Tanzanian Churches Plant Dignity

This has been a year of exciting growth and new initiatives for our transformational program in Tanzania. We are excited to share with you about a new church partnership that is already producing abundant fruit.

Earlier in the year, the Seventh Day Adventist church in Tanzania invited us to facilitate Entrepreneurship and Stewardship seminars at four of their camp meetings. The Entrepreneurship and Stewardship program is designed to equip participants with entrepreneurship skills and knowledge on how to think creatively and become good stewards of God’s creation. Approximately 2,700 people participated in these seminars and learned about God’s love for His creation and the steps they can take to restore, replenish, and protect their land. Participants organized a follow up meeting to further plan and facilitate creation care activities, brainstorm innovative business ideas, and set goals to become better environmental stewards in their own lives. The program has spurred striking attitude changes especially in regard to the way farmers view their own role in caring for creation. As a result of the trainings, community groups joined together to plant a record number of trees, install hundreds of wood-saving stoves, and establish their own teams to monitor and protect local water sources. It has been inspiring to watch community members take greater initiative and ownership of Plant With Purpose's projects as they seek to serve God and take an active role in overcoming poverty.

We desire to help the rural poor discover their true identity as children of God and recover their true vocation as faithful and productive stewards of gifts from God for the well being of all. As a result of this new partnership, we have been encouraged to watch as men, women, and children begin to develop self-confidence, restore their identity and vocation, and work to create and sustain just and peaceful relationships. Individuals and communities are discovering and releasing their God-given talents, utilizing their unique gifts to take hold of their problems, develop their own solutions, and ultimately build a better future. We witnessed this transformation in the hearts and minds of those who participated in our Entrepreneurship and Stewardship program this year. Believing God has given them the talents and resources to work toward a better future, participants took the initiative to create their own committees to meet and address many of the spiritual, economic, and environmental issues plaguing their area. This restoration of people’s dignity has been one of the most encouraging and rewarding aspects of the project.

The Vuvuzela: Echoes of Change in East Africa

by James Ellett, Grant writing intern

If you watched or even were around someone watching the World Cup this year, you no doubt heard the incessant droning of what is best described as the sound of a cloud of angry killer bees.

The source of this sound, the vuvuzela, has become quite a controversial subject since the first (and seemingly only) note broke into the ear canals of soccer (sorry, football) fans across the globe. People have raised arguments that vuvuzelas cause the spread of germs and disease, cause serious hearing damage, and can even be used as weapons. Players have complained of the distraction that the constant din creates on the field. The controversy has caused this descendant of the kudu horn to be banned at various sporting venues around the world--from Wimbledon to Yankee Stadium.

And yet, the vuvuzela plays on.

Try as foreigners might to ban its monotone symphony, the horn remains very much a part of South African soccer. It refuses to silence itself in the face of oppression. It plays as a reminder of the unshakable resolve of the people of the African continent. The ubiquitous hum of the vuvuzela is an illustration of the culture, life, and indomitable spirit of the people who play them.

Nowhere is this spirit more evident than in two of the poorest African nations: Burundi and Tanzania. These two countries have seen everything from poverty and corruption to assassinations and genocide. The World Bank ranks Tanzania and Burundi numbers 192 and 213 in terms of average annual income, respectively. There were 213 countries ranked.

Dire as the situation in these places may seem, it is not hopeless. Plant With Purpose has been working in these poverty stricken countries to give the people there the tools that they need to pull themselves out of poverty and heal their environment. The farmers that we work with are shining examples of the hope that exists even in the poorest of areas.

An exciting development has been made in these countries that gives us further reason to hope. The East African Community (EAC)--made up of the Republics of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the United Republic of Tanzania--have put into effect this month an East African common market. The goal of the common market is “to enable the free movement of people, capital and services and abolish import duties” according to BBC News. As of July 1, all barriers to trade among the member nations have been removed. The idea is that this will encourage trade and cooperation among the members of the East African Community, much as the adoption of the euro did in Europe.

While this is an exciting development, and it is encouraging to see these poor nations banding together to improve their situation, the market is not without risk. Some are concerned that Kenya will dominate the other, poorer, member countries. People are worried that jobs will leave countries such as Tanzania and Burundi, and go to the stronger Kenyan economy.

Please keep your prayers with the people of East Africa, and specifically with Plant With Purpose’s programs in Burundi and Tanzania. Pray that this common market creates unity and economic health in the EAC, and that Plant With Purpose will be able to work effectively in this new climate to bring about the healing that is so desperately needed.

To learn more about East Africa’s common market, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8769566.stm

To learn more about the East African Community, visit http://www.eac.int/

Transformation in Tanzania!

Plant With Purpose programs officer, Sarah Ferry, recently returned from a visit to our programs in Tanzania and Burundi. Those of us in the US office had the privilege of hearing about her trip today as she shared her beautiful photos and encouraging testimonies.

Here is one story of transformation from Sarah’s visit to the village of Komolyongoe in Tanzania:

Elli Masia joined the Plant With Purpose Village Community Banking (VICOBA) group in 2007. She is 57 years old and lives in the community of Komolyongoe. Elli has been involved with bio-intensive agriculture (double dug raised vegetable beds), which has increased her vegetable production and created surplus for her family to eat as well as sell.

Through VICOBA Elli has received loans to send her children to school and loans to improve her business. She received a business loan of $38 and bought feed for her chickens. After their growth she was able to sell 12 chicks for approximately $8 each. After repaying her loan she had made a profit of $58. She then received a second loan for $115 that she used to purchase more chickens and a calf. When the calf grows into a bull she will be able to sell it for $380.

Elli says it is not only her income improving, but also her diet has improved greatly because she is now able to buy more diverse foods and is able to grow more at home. She has also reinvested the income from her vegetables into her livestock to keep her business growing.

She is grateful for the economic security she has experienced since joining the VICOBA group. With her savings, she is able to handle any problems that may arise. She no longer has to depend on neighbors or family for support, and never has a problem sending her children to school.

Improved Livelihoods in Tanzania through Organic Agriculture

by Kate McElhinney

Plant With Purpose is excited to announce that we have been awarded a grant for $500,000 from the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) for our programs in Northern Tanzania!

The goal of this project is to see improved livelihoods through organic agriculture over a three-year time period. Initially, 300 households will participate. The main objectives will be to build the capacity of farmers by enhancing organic vegetable farming techniques and entrepreneurial and business skills, as well as develop the market capacity and create long-term strategies for getting organic vegetables products to markets.

Educating farmers about the benefits of organic farming, organic agriculture marketing principles, and the identification of the crops that have the highest potential for newly identified markets such as tomatoes, baby vegetables, mushrooms, and carrots will be key in helping them to improve their livelihoods. Households, especially women-headed, will become empowered by being able to provide a sustainable means to improve their livelihood. Additionally, this project will help farmers in Tanzania to plan long-term strategies for expanding the marketing of their crops.

With the help of this grant, over time we hope to see a 20% increase in the percentage of participating households that can afford 3 meals a day throughout the year, and a 40% increase in the percentage of households with income from organic agriculture coming at least 9 months of the year.

This will make a huge difference in the lives of the rural poor in Tanzania, and we are grateful for our partnership with USAID and the opportunities this grant will bring. We will be sure to keep you posted on the progress of this exciting program!

To learn more about the communities we work with in Tanzania, click here.

Kate McElhinney serves as 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.

Let's Make a Deal

by Aly Lewis

When I was little, my younger brother, who would begrudgingly clear his dinner plate and haphazardly splash water on a few greasy pans when asked to do the dishes, would miraculously transform into a busy beaver when given the chance to earn some dough. Always looking to make a deal, my brother would do any chore, no matter how difficult or disgusting, as long as it was in his economic best interest. He would weed eat through blackberry bramble in the mid-summer heat or rid the backyard of dog poop if it meant he could buy more chocolate milks, Snickers, or Pokemon cards.

As my parents quickly discovered, money is a powerful motivator. Why should it be any different in the developing world?

Plant With Purpose understands how effective, and necessary, economic incentives can be. In working with communities to reforest watersheds and restore their environments, Plant With Purpose recognizes the need for “environmental” activities such as reforestation or switching to eco-friendly latrines to be economically profitable. And, unlike my brother, these families aren’t just trying to stock up on junk food or buy the latest Heely’s roller shoes; for hundreds of thousands of rural poor around the world, finding ways to make money is a matter of life and death.

That’s why Plant With Purpose’s integrated program empowers rural farmers to restore productivity to their land in order to create economic opportunity out of environmental restoration.

One exciting illustration of how Plant With Purpose makes environmental restoration an economically profitable endeavor can be seen in our Tanzania program. Plant With Purpose has trained over 1,000 Tanzanian farmers in sustainable agriculture techniques. As a result, farmers have experienced improved soil quality and increased crop yields. In fact, 76% of farmers working with Plant With Purpose have witnessed improved soil quality on their land. The improvement in soil quality has also led to increased yields ranging between 50% to 200% more production, and enables farmers to extend their growing season, creating greater economic stability.

Building on the program’s success, Plant With Purpose is collaborating with USAID to implement a three-year program that will help farmers maximize local markets to receive more money for the crops they grow, improving their livelihoods and fostering long-term growth and prosperity. As farmers, especially women, build their financial and agricultural skills as well as their confidence, they are able to contribute to family income and well-being in significant ways, such as providing their families with quality fruits and vegetables to consume or sending their children to school with the extra income they are able to earn from increased yields.

This is just one example of how Plant With Purpose empowers farmers to create economic opportunity out of environmental restoration. By combining personal transformation, economic renewal, and environmental restoration, Plant With Purpose is bringing hope and dignity to the rural poor.

Now that’s a deal my brother would be proud of!

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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. Pictured to the left is Aly (the tiger) and her two brothers on Halloween of 1990-something. Her deal maker brother is the little dragon.

Do you have to spend money to make money?

Paul Massawe, a farmer from the village of Masia Mamba, Tanzania, was spending too much money on his farm. His corn crop not only required excessive amounts of expensive fertilizer, but planting only one type of crop year after year was depleting his soil. Depleted soil meant he had to use even more expensive fertilizer to produce enough corn to support his six children. He was trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation.

With Plant With Purpose's sustainable agriculture training, Paul learned that he didn't have to spend money to make money. Plant With Purpose taught Paul which trees and crops to grow that require less water as well as help improve his soil. Now, Paul also grows green beans, carrots, onions, and kale, which are better for the soil and require less fertilizer. Through the help of Plant With Purpose, Paul has been able to reduce the operating cost of his farm while simultaneously providing added income and nutrition for his family. He has is now able to send his children to school, and he has begun building a house for himself and his family.

Paul says, “I am grateful for Plant With Purpose who has come to teach the villagers improved farming techniques and has given them a wider variety of crops for the land.”

A Taste of Transformation

Read how Plant With Purpose is transforming the lives of farmers in Malindi, Tanzania:

Zabihu Abraham Kanyaka is the chairman of organic agriculture in the village of Malindi, Tanzania. With the help of Plant With Purpose, Zabihu has been able to improve his farm, increase his income, and provide for his growing family! Before Plant With Purpose, Zabihu was using industrial fertilizers and pesticides and letting his chickens roam free without a constant food supply. Now, Zabihu has been trained in organic farming, how to construct ridges to help the land retain water, and how to make organic fertilizer and double dug vegetable gardens. Zabihu has had great success with all of the training he has received and it is now much easier for him to farm on the steep slopes and eroded soil that covers most of his land.

Zabihu says, “Before, with the traditional methods of farming, I was not able to grow enough food to feed my family. Now, I have enough for my family and can sell the surplus to villagers and schools in the area. The money we save on food plus the money we earn help us pay for school for our 5 children!”

To equip more farmers like Zabihu to build a better life for their families click here.

New Plant With Purpose Office Opening Soon in Malindi

We are excited to announce that Plant With Purpose’s Floresta-Tanzania program will be opening a new office in the village of Malindi, thanks to our friend Mark Portrait and his project, Friends of Malindi. Mark has been actively involved in raising funds and awareness for Malindi ever since he first visited about a year ago. His website, www.friendsofmalindi.org, sells delicious and affordable coffee with proceeds going toward directly benefitting Malindi. Below are pictures of the house in the village that has been acquired and renovated for the new office.

As Mark writes about on his blog: “This represents a major step for Plant With Purpose. The journey from the national office in Moshi takes over 3 1/2 hours by motorcycle. And that’s weather permitting. During the rainy season the trip is much more arduous. As you can imagine, it’s been extremely challenging to meet the needs in this area from a distance. With a local office to serve Malindi and the surrounding villages, the mission of reforestation, organic gardening, community banking and cistern construction gets a major boost. A local staff will run the office and we now have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to make travel from the Malindi office to all the surrounding hamlets a reality.”

You can help support the village of Malindi by purchasing a bag of coffee from www.friendsofmalindi.org. Every cup of coffee you drink brings much needed education and support to the amazing people of this area in Tanzania. Thanks for your support!

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Kate McElhinney serves as 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.

Mighty Mamas

In honor of International Women's Day (officially March 8, but there are events going on nationwide all month), we would like to share a post written by our wonderful new Grant Writing Intern, Stephanie Rudeen, on Plant With Purpose's efforts to empower women and improve maternal health. by Stephanie Rudeen Pregnancy and childbirth kill more than 536,000 women a year, more than half of them in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. That is equal to ten Yankee Stadiums full of people or the entire population of Wyoming! I grew up in a household full of women, so it naturally startles and hurts me to find that so many women die each year from a lack of maternal health care. Africa has some of the world’s highest death rates in pregnancy and childbirth. For each woman who dies, 20 others suffer from serious complications, according to the W.H.O. Tanzania, one of the countries Plant with Purpose works with in Africa, has roughly 13,000 maternal deaths annually. Although this isn’t the worst record in Africa, it is still a major area of concern. Maternal health is a complex issue and has many causes, from a lack of maternal healthcare to a lack of knowledge to even agricultural problems. I am new to Plant with Purpose, but it encourages me to see that this organization also lends a hand towards battling maternal mortality. According to womensenews.org, developing countries also require water to combat the maternal death rate crisis. According to their article, “Water is Key to Reducing Maternal Mortality,” not having enough water can put stress on a woman physically as well as psychologically which leads to a greater chance of death during childbirth. It gives me hope to see that organizations like Plant with Purpose work to bring clean water to the rural poor, especially in countries such as Tanzania. Plant with Purpose works to bring access to more clean, safe water to women and children, as well as allowing access so women and children do not have to walk as long of distances to reach clean water. Another step in reducing the maternal mortality rate is through the empowerment of women. Growing up surrounded by women was a constant reminder of how important women and mothers are to a community, and how important it is to make sure every woman has the chance to live a full and healthy life. A very important part of my life is my pride in being a woman, and I am happy to have begun working with an organization that also supports women’s empowerment, especially in rural communities. Plant with Purpose empowers women to start their own small businesses and offers women a network of support and business training. Although this may not be a direct step in the direction of lowering the maternal mortality rate, I believe every time a woman becomes more knowledgeable and empowered in her life, she also becomes healthier, and more self-aware and confident. While the maternal mortality rate is a complex and multi-faceted issue that concerns me very deeply on a personal level, it brings me hope to work with an organization such as Plant with Purpose. Plant with Purpose is able to indirectly, as well as directly, help women become empowered and improve the health of women in Africa and countries such as Tanzania. Decreasing the maternal mortality rate cannot be accomplished overnight, but it is through continuous effort and hope that women’s lives in developing countries can be changed for the better. For me, every mother saved in any country in the world, is one community that has been improved for the better.

Fast Facts: Tanzania

Plant With Purpose has been working with rural farmers in Tanzania since 2004. In just six years, families have joined together to plant 569,116 trees, start 2,524 compost piles, grant 2,392 loans through 56 community savings and loan groups, construct 2,185 fuel-efficient stoves and 32 cisterns, and establish 1,663 family gardens in 29 villages. We have been encouraged by the growth and enthusiasm shown by the farmers and communities where we work, and anticipate that the program will continue to grow as more and more farmers begin to learn, apply, and share the techniques they have learned through Plant With Purpose's unique training programs. Here are some fast facts on Tanzania and the problems Plant With Purpose seeks to address:

TANZANIA FAST FACTS

Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique

Population: 41,048,532

Total area: 947,300 sq km (twice the size of California)

Population below poverty line: 36%

Agriculture is a keystone of Tanzanian life, supplying more than 40% of the gross domestic product and providing employment to nearly 80% of the population.

Religion: Tanzania's population consists of roughly one-third each Muslims, Christians and followers of indigenous religious groups.

Art: Two styles of Tanzanian art are known around the world: Tingatinga & Makonde. Tingatinga are the African paintings painted with enamel paints on canvas. Makonde is a modern sculpture style.

Due to frequent drought and volatile economic conditions, farmers in Tanzania have been forced to take desperate measures in their farming methods in order to survive. Coffee production, once a key export, has been abandoned as low international market prices have driven coffee farmers out of business. As a result, farmers are becoming increasingly reliant on firewood and charcoal as income sources. In exercising the only methods they know to sustain their families, farmers are paradoxically destroying their primary source of sustenance, creating an inescapable and destructive cycle of abject poverty and environmental destruction.

To join with Plant With Purpose's efforts to empower Tanzanian farmers to restore their land, improve and diversify their incomes, and build a better future for their families, click here.

A Story of Hope

In honor of December 1st, World AIDs Day, we want to recognize the importance of holistic solutions to poverty that work together for every individual involved, including those struggling with HIV. Today's blog is about Leni, a Tanzanian woman who perserveres to provide for her family.

Plant With Purpose’s mission is to transform the lives of the rural poor by providing environmental solutions to humanitarian problems. As most of you know, we teach sustainable agriculture techniques that restore damaged land, improve farm yields and increase incomes. As a result, the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental damage is replaced with a cycle of health and hope.

Healthy soil is one of the keys to higher yields. It’s true here in the US and true in the third world. One of the things that I truly enjoy about working with Plant With Purpose is discovering new ways in which our work overseas “crosses over” to home gardening and organic agricultural techniques here in the U.S. I discovered one of these recently in Tanzania in the shape of the “Bag Garden-“ (pictured above). There are lots of cool things about the bag garden. It allows you to grow a lot of vegetables in a small space, it saves water, keeps pests away and lasts about 4 years.

For Plant With Purpose’s farmers in Tanzania, the bag garden does all of this and more- it also provides an additional source of income, as extra vegetables can be sold in the local market and provide much needed funds for school fees and books, medical bills and other necessities.

In the case of Leni, pictured here with one of her bag gardens, the bag garden is one of the things literally saving her life. Leni is living with AIDS. Abandoned by the husband who infected her and ostracized by her community, she is nevertheless bravely continuing to raise her children. Government-provided drugs are controlling the disease, but for lasting improvement in her health, medicine must go hand in hand with improved nutrition. That’s where the bag garden comes in. Since starting to work with Plant With Purpose, Leni has put on almost 30 pounds and has hope for the future.

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Article written by Doug Satre

As Director of Outreach Development, Doug Satre is responsible for overseeing Plant With Purpose’s fundraising and marketing efforts, working with the Plant With Purpose staff, donors and foundations to build awareness and financial support of Plant With Purpose’s work to transform the lives of the rural poor.

The Justice Project

by Kate McElhinney Looking for a meaningful book to read? The Justice Project explores how Christians can respond to the call for justice and change in the world. This recently released book contains a collaboration of ideas from contemporary authors including Brian McLaren, Lynne Hybels, Bart Campolo and Rene Padilla who are dedicated to solving social justice issues. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of justice such as extreme poverty, racism and human rights. We are excited to announce that Plant With Purpose Tanzania Program Officer Sarah Ferry is included in this project. In chapter 26 titled "Just Countryside", Sarah explains how justice from the roots up can affect life in rural areas. Focusing on Plant With Purpose's work in the Dominican Republic, specifically in the village of Zumbador, Sarah highlights how farmers who live in extreme poverty and depend on the land for survival are forced to work on the least desirable plots - steep and treacherous hillsides. Desperation forces them to cut down precious trees to burn and sell for charcoal, which depletes nutrients from the earth, drys out the land, and makes the soil vulnerable to erosion. This causes poverty to spread even more as farmers suffer from the degraded environment. Sarah points out how this cycle, left unchecked, has created some of the most extreme poverty in the world. Haiti is one such example where deforestation has left people unable to farm, utterly broke and starving, with some people so desperate they literally eat dirt just to curb their hunger. Sarah writes, "This image of God's children eating the dust of the earth is a powerful icon of injustice. This is the ultimate sign that humankind and the environment have disengaged from the relationship for which we were intended." To read more, you can purchase a copy on Amazon.com. (Helpful hint: If you purchase this book through the Floresta website, a percentage of the sales will go toward helping Plant With Purpose to combat injustices throughout the world.) Happy reading! PS You can become a fan of the Justice Project on facebook by clicking here.

Ripple Report: Hope is Spreading in Tanzania

by Aly Lewis

I'd like to start the week by reviving our Plant With Purpose Ripple Reports. This week's report features the inspiring story Dina Kokerie, a mother of five school age children from the village of Ashira in Tanzania. After Dina’s husband abandoned the family, she was left in a desperate situation. Unable to provide for her family’s needs, she was forced to borrow money from relatives. After hearing how Plant With Purpose's work had benefited the nearby village of Masia Mamba, she took the initiative to gather a group of 40 people and invited Plant With Purpose to help them form a Village Community Bank in Ashira. She is now secretary of the group, which meets weekly to encourage consistent savings and be trained in small business and agricultural skills.

The results in Dina’s life have been dramatic. Using the money from her goat breeding business she started with a VICOBA loan, Dina now supports her five children and is able to pay for all their school fees—which amount to over $1,000 a year! Even better, she says, “Now I can look to the future with confidence, since I am able to stand on my own. I am so happy that Plant With Purpose has come to my community.”

This week's Ripple Report is dedicated to all of the talented and proactive community members that seek us out to improve their lives and transform their communities. Click here to see how you can partner with farmers from around the world on this journey of hope.

We wish you the best, Dina!

Ripple Report: The Eco-Friendly Marriage Booster

by Aly Lewis

The women of Tanzania are all abuzz with talk about this great new Plant With Purpose project that is transforming their lives. They claim their family life has changed for the better and even their marriages are improving. What’s this innovative, life-changing project that is empowering women and strengthening marriages, you ask? Is it a marriage class through our discipleship program? What about a micro-enterprise project designed to empower women to start small businesses? How about farming techniques that increase yields so that mothers can feed their starving children?

Guess again. The cause of improved marriages and increased self-esteem is nothing more than our Fuel-Efficient Stove project. Stoves? Really? How on earth can a stove improve a marriage and what on earth does a stove have to do with self-esteem?

Don’t worry, we were just as surprised as you.

PWP staff in Tanzania first introduced the project as an eco-friendly technique and communities caught on fast. Families replace their traditional stoves (or fire pits) with fuel-efficient stoves that use 50% less wood. This is great news for families with limited resources: burning less wood means more wood to sell for extra income or, even better, less trees to cut down in the first place. Because they produce less smoke, the stoves also lead to a decrease in respiratory disease in women and children. PWP staff members were excited about the environmental, economic, and health benefits of these stoves. What staff didn’t realize, however, was that the greatest benefit was yet to come. It turns out that these stoves have not only improved families’ physical health and economic situation, but improved marriages as well. With the stoves producing less harmful smoke, the husbands are spending more time with their wives in the kitchen. Marriages are improving, relationships strengthening and deepening, and women are improving their self-esteem. Since less time is spent collecting firewood, women have more time to spend with their families, get involved in the local community, and invest in small business opportunities.

This week’s Ripple Report is dedicated to the unforeseen benefits of fuel-efficient stoves: the eco-friendly way Tanzanian women are improving their marriages and boosting their confidence.

Ripple Report: Farmer Rides the Wave of Innovation

by Aly Lewis This week’s Ripple Report comes from Moshi, Tanzania. Located at the base of the breathtaking Mt. Kilimanjaro, Moshi is an area of great beauty, yet in recent years the area has been plagued with both poverty and deforestation. In 2004 Plant With Purpose began working in the region to help desperate farmers reverse this vicious cycle of poverty and deforestation and transform their lives. One of PWP’s most successful projects in the region has been biointensive agriculture training. This training equips farmers to make better use of their land, increase their yields, and improve their livelihoods. So great was the interest in these techniques that many of the original trainees immediately shared their knowledge with family members and neighbors. After learning these new techniques from a friend, one farmer, Fanueli Lewi Minja took the training one step further. Showing great initiative and innovation, Fanueli decided to make use of his new knowledge and expertise by starting his own biointensive agriculture business. Fanueli found that he could charge a small fee to establish biointensive vegetable beds for other community members. This way he can help his neighbors increase their yields and improve their land while making money to provide for his desperate family. Talk about a win, win situation! Community development is the process of empowerment, and Fanueli is a great example of a man who was empowered to take charge of his life and solve his own problems. And the best part is we’ve seen hundreds of leaders and innovators emerge as a result of PWP’s community development program; (to keep with the ripple metaphor) Fanueli is just one drop in the puddle.

Tanzania in 2008

by Corbyn Small Over the last year, Plant With Purpose witnessed significant growth an success in every aspect of the Tanzania program as small farmers worked together to transform their lives through Plant With Purpose's training, opportunities and encouragement. Most notably, the Village Community Banking (VICOBA) groups continue to grow and thrive. These groups bring communities together to raise capital for small loans to improve their farms and start small business initiatives. Women make up 80% of these community banking groups, and have reported an increase in self-esteem as they use their own profits to contribute to the household income, send their children to school and creatively implement business ventures.

Some stats from last year in Tanzania

-Plant With Purpose worked with community members to establish 30 tree nurseries for the purpose of growing new seedlings for reforestation and agroforestry efforts. By the end of the fiscal year, these nurseries housed a supply of 81,191 seedlings.

-125,891 trees were planted in reforestation efforts, bringing the program's 4-year lifetime total of trees planted to 273,405.

-Plant With Purpose worked with Tanzanian communities to operate t total of 23 VICOBA groups, which collectively distributed 530 loans in the total amount of $59,909. Group members contributed $59,422 of their own funds to use for these loans.

-532 fuel efficient stoves were provided to households for cooking and heating, reducing local wood consumption and improving respiratory health among community members.

-Plant With Purpose worked with farmers to construct living barriers and 363 soil contours, protecting hillsides from soil erosion.

-952 compost heaps were established, providing a safe, low-cost source of organic fertilizer for use on farms, tree nurseries, and gardens.

Thank you for your support of the Plant With Purpose programs, to learn more about Tanzania and the work being done there click here http://www.plantwithpurpose.org/