SPRING 2014

INNOVATION FUELS MOTIVATION

HOW THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX IS CREATING MOMENTUM IN TANZANIA

FEATURES
Innovation Fuels Motivation Redemption Through Trees

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DEPARTMENTS
Directors Corner Breaking News Spotlight: Gwoma, HT

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ACROSS AFRICA, PLANT WITH PURPOSE PROGRAMS ARE IMPLEMENTING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO EMPOWER RURAL FAMILIES.

ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS TO HUMANITARIAN PROBLEMS

DIRECTORS CORNER
ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS TO HUMANITARIAN PROBLEMS

THE SOWER ISSUE #103

A WOMAN FARMER IN BURUNDI STANDS IN HER NEWLY PLANTED FIELD. Plant With Purpose, a Christian nonprot organization, reverses deforestation and poverty around the world by transforming the lives of the rural poor.

Doing good is important, but it is just as important to do it well. It wasnt too long ago that charities were given the benet of the doubt regarding effectiveness. If your intentions were good and you were doing something, that was enough. However, as Bryant Myers wrote in Walking With the Poor, The poor deserved better than gifted amateurs. The percentage of donations spent on overhead has been the most common way of evaluating charities. As a result, some very ineffective and sometimes harmful work has been funded around the world. Today, however, many donors are not just asking how much of their money is going to the intended recipients, but also what it is doing once it gets there. I think we have one of the best programs for holistic transformation in existence. I have a great deal of respect for what many other organizations are doing, and there are many ways to alleviate poverty, but I believe that what are doing is particularly effective. That is the principle reason that I am still here after 20 years. More than once I considered working for another organization, but the unique combination of environmental, economic, and spiritual impact has kept me at Plant With Purpose. However, my feelings about our effectiveness are not enough. We need empirical data to show that we are making positive environmental, economic, and spiritual impacts on the com2

munities where we work. Technology is making measurement of some of these impacts easier. For example, we are now using satellite imagery and an index called NDVI to measure changes in forest cover around our communities, and learning that we are in fact having a positive inuence on the forest. We have also measured the resulting improvements in water quality. We are using outside evaluators and a recognized index to measure the effectiveness of our Village Savings and Loan Association program, together with other indicators to measure increasing wealth in communities. Crop yields and spiritual growth are also being evaluated. Much of this is done on an ongoing basis, but every three years we do a more comprehensive evaluation. We are currently in the planning phase for our next triennial impact evaluation, which will be conducted this fall. As we have measurements of our impacts, we can continually improve our work, testing various options and incorporating new techniques. Over the past few years one of the most exciting things has been seeing our programs get more effective, bringing about greater transformation for more people, less expensively. That is a trend I expect to continue in the coming year. It is also a commitment we make to all of our supporters and beneciaries: as excited as we are about our work, we are not content to remain where we are. We will keep getting better.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Scott Sabin scott@plantwithpurpose.org DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: Doug Satre doug@plantwithpurpose.org MARKETING AND EVENTS: Becky Rosaler becky@plantwithpurpose.org

STAY CONNECTED: 4747 Morena Blvd. Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92117 Ph: 800.633.5319 Email: info@plantwithpurpose.org Web: plantwithpurpose.org Tw: @PlantWPurpose Fb: facebook.com/PlantWithPurpose

EMAIL MEDIA@PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN:

Share your Plant With Purpose story Host an event Become a Plant With Purpose advocate

Leave a Legacy.Please consider including Plant With Purpose in your wills and bequests. Contact Doug Satre: doug@plantwithpurpose.org.

Scott Sabin Executive Director

copyright 2014 Plant With Purpose

SPRING CAMPAIGN:

FROM POVERTY TO PLENTY

PLANT GARDENS TO GROW HEALTHY FAMILIES

Planting seeds. Preparing soil. Families around the world are readying their gardens. The same tilling of soil and sowing of seeds is taking place in Tanzania under the backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Although traditional Tanzanian staple crops like corn and bananas keep children fed, 42% still experience stunted growth due to lack of nutrients. But family gardens change this statistic. Spinach, kale, tomatoes, and carrots provide essential nutrients to improve family health. Incorporating chickens, goats, and cows to

family gardens also adds protein to diets and brings strength for tomorrow. Lets help families in Tanzania plant 200 gardens this spring by raising $10,000 by April 30. Visit plantwithpurpose.org to learn how $50 will help parents plant a garden and grow healthy families.

BREAKING NEWS
PLANTING HOPE GALA
On October 11, 2014 we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Plant With Purpose at Paradise Point Resort, San Diego. Please save the date and join us for this monumental evening.

EARTH DAY
Earth Day is approaching, and we are celebrating at Balboa Parks 25th annual EarthFair on Sunday, April 27th. This community event is the worlds largest annual environmental fair. Stop by and say hello if you are in the San Diego area.

IMPACT CONFERENCE
Do you need a little inspiration for putting your faith to work? Join Executive Director Scott Sabin at Westmont Colleges Impact Conference taking place June 19-20, 2014. Visit plantwithpurpose.org/events.

SHARING PLANT WITH PURPOSE

This spring, we are launching an online advocacy kit to help you share Plant With Purpose with you circle of inuence! We encourage you to be creative and take advantage of these resources put together with you in mind. Visit plantwithpurpose.org/advocate.

WEVE MOVED!
Plant With Purpose has moveda couple of blocks down Morena Blvd. Please take note of the new address for correspondence and ofce visits: 4747 Morena Blvd. Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92117. We look forward to hosting an open house once were settled.

UPCOMING VISION TRIPS

If you havent visited one of Plant With Purposes programs, wed love for you to consider joining us. Contact Doug Satre for more information: doug@plantwithpurpose.org. Haiti: May 5-10, 2014 Burundi: May 4-11, 2014 Mexico: October 26-31, 2014

WWW.PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG

INNOVATION FUELS MOTIVATION

HOW THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX IS CREATING MOMENTUM IN TANZANIA
BY BECKY ROSALER, Marketing and Events Coordinator

TREE NURSERY AT THE BASE OF MT. KILIMANJARO

Conversations around the table can lead to insightful and inspired solutions. When you add to that dynamic people from different countries, backgrounds, and varying interests, innovative ideas are bound to emerge. Plant With Purposes Tanzania program is leading the way in innovation, a core value of the organization. From utilizing radio airways to promote sustainable farming, to creating a group competition model that motivates positive performance, Plant With Purpose Tanzania is making huge strides in raising awareness and increasing involvement in all three central aspects of the program: environmental, economic, and spiritual. And these strides are changing lives as families eat better, save more money, and grow in their understanding of their Creator.

tion in the eld. For three years now, Plant With Purpose Tanzania has conducted a year-long VSLA group competition that integrates key elements of the program. At the beginning of 2013, leaders from 130 VSLA groups gathered to set rules, guidelines, and expectations for the upcoming competition. Groups emphasized better record-keeping as a competition goal, including tracking attendance and timely loan repayment. Each group was to work toward establishing tree nurseries, planting trees, and caring for their watershed. The groups took into account crop yields, use of compost, number of raised garden beds, and integrating soil conservation barriers in steep areas. Each group was to involve local institutions by providing Redemptive Agriculture seminars and encouraging their participation in tree-planting efforts. What Plant With Purpose Tanzania has learned is this: when you add some healthy competition to the mix, the results can be astounding. Groups improved their performance across the board. In fact, tree-planting efforts were so successful that local nurseries (including tree nurseries established by the

VSLA groups) ran out of seedlings. After three years of competition, group members properties are so saturated with trees that planting now takes place in common areas and in partnership with Kilimanjaro National Park.

PEOPLE WERE INTERNALLY MOTIVATED BY THE DESIRE TO HEAL THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE.

MOTIVATED BY COMPETITION
A few years ago, Richard Mhina, Plant With Purpose Tanzanias country director, held a round-table conversation with his staff. There, they dreamt about improved Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) performance, driven by positive reinforcement and increased motivation. The results of the discussion led to his masters level thesis and its implementa4

On December 11, 2013, close to 4,000 participants ascended on the Siha District to learn the results of the group competition and attend the organic agriculture festival. The Regional Commissioner of Kilimanjaro presided over the ceremony, and expressed shock over the turnout and competition success. Plant With Purpose Tanzania shared with him that people were internally motivated by the desire to heal the land and its people. In Mhinas thesis paper, he states that the main motivation behind group involvement is the desire to regenerate

HELPING FAMILIES DEVELOP

THE WINNERS! THIS VSLA GROUP WILL BE REWARDED WITH A TROPHY AND ADDITIONAL TRAINING OF THEIR CHOOSING.

the natural environment. The communities in the Kilimanjaro region are economically dependent on the natural environment as tourists visit the area to climb the famed mountain or visit the Serengeti. Fred Kome, in his retirement, has taken to planting trees on his property. He started a nursery when local resources couldnt meet his needs. My intention is not just to create income generation, but also to have a contribution in environmental conservation since I need to play role in Kilimanjaro restoration and bring back the weather and the snow that I saw over 50 years ago, he says.

etation coverage that specically correlates to Plant With Purpose partnering communities. It takes 3-5 years for newly planted seedlings to start appearing on satellite images. With the dramatic increase in the number of trees planted over the past three years, we expect to see an even more vivid difference in the years to come. Competition-based motivation, positive reinforcement, and tracking changes in vegetative coverage are just a few innovative steps toward solving the crisis of poverty and environmental degradation. Families around Tanzania want to participate in Plant With Purpose Tanzanias program after seeing the results of this years competition. We are excited to note that as people understand the role of trees in their immediate sphere, they value them even more. And as more people nd value in trees, the health of our global community improves. A link to Richard Mhinas thesis as well as a more complete explanation of NDVI and Plant With Purposes partnering communities can be accessed at plantwithpurpose.org/resources

Three years ago you would have found Neema and her three daughters living in a one-room mud hut with a thatched roof. They worked as day laborers for basic needs. Neema shares, With such a situation, it was hard to develop. When Neema joined a savings-andloan group, things shifted. She started to learn tools for saving money and stewarding her resources. While in trainings, I realized that most of the projects could fit me and in fact I implemented all of them. I revived my local chicken project. I also grow and sell organic vegetables from my raised garden beds. By taking out loans, she has expanded her corn business and doubled the income from its production. With all the interventions, I now run my family in a smooth way including paying for my childrens school fees. I managed to build a three-room, modern house using burnt bricks and corrugated iron sheets with electricity for my family. I am able to pay all my bills and contributions for my household in the community without relying on anyone else, shares Neema. Neema encourages all community members to participate in Plant With Purpose programs and to enjoy this blessing from God.
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UTILIZING NEW TOOLS

But how do we know that all of these trees are surviving and in turn having the desired impact of improving the land and livelihoods? As these trees grow, we will observe their success utilizing new tools. In another burst of innovation, Technical Director Robert Morikawa began monitoring the survival rate and success of Plant With Purposes reforestation efforts through use of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) via satellite images from NASA. His analysis has shown that there has been an increase in veg-

REDEMPTION THROUGH TREES

BY CHRISTINA MILLER
Walking through the Redwood National Park in Northern California was like being invited into a sacred sanctuary. Light ltered through branches, footsteps cushioned on needles, and the air was clean and intoxicating. My voice quieted in reverence and I couldnt help but tread slowly, trying not to impose or disrupt the redwoods worship.
As I followed the trail I stopped by a cluster of trees that had survived a re. Periodically, sequoias have to undergo wildre to burn away vegetation around them that is competing to absorb all the mineral-rich soil and sunlight. Burning away the life-threat is the only way to cultivate growth and reproduction. The trees were burned through their centers, causing them to split open with blistering wounds. I stepped inside the space that had formed in one of their trunks and pressed my hand against the rough esh of its inner walls. New layers of wood had grown over the burns, sealing in the dark scars underneath. The signs of struggle had become part of its historyembedded into its surfacebut new life had pushed through to heal it. Nature is full of cycles of birth, death, and renewal.
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PINE FOREST IN HAITI

I dont think its a coincidence that Jesus crucixion began with killing a tree, the very symbol of these cycles of birth and rebirth in creation. Genesis begins with the tree of knowledge of good and evil whose fruit is the catalyst for separation from God. How quickly death becomes entangled in even the creation narrative. Throughout the Bible trees are symbols of peoples propensity towards life and death, either bearing healthy fruit or being diseased and in need of pruning. The book of Revelation ends with the image of the tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, naming our deepest and nal longing. Through trees we see the tensions and hear the groans of all creation, eagerly waiting to be liberated from decay and brought into fullness of life in God. It is through Jesus entering into the groans of creation and binding himself to death on a sacriced tree, that all of creation is raised to new life. Through his death we receive the life-force that relentlessly keeps creating, healing, and beckoning all of creation to be made whole in God. Richard Rohr says, The glory, patience, and humility of God is that God creates things that continue to create themselvesfrom the inner dy-

namism God has planted within them. God has created us with the ability to keep growing, reforming, and reaching for life. Where there is the propensity towards death, life is stronger. Easter reminds us that death is a necessary part of the life cycle, but it is not the end of the story. It reminds us of the maddening paradox that we have to die to be reborn, be stripped of the old to make way for the new, and surrender to gain. It tells us that life pushes through death, and pain leads to healing. Even the most burned, diseased, and decrepit trees can be reborn, surprising us with the potential for new life they still carry. With the arrival of Easter, may we enter into our own sacred spaces with reverence, declaring that through Jesus death nothing can separate us from the love of God. The old has passed away, and we are new creationscomplete with our scars and histories that speak to a force of life that always makes a way through. (Revelation 22:2, Genesis 2:17 , Romans 8:18-22, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Isaiah 43:18-19)

VILLAGE SPOTLIGHT:
GWOMA, HAITI
BY CHRISTINA MILLER

FARMERS PLANT THE STEEP HILLSIDES OF HAITI

WORKING TOGETHER TO REFOREST BURUNDI

their land since other resources are scarce. Things changed dramatically when Antoines wife urged him to partner with Plant With Purpose. He learned how to create living barriers made up of rows of grasses and root systems that lock soil in place. This prevents mudslides and protects against further erosion. These barriers have not only restored safety, but have helped produce healthier more sustainable crops. In Haiti, six out of ten people live in rural areas and two-thirds of rural families depend on agriculture for their survival. While agriculture is many peoples livelihood, 88 percent of rural families live in poverty and survive off $1.25 or less a day. Plant With Purpose is working alongside these rural families to equip them with sustainable farming practices. Like Antoine, this includes soil improvement, agroforestry systems, and crop improvement. It also means training in reforestation, organic composting, and veterinary care. All of these elements work handin-hand with providing income to families, better nutrition, keeping children in school, and educating future generations on ways to care for creation. With the right training and tools, farmers are literally leveling out their land, and the economic disparities within it. It is not only the watershed that we hope to see restored. In a country healing from so many recent wounds, relationships are also being restoredrelationships with people, with their land, and with the Lord. Join is as we pray for the country of Burundi and as Plant With Purpose continues to empower individuals to form better tomorrows.
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Antoine Aristils farm in Gwoma, Haiti is so steep you have to posess the agility of a cat to walk across it. Its sharp incline makes a days work nebulous and challenging. Some people have even lost their balance and toppled down the eld while trying to complete their tasks. Whats worse is that deforestation has caused soil erosion, making the land unproductive, degraded, and barren. The risk factors dont always seem worth the benets, but Antoine and his family are left with little choice but to farm

The Nyakazu Watershed in Burundi has been a protected area since 1980 and is a region of great natural beauty. Waterfalls and a river carve out a deep gorge with caves and crevasses to explore. It is home to mammals, birds, and many native plant species. In January, government representatives, Plant With Purpose Burundi and U.S. staff, and 400 local people joined together to plant a few thousand trees at the rim of the gorge to take back poorly managed land bordering the Nyakazu Watershed. Through the ceremony and tree planting activity, the group embraced a collective vision to be good stewards of this piece of Creation. Thanks to this vision, the future of the Nyakazu Watershed is hopeful.

BECAUSE OF PLANT WITH PURPOSE, YONS DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS CHILDREN IS IN REACH. HIS DIVERSE GARDEN, SAVINGS, AND PUTTING DOWN ROOTS IS MAKING ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Plant With Purpose 4747 Morena Blvd. Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92117 Ph: 800.633.5319 Email: info@plantwithpurpose.org Web: plantwithpurpose.org SPRING CAMPAIGN: POVERTY TO PLENTY This spring, help us to plant 200 gardens in Tanzania. Details on page 3.
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TOOLS AND TRAININGS ARE CHANGING TOMORROWS FOR COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD.

WOMEN IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LEARN TO READ AT IGLESIA ASAMBLEA DE DIOS.

TRANSFORMING THE LIVES OF THE RURAL POOR