When Ato’s Purpose Group in Ethiopia’s Ziragn watershed started working, its members didn’t anticipate just how far the small group would go. Their beginning was modest, with neighbors gathering to learn together. They started planting a few seeds on communal land, and seeing what might grow. For Ato, a committed member of the group, those first seeds signaled the beginning of real, lasting change.
The Purpose Group was formed as part of a grassroots approach to improve household food security and strengthen livelihoods. The program included Farmer Field Schools: a hands-on, learn-by-doing approach where farmers receive training and then experiment in their own fields. Each member received a small vegetable seed kit with tomato, carrot, lettuce, and Ethiopian kale. The investment was tiny, but the hope was big: that these seeds would demonstrate new possibilities and inspire neighbors to scale up together.
Ato remembers life before joining the group.
“In the past, our daily meals were mostly injera with shiro or simple stews with very little variety,” he said. “Meals with eggs or meat were only for holidays when we could afford them.” It was a diet familiar to many families in the region: filling but limited, lacking the vegetables and nutrients children especially need.
But when he joined the Purpose Group, Ato began seeing new things take root.
Encouraged by program facilitators, the group began planting seeds together on communal land. Members also applied what they learned at home, integrating vegetables into their household gardens. This shared approach is central to how Plant With Purpose works. Our model is based on partnership. It is a co-investment in which communities contribute their time, labor, and leadership, while supporters provide training, tools, and technical resources. We walk together, side by side.
Ato explained, “With support from Plant With Purpose, our Purpose Group received high-quality vegetable seeds. We planted these seeds together on communal land and also used some in our home gardens.”
Learning shoulder to shoulder with neighbors built confidence. Seeing vegetables sprout from ground that had produced only staple crops for years gave the entire group a new sense of possibility.
For Ato, the impact was immediate and personal.
“Using the tomato seeds from Plant With Purpose, I planted and harvested a good yield,” he said. “These vegetables have diversified our meals and improved both the nutrition and the enjoyment of what we eat.”
“My children and I now have meals with tomatoes, kale, and hot peppers. The difference is clear.”
These vegetables did more than improve taste. They strengthened the family’s health, reduced their dependence on the market, and brought a sense of dignity and possibility into their home.
Ato still grows staple crops such as teff, wheat, maize, chickpeas, lentils, and faba beans. Those remain important and central to his family’s diet. But supplementing those foods with home-grown vegetables has transformed their meals and increased their self-sufficiency.
Where there was once only enough to eat, now there is enough to share and to sell. “Beyond feeding my family, I’ve been able to sell some of the tomatoes,” Ato said. “That helps us cover basic household needs. Sometimes I use that income to buy other ingredients like hot peppers from the market.”
This is at the heart of Plant With Purpose’s model: lasting change that builds on itself. With better soil, better crops, and better training, families can turn the corner from survival to stability, and then from stability to growth.
By working together, Ato’s Purpose Group has helped each other solve problems, improve techniques, and make better decisions about what crops to plant. In this way, the entire community grows stronger, not just individual households.
For Ato, this is only the beginning. “I am already preparing to increase my production by saving different types of seeds,” he said. Seed-saving ensures that the progress doesn’t depend on outside supplies.
Like many farmers in dry regions, Ato knows that access to water will determine the future of his vegetable farming. He sees the potential. He believes in the work. And he is willing to invest his own effort and resources to keep growing.
Ato’s journey reflects what we see in communities around the world: lasting change happens when people grow together. The Purpose Group did not wait for a large grant, a new building, or a complex system. They started with small seeds and shared learning. They invested their own time and labor. And supporters like you co-invested.
Ato’s words speak for themselves: “Today, I can confidently say that my household’s food security has greatly improved… now, things are different.”
His story is not only about vegetables. It is about dignity. Partnership. Hope is taking root in the community. It is about families discovering that with the right tools and relationships, they can grow a different future.
