international development
Discover real-world stories of communities overcoming poverty and deforestation! Plant With Purpose, a Christian non-profit, shares examples of environmental sustainability and stewardship from all around the world. These stories show us how faith, resilience, and sustainable practices transform people’s lives as well as their environment. As rural families overcome poverty and heal the planet, embrace empowerment, renewal, and hope.
Ethiopia
Ethiopian Church Forests: An Ancient Key to Biodiversity
In the past 20 years, Ethiopia has been devastated by deforestation. Extensive agriculture, cattle herding, and increased population pressure, reduced forest cover to just 4.2% by 2000. Since then, the species richness of Ethiopia’s forests has been declining, and the remaining forests are fragmented, impoverished, and have only a fraction of the diversity they once had.
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Photo Essays
How Cacao Trees are Transforming Lives in the Dominican Republic
At the end of March, Plant With Purpose hosted a Vision Trip to the Dominican Republic (DR). I, along with several donors and Plant With Purpose U.S. staff, had the privilege of visiting our partners in the DR and seeing the incredible work they’re doing to transform their communities. Just a few hours into our […]
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About Our Work, blog, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Haiti, Sustainability, Tanzania, Thailand
The Value of Multilateral Partnerships
Plant With Purpose partners are autonomous but interdependent On the day that Plant With Purpose was established in 1984, two organizations were created as partners. Floresta International was founded in San Diego, California, and would later become known as Plant With Purpose. In the Dominican Republic, Floresta Incorporada was launched, where it continues working to […]
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All, DR Congo, Meditations, Updates
Welcoming the Stranger: the Congolese community we could all learn from
Their past was riddled with conflict. Their future is about security and abundance. Nobody would consider Kakumba an easy place to live. Simply getting to it takes extensive climbing up steep hills and mountain sides, on trails that are often inaccessible due to rain… or worse. It wasn’t long ago that the conflicts that have […]
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All, Living Sustainably, Meditations, Resources, Sustainability, Updates
There's no such thing as a sustainable trend
Environmental concern is urgent. It is also timeless. Have you ever caught yourself thinking, wow, this sustainability trend sure is taking off, isn’t it? You’d have good reason for thinking that. Fidelity, the investment giant declared last year as the year “sustainability went mainstream” declaring that “professional and private investors alike are realizing that sustainability […]
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All, Sustainability, Updates
3 Big Reasons to Protect Small Forests
We hear a lot about the importance of preserving the Earth’s major rainforests. What about forested areas that aren’t as vast? The Amazon. The Australian brush. The Indonesian palm rainforests. The Congo Rainforest and Basin. A lot of these major rainforests are familiar names to people concerned about the fight to protect the planet. And […]
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All, Resources, Sustainability
Sustainability challenges and advantages of each Enneagram type
Perhaps you’re familiar with the Enneagram. If not, then the rest of this article might not make much sense, and it might be worth getting familiar with the personality profile system that has seen a resurgence in popularity over the past few years. With origins that go back to the church centuries ago, the Enneagram has […]
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All, Sustainability, Updates
Sustainability cannot be achieved without indigenous leadership.
First Nations communities lose the most during climate change but often have the most insight on how to respond. “These fires have obliterated entire forests, and, with it, they’re obliterating the cultural memory of our Aboriginal groups,” declared Bhiamie Eckford-Williamson, a Euahlayi indigenous research associate in Australia. “The burning of these scarred trees is one […]
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All, Sustainability, Updates
Do alarming messages do more harm to environmental campaigns in the long run?
Is that even the right question to ask? “The world was just issued a 12 year ultimatum on climate change” “A terrifying look at the consequences of climate change” “Climate crisis: 11,000 scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’” The above headlines ran on The Smithsonian, The Economist, and The Guardian, respectively. Together, they represent a common […]
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All, DR Congo, Sustainability, Updates
Climate Change in the Eastern Congo: A current look at impact
Recent reports outline the extreme vulnerability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to climate change. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can be one of the hardest places to live. Widespread hunger, the outbreak of epidemics, and political instability have led the UNDP to rank the central African country’s development at the lowest […]
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All, Updates
Generosity and partnership make all the difference
Our work over the past year is a testament to your contribution. Plant With Purpose has just unveiled the fiscal year 2019 edition of its Annual Report. The report is a summary of program results, successes, and outputs over the past fiscal year. As a publication, it serves as a measuring stick of outcomes, a […]
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All, Thailand
The danger of drought: How Thailand’s farmers are coping with an unending dry season
The rains aren’t coming when they should Weeks go by and Thailand moves further into what is supposed to be its rainy season. Except it hasn’t rained. The people still wait. Especially the farmers, for whom the arrival of rain is needed to feed their families and to bring in an income. This drought isn’t […]
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All, Our Response
A Decade of Growth and Generosity
At the very beginning of the decade, Plant With Purpose was in the process of a major rebrand. While our team was contemplating our identity as an organization moving forward, world events reminded us of the urgency of our work. One of the strongest natural disasters of the decade struck Haiti in January. This left […]
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About Our Work, All, Meditations, Why I Support
Three Purpose-Filled Adventures we saw in 2019
It’s been a great year for adventurers seeking to restore the planet while challenging themselves. From paddle boards to bikes to running trails, we saw so many of you in the Plant With Purpose family embark on creative fundraising adventures. All funds raised went towards supporting our mission of restoration. Will Allen and Emily Bark […]
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All, Meditations
Renewal runs through the story of Christmas
What does Advent have to do with sustainability? The season of advent and the anticipation of Christmas allow us to think about our lives and our world in the framework of hope, waiting, and redemption. When it comes to the conversation surrounding the environment, these themes are definitely at play. Advent is a season where […]
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