Our Mission

Poverty is a struggle for survival. We empower the poor to overcome the most common form of poverty, because rural poverty is about making difficult choices. Because of this, families are put into crisis, ecosystems are devastated, and relationships are strained. It doesn’t have to be this way. Poverty and deforestation are deeply connected.

Life In Poverty

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Housing

Many rural families live in a simple house with one or two rooms and a dirt floor, 30 minutes or more from the nearest water source. They care for their homes with pride, but they provide little protection in a natural disaster.
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Nutrition

A typical family eats starches like maize or cassava every day. Family members get nutrients from beans or vegetables a few times a week. When finances are tight, families skip meals.
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Finances

Finances are tight and most families are only one emergency away from having to make a drastically difficult decision. There are usually no banks or opportunities to save money.
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Work

Rural farmers lose vegetation cover each year and see their soil lose fertility as a result. Urgent needs compete with their ability to restore environmental health.
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“There were no trees here and no one in the community was in the habit of planting trees. We didn’t do anything to conserve the soil and it would wash away with the rain. The land was degraded and snows from Kilimanjaro were melting and not returning.” Mungubariko TANZANIA
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Growing out of poverty

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“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Martin Luther King Jr.

Our Approach

Where We Work

We work in eight different countries that have been impacted by deforestation and poverty.

Stories From The Field