay and not be forced to migrate.

I saw the difference between the first day, where there was more focus on individual projects that were being taught by PWP staff, to the second day where a family living in poverty was trying to transition from the harmful and difficult life of a charcoal maker to a more sustainable and healthy source of income, to the third day where a community of empowered local individuals was the driving force behind everything they did. Each of these communities were eager to participate, but it takes time and teamwork to create community change.

I saw our Mexico national staff coming alongside these individuals, each at different stages of their 'transformational development' and I saw the active engagement of community officials as there is a team effort to improve the quality of life for entire communities.

I loved seeing the expertise of our staff in every different capacity from teaching sustainable agriculture techniques like composting and agro-forestry to helping increase economic opportunity through women's craft groups and micro-credit groups. I could go on for days (and if you know me well enough I probably already have), but the main point is not that I went on a trip and had my whole world changed. The main point is that this trip took my faith and trust in Plant With Purpose and reinforced everything I have learned about transformational development and effectively restoring relationships between people, the land, and God.

As Plant With Purpose's Outreach Coordinator it is my job to reach out to students, volunteers, churches, and individuals with the goal of raising awareness, involvement, and funds. All of these increase our ability to continue service in the 220+ communities where Plant With Purpose works worldwide. I hope that you all are enjoying our blog and that you use it as a resource to learn and share what is being done in so many lives all around the world.

Make sure you don't miss Oaxaca Wednesday when Aly, Plant With Purpose's grant writer, dives into details about our programs in Mexico!

Mustache+November = “Movember”

by Mackenzie Miller

A strange wave of facial hair has taken over the University of San Diego Campus. What started as a little after-Halloween-fuzz has now escalated into a grizzly-like demeanor for any of my formerly clean-shaven male friends. What’s with the lack of personal hygiene, lately? A little thing called “Mustache-November,” or “Movember.”

This innovative opportunity is being presented to the entire USD community to rally for a cause and change the “face” of men's health. Benefiting The Prostate Cancer Foundation, Movember is a fun way to raise awareness for an incredible cause. During the month of November, all gentlemen involved refuse to shave their faces, in an active statement to fight against Prostate Cancer.

This is how it works. After finding the willing sponsor(s) of choice (ladies on campus, family, friends, local donors, etc.), $1 will be donated to The Prostate Cancer Foundation fund for every day the participants do not shave! Assuming the gentlemen involved last the full 25 days with either a full beard or mustache, a full $25 donation will be made on their behalf. They will also qualify as a member of the Communal "Shave Off" held on November 24^th.

Yes. Communal SHAVE OFF!

So while I’m getting used to my friends sporting mustaches and beards, I’m reminded every time I look at them that my sponsorship is going to help save lives. Sometimes the whackiest, most innovative fundraisers make the biggest impact.

It got me thinking about innovative ways we could get the word out about PWP. But aside from living in trees (which I know many DO actively partake in to protest) I can’t think of anything as creative yet relevant as growing a beard to fight for a cause.

What about for Plant With Purpose's Outreach Coordinator? He's got the 'stache, he's on a Movember team raising money for prostate cancer.. what could he do to support Plant With Purpose as well? Any Ideas?

A Grounded Faith

Plant With Purpose and Floresta have been featured twice in the November issue of Christianity Today! You have to check out the article on our programs in the Dominican Republic in the print edition, but you can read about our Oaxaca programs on the CT website.

CT reporter Jeremy Weber traveled to Oaxaca last summer to report on how "Mexican ministry branches out beyond tree planting to bring healing to souls in a barren land" in his article titled "A Grounded Faith". Click here to read the article.

Oaxaca Wednesday: Firsthand Ripple Reporting

by Aly Lewis

I’d like to take this Oaxaca Wednesday to tell you about the time I became Buddy the Elf. It was mid-afternoon in the village of Monteflor in the Mixteca highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico. We were standing in a circle listening to the Plant With Purpose local staff introduce the town’s community leaders. I was in my own world, rapidly scribbling down every last quote and name and description of the place so that I would have an ample supply of writing material to use once I returned to my job of elaborating on Plant With Purpose’s programs from my pseudo-cubicle. I was just completing a page of Spanglish scrawl when a new community member was introduced: Senor Gumersindo.

My Buddy the Elf transformation was instantaneous as it took everything in my power to not jump up and down yelling heatedly, “I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!”

Now I know Senor Gumercindo is no present-delivering, elf-befriending Santa Claus, but I sure did feel like it was Christmas morning. You see, a couple months ago for one of my Ripple Reports I wrote about this mysterious man named Senor Gumersindo who had introduced his neighbor to Plant With Purpose and subsequently transformed his life. I had received a few line testimony from the field mentioning Senor Gumersindo’s pivotal role, but that was it. I wrote the blog post and hardly gave him another thought. I never imagined I would get to meet him.

So back to my Elfish excitement. I couldn’t believe this modest man with his smoothed slack, pressed white shirt and backpack was the Senor Gumersindo I had written about. His identity was confirmed as Raul, our Family Garden and Greenhouse director, described him as “la voz de Misión Integral”—the voice of Plant With Purpose. Not only was he the man I had written about, he was even more influential in the Plant With Purpose story than I had imagined.

After the introductions ended and we began touring the village, I pounced on the opportunity to learn more about my legendary Plant With Purpose promoter. At first Senor Gumersindo hung back shyly, but when I approached him and asked him about Plant With Purpose’s projects he wasn’t shy at all. It turns out Senor Gumersindo is from the village of La Muralla, a two hour walk from Monteflor. Plant With Purpose has been working in his community for a number of years and he told me about all the direct and indirect benefits of Plant With Purpose’s projects. He told me about his family garden that is producing amazing vegetables and how his cousin grew the biggest onion he had ever seen. He talked about the lack of economic opportunities in La Muralla and the ways community members are finding sustainable ways to conserve resources and make money. As he explained the details and benefits of an ecological latrine better than I ever could in a grant application I could see why Raul would coin him the voice of Plant With Purpose. He was genuinely beaming as he talked about Plant With Purpose’s expansion to the community of Monteflor (at his suggestion) and how the number of participating families has grown from six to 70 in the past year!

So thank you, Senor Gumersindo and all of the farmers I met who are spreading the word about Plant With Purpose’s transformational program and projects. It turns out the multiplier effect really is alive and well in our Mexico program (and I can rest assured that my whole career hasn’t been a lie). Farmers really are sharing the knowledge they learn with their friends and neighbors. They’re multiplying the scope and depth of our work and encouraging others to do so as well. This is just one of many examples of Plant With Purpose’s ripple effect that is fostering long-term transformation in communities around the globe.

I’ll eat some candy corn to that!

"Shop till you drop"?... but I don't want to drop.

Dave Bruno, an active and enthusiastic Plant With Purpose advocate, is running a photo contest through the month of November and $100 goes not only to the 1st place winner, but to Plant With Purpose as well! The contest will run till November 27th and the winners will be announced the first week of December. We'd love to see our Plant With Purpose bloggers participating in the contest!

We want to join Dave in his mission to challenge consumerism, especially during the holidays when American's spend 450 billion dollars every year on presents for friends, family, and co-workers. Think about how you can creatively challenge the norm through submitting some photos to the 100 Things Challange.

Here's the low down:

Theme:

Challenging Stuff. Mass consumerism is a way of life. Photos should challenge assumptions about consumerism.

Prizes:

1st Prize: $100 plus a $100 donation to Plant With Purpose Trees Fund in winner's

name (Donation provided by PLNU's Center for Justice and Reconciliation)

2nd Prize: $25

3rd Prize: $15

Rules:

• Submit photos at www.facebook.com/100thingchallenge
• Make photo's caption "challengestuffphoto09"
• Limit of 3 submissions per entrant
• No nudes
• Must be able to demonstrate permissions/copyrights for photos
• 

Images are examples of submissions at 100 Things Challenge

Brandon Ian Smith (boots)

Cory Verner (Gucci)

Transformational Development: The Purpose of Plant With Purpose

by Aly Lewis

The other day I was telling a good friend about the work Plant With Purpose does in other countries. I said something like, “we work in X amount of villages in Oaxaca, Mexico,” to which she replied, “and what is work?”

And—even though I talk and write about Plant With Purpose almost incessantly—I found myself at a loss for a succinct way to boil down exactly what it is Plant With Purpose does. I mean, our work includes a million different aspects and nuances. We work with the poor. We work to restore the land. We work with our local partners. We work with communities. We work on specific projects: tree planting, sustainable agriculture training, business management, stove and cistern and latrine building, partnering with churches, and a smattering of other projects and initiatives.

From the looks of it, we’re workaholics. But what, exactly, is the point—the purpose—of our work?

Luckily for me and my feelings of Plant With Purpose-explaining-inadequacy, we’ve started a training series as a staff to go through the book Walking With The Poor by Bryant Meyers. Granted we’ve only gone through the first chapter, but Meyers’ discussion of what it looks like to come alongside the poor in a process called transformational development has already illuminated, explained, and articulated so much of what we do—and why we do—that I feel like not sharing what we’re learning (or relearning) would be a crime.

And if the term transformational development doesn’t mean anything to you, don’t worry. I’d never heard the term until coming to work at Plant With Purpose and even then the exact definition was still a bit hazy. I’ll do my best to do no harm in my explanation (Bryant Meyers gets a whole book; I get a blog post).

Most of us know or have a general idea of what development means. As Meyers says, “When most people think of development, they think of material change or social change in the material world.” We think healthcare, access to water, education, and economic opportunity—all good things. But at Plant With Purpose our goal, our purpose, goes beyond helping people in rural countries to “get more things.” That’s where the transformation part comes in.

We believe that all of us—not just poor people or rich people or people who speak different languages or live in different countries—are on this journey of transformation. A journey of learning—and choosing—to live and enjoy life as it was intended to be. A journey to “recover our true identity as human beings created in the image of God and to discover our true vocation as productive stewards, faithfully caring for the world and all the people in it.”

There are four important things to remember about this journey:

1. We are all on this journey. We are all a work in progress.
2. This journey takes work. It is not a free float down a lazy river, but a tough, worked-for journey that requires effort and patience and intentional choices and sacrifices.
3. Transformation includes every aspect of our lives: the physical, the social, the emotional, and the spiritual. It includes our relationships with each other, with God and with everything around us.
4. (We think) it’s worth it. The result is an abundant life, a meaningful life; life as God intended it.

So when we talk about transformational development and Plant With Purpose’s role as an organization, we’re referring to our goal of working with rural communities to seek “positive change in the whole of human life materially, socially, and spiritually.”

That’s it. That’s what we’re about. That’s what this “work” is that we do. With a heaping dose of humility and a hearty dash of respect we seek to come alongside individuals and communities to bring about this positive change, both in their lives and in our own.