The Sower is Plant With Purpose's Quarterly Publication

1. WINTER 2014
HUNGER TO HARVEST
HOW PLANT WITH PURPOSE IS
HELPING TO FEED FAMILIES
FEATURES
Gifts of Hope
Hunger to Harvest
3
4
DEPARTMENTS
Director’s Corner
Breaking News
Spotlight: Pang Tuay, TH
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6
7
A MOTHER AND HER HEALTHY BABY IN BURUNDI
ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS TO HUMANITARIAN PROBLEMS

2. DIRECTOR’S CORNER
ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS TO HUMANITARIAN PROBLEMS
THE SOWER ISSUE #102
Plant With Purpose, a Christian nonprofit
organization, reverses deforestation and
poverty around the world by transforming the lives of the rural poor.
VSLA LEADERS
COUNT THEIR
GROUP’S SAVINGS
IN OAXACA
Plant With Purpose has
been tracing a curve of
exponential growth for
some time. This has
been easiest to see in
our budget, but even
steeper curves are
emerging in the reach
and impact of our programs and in our ability to
measure that impact.
In the past year, we expanded our work in
Mexico beyond Oaxaca into the state of Chiapas,
where we have now established an office. From
Burundi, we have also begun plans to start working across the border in the Democratic Republic
of Congo.
However, even more important is the process of
bringing to scale what we are already doing in
the communities where we work. In Tanzania,
37 new Village Savings and Loan Associations
were formed in the last quarter, bringing the total to 170 groups serving over 4,400 families,
while in Burundi the number of groups grew
from 51 to 89, despite some budget setbacks.
This growth has required a dramatic increase in
efficiency. We have been able to drop our cost
per family to less than half of what it was just
a couple of years ago, as we have continued
working to steward the precious financial resources with which we are entrusted.
Worldwide we are now serving nearly 100,000
individuals in 331 villages. Because of the empowerment model that is fundamental to our
work, this means we now have 100,000 allies
working alongside us in the fight against poverty, environmental degradation, and spiritual blindness. For example, VSLA members in
Tanzania planted 1.4 million trees last year,
greatly multiplying anything we would have
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been able to do on our own. Similarly, partnering churches are reaching out into their communities, offering Bible studies and practical service, and seeing impressive growth as a result.
To measure the impact of all this work we have a
number of annual indicators and conduct extensive impact evaluations every three years. In our
last evaluation we learned, for example, that waterborne illness had been dramatically reduced
in watersheds where we had been working—up
to 50 percent in some cases. We also saw huge
improvements in crop yields and savings rates.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Scott Sabin
scott@plantwithpurpose.org
However, we have been diligently working to
develop better and more frequent objective
measurements of impact. One of those involves
using satellite imagery to measure vegetation
change over time. A recent analysis of that data has showed a dramatic correlation between
the locations of the Plant With Purpose communities and increase in tree cover and vegetation.
This study is still being compiled as The Sower
goes to press, but it is exciting to get a glimpse
of what partnering communities around the
world are accomplishing.
STAY CONNECTED:
4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215
San Diego, CA 92117
As we work to increase the impact of our program, we know that it is all possible because
of your support. Your gifts and your prayers are
changing lives in real and lasting ways.
EMAIL MEDIA@PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG
TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN:
• Share your Plant With Purpose story
• Host an event
• Become a Plant With Purpose advocate
This season as we celebrate the gift of Jesus,
who came to earth to transform lives, we are
also thankful that together we are involved in
God’s ongoing, life-changing work through Plant
With Purpose.
Scott Sabin
Executive Director
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR:
Doug Satre
doug@plantwithpurpose.org
MARKETING AND EVENTS:
Becky Rosaler
becky@plantwithpurpose.org
Ph: 800.633.5319
Email: info@plantwithpurpose.org
Web: plantwithpurpose.org
Tw: @PlantWPurpose
Fb: facebook.com/PlantWithPurpose
Leave a Legacy. Please consider including Plant With Purpose in your wills
and bequests. Contact Doug Satre:
doug@plantwithpurpose.org.
copyright © 2013 Plant With Purpose

3. GIFTS OF HOPE
Uncommon gifts–a cheeping chick, breeding bunnies, a family garden–provide extraordinary benefits to families living in poor, rural communities around the world.
Take Mrs. Eleazar Pacheco Hernandez, a wife and mother living in Monte Flor, Mexico,
for example. Eleazar tends to the family’s vegetable garden and their chickens. Vegetables from the garden provide a stable diet with the eggs, increasing the consumption of protein for her children. The sale of surplus produce and eggs has allowed Eleazar to increase her income. She even purchased a garden hose, which allows her to
water her garden with greater ease while also expanding its size. Eleazar credits Plant
With Purpose for improving her ability to provide for her children.
This Christmas, you can help families like the Hernandezes change their circumstances. Plant With Purpose’s online Gift Catalog provides the opportunity to give the Gift
of Hope to families in need on behalf of someone you love!
CLUTCH OF 5 CHICKS
$10
GIVE NUTRITION TO A FAMILY
Chickens give families a sustainable supply
of nutrition and income. Eggs provide muchneeded protein for hungry children and can
be sold at market. Your donation will purchase 5 chicks and training for a family in
need.
A FAMILY GARDEN
$50
GIVE SEEDS OF HOPE
A family garden represents sustainable hope
to a poor family. Vegetables add nutrition to
family diets and provide income. Your donation of $50 will help a family establish a garden and provide training in sustainable gardening methods.
PAIR OF RABBITS
$20
GIVE NUTRITION TO A FAMILY
Rabbits are ideal for families because of
their ability to reproduce quickly, providing protein-rich food, fertilizer for crops, and
a source of income. Your gift will provide a
family with two breeding rabbits and training
in how to best care for them.
SAVINGS-LED MICROFINANCE
$50
GIVE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Poor, rural families are not looking for handouts. They’re looking to change their circumstances. Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) provide financial safety nets
and create opportunity. Your gift of $50 provides economic training and materials.
VISIT
PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG/GIFTS
for the complete online catalog and
to print a special card to tell loved
ones about the gift given on their behalf. You can also mail your donation
to Plant With Purpose in the envelope provided.
FUEL-EFFICIENT STOVE
$30
GIVE THE GIFT OF HEALTH
Half the world’s families cook meals on
open-flame stoves that cause premature
death and rampant deforestation. The gift of
an improved wood-saving stove can help restore health to families and forests.
CHURCH-LED DISCIPLESHIP
$50
GIVE SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
We believe the church is a key instrument of
change in a community. Plant With Purpose
programs are equipping local congregations to teach and to live out Christ’s gospel
among their neighbors. Your gift of $50 will
provide Bible study curriculum for a church
and training for a pastor and church leaders.
WWW.PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG
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4. HUNGER TO
HARVEST
HOW PLANT WITH PURPOSE IS
HELPING TO FEED FAMILIES
WOMEN IN THE DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC PREPARE FOOD
GROWN ON THEIR FARM
PHOTO CREDIT: AARONCHANG.COM
Imagine entering the holiday season with
little to celebrate. As a tough year comes to
a close for impoverished families around the
world, too many parents are forced to make
life-or-death decisions. Do they spend the
little money they have to send their child to
school or to put food on the table? Do they
sell their livestock for a short-term solution,
causing further suffering down the road?
Needless to say, Christmas presents are not
an option as parents find alternative ways to
celebrate the gift of Jesus.
THE HUNGER ISSUE
Around the world, 870 million people go
hungry each and every day–that’s one out
of eight people. Poverty and hunger are
deeply interconnected issues. Burundi is
the hungriest country in the world (2013
Global Hunger Index). More than 73 percent of the population is undernourished
(World Food Programme, 2012). During the
recent civil conflict, disease harmed seeds
and existing crops. Drought has left the
BURUNDI IS THE HUNGRIEST
COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
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land unproductive with crops growing inconsistently. This has left few options for
food as mothers and fathers returned to
fields that fail to produce enough to eat.
A Plant With Purpose farmer association
member from the Rutana province shares,
“The stomach that goes to bed hungry
wakes up jealous. The physical effects of
”
a hungry stomach convolutes the ability to
think, further trapping the poor in despair.
FOOD MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
But a little food can change everything.
Proper nutrition equips the human body
to fully function and children to grow
and learn. Food fuels our ability to focus,
energizes us to work, and brings people
together. Plant With Purpose is working
to help parents put food on their tables.
However, rather than offering handouts
for short-term solutions, Plant With Purpose provides training, seeds, and opportunity to bring a long-term solution to
hunger.
Marko Philip was desperate for a solution
to hunger. At 35 years old, Marko is married to Paulina, and they are blessed with
three children ages 4, 8, and 11. The cou-
“THE STOMACH THAT
GOES TO BED HUNGRY
WAKES UP JEALOUS.”
ple struggled with poverty in their community of Gonjanza, Tanzania. Growing
what they could to put food on the table
proved unsuccessful after five years of
inconsistent rains left little to harvest.
Marko and Paulina’s main source of
food became maize and beans. Coffee
trees grew old and tired. A small quantity of beans meant little left to sell for
income. In the prime of his life, Marko
felt utterly defeated.
In 2009, Plant With Purpose began to
work with farming families in Gonjanza.
“We were trained on the importance of
conserving our soil through contours,
producing organic vegetables through
the use of double dug garden beds,
tree planting, and the management of
livestock and chickens, as well as importance of savings-and-loan groups,
”
Marko shares. When he put to use the

5. EMPTY MARKET STALLS IN HAITI.
PHOTO CREDIT: AARON.CHANG.COM
DEFINING HUNGER
A COUPLE IN GONJANZA STAND
PROUDLY IN THE GARDEN NEXT TO
THEIR HOUSE.
training he received, he saw an increase
in his annual income. Much of this increase is the result of raising livestock
and chickens, and better management of
his land.
MOTHERS AND FATHERS FEEDING
THE WORLD
Like Marko, Joseph Saint Jean Claudius
wants to increase his family’s resources
so he can better respond to their needs.
Joseph and his family of four live in
Baryè, Haiti. Hunger is an issue in Haiti
where more than 44 percent of Haiti’s
population is undernourished (World
Food Programme, 2012). Reports share
that 85-90 percent of Haitians depend
on what they can grow to feed their
families and earn an income. These
families are left to farm steep hillsides
where there is a loss of topsoil due
to deforestation, which makes things
tough for fathers like Joseph to provide
for his family.
Since Plant With Purpose got involved in
Baryè, Joseph has been learning how to
make his farm produce more effectively.
“Because my farm is no longer eroding,
I have more crop yields. Thanks to Plant
With Purpose Haiti, now I have more
crops and more income too.”
Joseph is also involved in a Village
Savings and Loan Association, where
he puts his newfound income to work.
“I used the loans to buy animals and
seeds and to pay school fees for my
children. These small improvements
”
represent huge steps toward a brighter
tomorrow for Joseph’s family.
Working with resilient mothers and fathers to grow food to feed their families
is at the heart of Plant With Purpose.
Parents are putting food on the table.
Better nutrition helps their children
succeed. Together, healthier communities are established—communities free
from hunger and on the path out of
poverty.
So as we celebrate this season of Jesus,
the Bread of Life, coming to live among
us as Savior and King, let us remember
that He also called us to feed the hungry. Plant With Purpose is doing just that
for people like Marko and Paulina, Joseph and his family, and thousands of
farming families around the world.
Undernourishment is the status of
people whose food intake regularly
provides less than their minimum energy requirements. For the average
person, that means consuming fewer
than 1,800 kilocalories a day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) takes
into account undernourishment, underweight children, and child mortality.
73.4
Percentage of people without enough to eat in Burundi
44.5
Percentage of people without enough to eat in Haiti
38.8
Percentage of people without
enough to eat inTanzania
70
Percentage of families around
the world who depend on
what they can grow to feed
their children
16,000
The number of children who
die every day due to hungerrelated causes
25:35
The verse in the Bible’s
book of Matthew where Jesus says, “For I was hungry
and you gave me food.
”
*Information from World Food Program
(2012), IFAD (2011), Bread for the World
WWW.PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG
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6. PLANTING
HOPE GALA
A HUGE
SUCCESS
The 2013 Planting Hope Gala was a phenomenal success with over $337,000
raised to invest in the lives of the rural
poor! We are grateful to those who attended, and we are deeply humbled by
your generosity, passion, and commitment to the work of Plant With Purpose.
Thank you to everyone who made the
night possible!
SCOTT SABIN AT IDEACAMP
This fall, a group gathered in Austin, Texas, to talk about the concept of Human
Care. Scott Sabin spoke into the idea that
Creation Care is Human Care. To learn
about other events and conference where
Plant With Purpose will be, check out
plantwithpurpose.org/events.
BLACK FRIDAY, CYBER MONDAY,
GIVING TUESDAY
The day following the purchasing frenzy associated with Thanksgiving weekend comes Giving Tuesday—a day to focus on giving back either financially or
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through a donation of time. Be watching
for an email from Plant With Purpose offering ideas on how you can participate
in Giving Tuesday this year.
CHRISTMAS TREES, PLEASE
Christmas gives us a unique way to appreciate trees: by bringing them into
our homes to adorn. This Christmas,
in addition to purchasing a Christmas
tree, donate a dollar to plant a tree in
a rural community. Visit plantwithpurpose.org/trees for more details.
THE JUSTICE CONFERENCE
The Justice Conference is returning to the
West Coast. Join us in Los Angeles on February 21-22, 2014 for a two-day conference
that engages conversations on the compex issues surrounding justice. Leave inspired by those combating injustice and
with tools to join the effort.
YOU SHOP, AMAZON GIVES
Amazon has rolled out a new service for
conscious buyers, called Amazon Smile.
Shopping on Amazon Smile is essentially
the same as shopping on Amazon.com,
except that 0.5% of all purchases through
Amazon Smile will be donated to a nonprofit of your choice—including Plant With
Purpose.
Bookmark smile.amazon.com, sign in with
your current amazon.com account, and
give back to Plant With Purpose while
shopping on Amazon.
UPCOMING VISION TRIPS
If you haven’t visited one of Plant With
Purpose’s programs, we’d love for you
to consider joining us. Contact Doug
Satre for more information: doug@
plantwithpurpose.org.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
MARCH 23-29, 2014
HAITI:
MAY 5-11, 2014
BURUNDI:
MAY 4-14, 2014

7. VILLAGE SPOTLIGHT:
PANG TUAY, THAILAND
CHILDREN PLAYING GAMES IN
THEIR HOMETOWN OF PANG TUAY
Like all supportive parents, when asked
This group of ethnic Lahu—one of the six major
source of livelihood. A recent study by
what they hope to see in the years ahead,
hill tribes in Thailand—originally put down their
Plant With Purpose shows that this pro-
the parents in Pang Tuay describe bet-
roots in Pang Tuay while seeking a peaceful
gram, known as Community Managed
ter opportunities for their children. These
place to build their lives. Unfortunately, Thai cit-
Forests, encourages better protection of
parents understand that education will
izenship is not granted at birth, and land owner-
the forest because people depend on it
provide a better future for their sons and
ship is directly connected to citizenship. For the
for their survival.
daughters. But the distance to schools
past 15 years, the community of Pang Tuay has
is not the only challenge that families in
been living on land where at any time they face
Plant With Purpose is working with the
Pang Tuay face.
the threat of once again having to move.
Pang Tuay community to increase their
Imagine establishing your home and set-
Despite this threat, the people of Pang Tuay are
community forestry, land rights, agro-
tling in an area only to be told you have
making a home for themselves on the hillsides.
forestry, and replenishing streams with
to uproot and move. Forced relocations
Plant With Purpose Thailand has been working
fish. These resources are creating great-
have uprooted the entire community of
with this community to develop a program of
er stability and are helping families build
Pang Tuay three times in the past 40 years.
caring for the local forest, which is the primary
toward a hopeful future.
knowledge of environmental issues,
Dario Baez Enemencio’s partnership with
Today, his family’s situation is differ-
Plant With Purpose Dominican Republic has
ent. Dario learned to diversify his farm
changed his life. He celebrates with the com-
by planting lemon, mandarin, and eu-
munity of Piedra Blanca as they “graduate”
calyptus trees alongside vegetables.
from Plant With Purpose’s program—evi-
As a result, his income increased. “I
dence that they have been equipped and em-
used to live in a thatch house,” he says,
powered to improve their quality of life using
“but now I have my own concrete block
their own God-given talents and resources.
house with a concrete roof. My family is
more financially stable.”
Before, Dario says, “My financial situation
was bad. I lived in a cottage and had a small
income. I just planted yucca. In most cases
PIEDRA BLANCA
GRADUATES!
Beyond his family’s improved economic
well-being, Dario has experienced spiri-
it wasn’t profitable because I could not find
tual transformation. “I had never visit-
buyers. My land had little value, and I didn’t
ed a church before,” he says. “I went for
have enough knowledge in cultivation tech-
the first time and I really liked it. I at-
niques to develop a profitable farm. I didn’t
tend more frequently now.”
know God, nor did I attend church.
”
WWW.PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG
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8. Plant With Purpose
4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215
San Diego, CA 92117
We use soy-based ink and 80# environment text
with 80% post-consumer fiber. FSC certified.
Ph: 800.633.5319
Email: info@plantwithpurpose.org
NON-PROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT 751
SAN DIEGO CA
www.plantwithpurpose.org
This Christmas:
Give gifts that change lives.
Information inside or at
plantwithpurpose.org/gifts.
TWO GIRLS IN HAITI SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
YOU CAN GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT
CHANGE THE
FUTURE FOR
CHILDREN THIS
CHRISTMAS
PHOTO CREDIT: AARON.CHANG.COM
THANKS FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN 2013