Empowerment groups help both people and the planet
Wherever Plant With Purpose works, participants join empowerment groups. These groups support environmental restoration efforts with economic development through loans and savings. As community members save their extra income in shares and lend money to each other to generate further income, poverty
Rio Garza once suffered from the environmental conditions that plague many rural communities around the world.
Problems like deforestation, poverty, and soil erosion create difficult lives for people living in rural areas around the world. This is the reason why rural poverty remains a challenge to eradicate, even though the
Twelve years ago, the village of San Isidro Trementina was devastated
The small, rural community in Mexico was made up of farmers. When the land was well, the crops grew and the people were well. When the land suffered, so did the crops and the people in the village.
Then,
It started with a different vision.
About twenty years ago, a visit to the community of Ojo de Agua, “the eye of water” in Mexico’s Mixteca region would have looked quite different. The steep hillside would have been brown and dry.
For years, the people of Ojo de Agua relied
This summer, Plant With Purpose has had the treat of having a team of highly skilled and mindful interns around our San Diego office. These interns bring with them unique perspectives and rich experiences.
Our Communications Intern, Caillie, was drawn to Plant With Purpose by her concern for some of
As a young girl, Carolina pleaded with her father to allow her to go to school.
He had not planned on sending any of his daughters to school. School fees were far too expensive and he believed home was the place for women. Immediate needs dictated life. Barren and unproductive
Violence plagued the village of Poblete, and disrupted Juana’s family.
Juana, her husband, and their three children lived in Poblete, located in one of Mexico’s poorest areas which suffered from widespread violence. For years, the village experienced tension and crime. When environmental damage caused its farms to produce less food,
Without trees, the rural poor are often stuck in a cycle of poverty and environmental loss.
The conditions of poverty create a strain on land, and exhausted land threatens the livelihood of the farmers who live there.
This was a scenario that challenged Eleuterio, a seed producer in Coatecas Altas,
Plant With Purpose invests heavily in savings groups, equipping families with tools needed to manage personal finances, access loans when needed, and save. This pays off. The average Plant With Purpose family is over twice as likely to save. On average, these participants have enough emergency savings to
In 2017, over 39 million people were food insecure, mostly due to environmental damage and natural disasters. Crops, trees, and animals are the top sources of income for rural families that rely on the land for a living. Plant With Purpose sustainable agriculture programs help families living in
Trees are vital, but half of the world’s tropical forests have already disappeared. At the rate we’re going, there will be no more rainforests in under a century. But we have hope. Plant With Purpose is reversing this trend. While the earth loses forest cover, participating communities gain