Due to the overwhelming support of Facebook fans and Twitter followers during our SAVE the Earth campaign last week, we are excited to announce that we be planting an additional 3,688 trees.
3,688 trees! Isn't that incredible?!?
For every new facebooker who like us AND every new twitterer who followed, Project 7 is working with our SAVE the Earth partners (Plant with Purpose, Trees, Water, and People and Trees for the Future) to plant a fruit tree back into the earth. This donation is in addition to our everyday giving from the purchase of our product (For example: buy a canister of "SAVE the Earth" coffee, plant a tree, etc.).
Thank you for all of your help following, liking and spreading the word.
Together, we are making a difference!
Tell us a little bit about your organization, when and how did you get started?
Since 1989, Trees for the Future has been helping communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and our country programs, we have empowered rural groups to restore tree cover to their lands. Planting trees protects the environment and helps to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations.
The Founder of Trees for the Future, Dave Deppner, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines in the 1970s, where he witnessed the human tragedy brought on by illegal logging and unsustainable land management systems. Working with community leaders in nearby villages, Dave and his wife Grace found ways to offer hope. They revitalized degraded lands by providing farmers with tree seed, technical training, and on-site planning assistance. People responded enthusiastically, and entire villages joined in, making great sacrifices to save their homes and way of life. After returning from their overseas assignments they continued what they had started, communicating by mail with rural community leaders and providing information, seeds, and training materials.
Trees for the Future was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) public charity in Maryland on August 14, 1989. Over the years TREES has assisted thousands of communities in planting millions of trees, which have restored life to land that was previously degraded or abandoned. The trees provide food, fodder, fuel, fertilizer, and medicine for the farmers as well as biodiversity for the landscape.
Where are you planting fruit trees on behalf of Project 7?
Trees for the Future is currently planting Avocado, Citrus and Guava trees with communities around Cerro Azul Meambar National park in the Central Portion of Honduras, Central America.
Why is planting fruit trees important?
Fruit provides many important vitamins, especially Vitamin C and the B-complex, which are lacking in the diet of poor populations of Central America. Avocados also provide essential fatty acids including the important Omega 6 fatty acids which are also lacking in diets low in fish and meat. Fruits such as citrus and Cashew apples provide poor populations with healthy low-cost alternatives to sodas and artificial drinks. Fruit, cultivation also provides a means of income for families, as it provides production between major harvests such as the corn or coffee harvests.
Is planting trees all you do?
Trees for the Future, provides a complete package of training in agroforestry practices in the areas we work in, helping people to plant trees and to learn the practices to best manage those trees, as well as training in appropriate technologies such as fuel efficient stoves which lower the use of firewood thus preserving the existing forests.
Besides buying SAVE the Earth products, how can individuals and organizations support the work you are doing?
Educate themselves about agroforestry and sustainable agriculture by downloading our free agroforestry training manual, join the Peace Corps, donate to help us plant more trees, or join our mailing list.
What is your favorite Project 7 product?
Coffee, because it is a product which is produced by smallholder subsistence farmers in Latin America and it can offer a way for them to pull themselves out of poverty without depleting or destroying their natual environment.
Oh, and don't forget. Only 3 more days of our Save the Earth Twitter and Facebook campaign. For every new follower and fan we are planting an additional tree with Trees for the Future or another one of our other Save partners!
Tell us a little bit about your organization, when and how did you get started?
Plant With Purpose was founded in 1984 by Tom Woodard. At the time, Woodard was volunteering in the Dominican Republic with a Christian relief agency, but he and his colleagues very quickly realized that despite their best efforts to help the poor, the situation was worsening.
Woodward saw that there was a direct connection between poverty and the environment that wasn’t being addressed by traditional aid organizations. He understood that since most of the world’s poor are rural poor, and are therefore dependent on the land for survival, any long-term solution to poverty would have to take into account how deforestation, and the resultant loss in soil fertility, affected income potential.
Plant With Purpose, or "Floresta USA" as it was initially called, was founded to bring a holistic approach to the fight against poverty that includes environmental, economic, as well as spiritual renewal. We believe that this three-part approach is the key to creating lasting, sustainable change, and we use a variety of techniques such as savings-led micro-credit loans, business skills training, and community development to empower the poor to solve their own problems.
Since those humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic, Plant With Purpose has expanded its program to include hundreds of villages in Haiti, Mexico, Thailand, Burundi, Tanzania, and the Dominican Republic.
Where are you planting fruit trees on behalf of Project 7?
In three regions in 84 communities in Haiti.
Why is planting fruit trees important?
Whenever we begin work in a new community, we always include planting trees because it is one of the most effective components of sustainable rural development. Although seemingly simple, planting trees is one of the most important things we do. By restoring productivity to the land, planting trees gives the rural poor a sustainable means to provide for themselves. Farmers are able to grow more crops. More crops mean they can feed their families and have extra to sell in town. As their incomes start to grow, farmers are able to invest in their household condition and send their children to school. Their families enjoy better nutrition and better health.
Trees provide many benefits to both land and people, but one of their most vital roles is protecting our water supply. Without trees, water resources vanish. More than one billion people around the world lack access to clean water, and we are able to rectify this situation simply by planting trees. Tree roots act as a sponge, allowing water to soak into the ground and springs, rivers and streams begin to flow. They also act as a filter, purifying the water we drink. They improve soil quality, and therefore the productivity of the land. They also protect against erosion, landslides and flash flooding, and are a critical part of the revolutionary style of agriculture that we teach in the communities we work with.
Is planting trees all you do? Read More
Tell us a little bit about your organization, when and how did you get started?
Trees, Water & People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 1998 by Stuart Conway and Richard Fox, and is staffed by a group of dedicated conservationists who feel strongly about helping communities to protect, conserve, and manage the natural resources upon which their long-term well-being depends. Our work is guided by two core beliefs:
That natural resources are best protected when local people play an active role in their care and management; and preserving local trees, wetlands, and watersheds is essential for the ongoing social, economic, and environmental health of communities everywhere.
Where are you planting fruit trees on behalf of Project 7?
Trees, Water & People plants trees in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
Why is planting fruit trees important?
Fruit trees provide families and communities with essential elements to improve their wellbeing and to transform their livelihoods. Planting fruit trees brings beauty, shade and erosion control to the natural surroundings, provides a added source of nutrition to their diets, as well as an income generating potential for rural families.
Is planting trees all you do?
Trees, Water & People develops and manages continuing reforestation, watershed protection, renewable energy, appropriate technology, and environmental education programs in Latin America and the American West. TWP's international programs have been recognized nationally and internationally, receiving the Ashden Award for Renewable Energy, the Rio Tinto Prize for Sustainability, and the UNEP Sasakakwa Prize
Besides buying SAVE the Earth products, how can individuals and organizations support the work you are doing?
Trees, Water & People offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint. TWP's stove and reforestation projects offer more than carbon offsets. They provide opportunities to: balance your environmental impact; reduce deforestation rates in Central America; improve the health of a family with each stove you sponsor; and support Trees, Water & People's efforts to help communities protect and conserve their threatened natural resources.
What is your favorite Project 7 product?
Trees, Water, and People staff love love love the SAVE the Earth Breakfast Blend Coffee!
And...Don't forget that this week we are planting a tree for every new fan of our Facebook Page and every new Twitter follower. Help us "Change the Score" by planting some trees!
Friends,
This week we have a very special promotion going on our Facebook and Twitter accounts.
For every new fan we acquire on Facebook and every new Twitter follower, Project 7 will donate funds to one of our SAVE the Earth partners (Plant with Purpose, Trees, Water, and People and Trees for the Future) plant a tree back into the earth. This donation is in addition to our everyday giving from the purchase of our products (For example: buy a "SAVE the Earth" tray of gum, plant a tree, etc.).
It's that simple. If you're not a fan of us on Facebook, click "Like" and together we'll plant a tree. The same thing applies for Twitter. Get it? Good. Now get to following and liking! And please spread the word.
Hurry this offer ends on Sunday, October 23.
Love,
The Project 7 Family
PS - Check back on the blog later this week for more information on the incredible work our SAVE the Earth partners are doing!
