SUMMER 2011

in this issue
Features
Risky Business 2
Oaxaca Wahines 4
Double Your Impact 5
Village Spotlight: Panasawan 7

NeWs
Jessner’s Corner 4
Breaking News 6

Formerly known as Floresta Usa

 risky BusiNess:
how Communities Lift
themseLves out of
Poverty through a
savings-Led system
By Aly lewis
Plant With Purpose Grant Writer

I set my jaw and clench every muscle

in my body, even my toes are curled.
An unconscious prayer dances on my
lips, “Please, please, please…” One
tentative step. Then another, more
confident. The steps gain momentum,
gain rhythm. Step over step over
perilous step. Until, at last, both feet
are firmly planted on a platform of
safety. I exhale the breath I wasn’t
even aware I was holding.
Have you ever watched a tightrope walker?
Watched their every twitch and movement?
Braced for their demise? let their fate flash
before your eyes?
Before VICoBA,
first into their support systems, our minds
no longer jump to tightrope walkers and
defiance of gravity when we hear the term
‘safety net,’ but to social and financial safe-
ty nets: friends and family, a small nest
we BArely lIVed
egg, or a savings account. But the meaning
is the same. a safety net, whether literal
or figurative, saves us from certain harm,
to surVIVe
catastrophe, or even death. they help us
bounce back from falls that would other- Another dAy.
wise be devastating.
the rural poor, the people Plant With Pur-
now, we Are
sendIng our
pose seeks to serve, don’t have the luxu-
ry of safety nets. largely dependent on
agriculture, the rural poor are highly vul-
nerable to climate changes, and not just
macro-polar-ice-caps-are-melting chang-
ChIldren to
es, but to seasonal changes and differenc-

Yet even as I clench and cringe and contem-

es—droughts, floods, and tropical storms.
Families struggle to produce enough crops
sChool
plate sudden death, their fate isn’t really on
the line. Not if there’s a safety net to catch
to feed their children, much less save for
the future or emergencies. And leArnIng
them in a forgiving web of gravity alleviation.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the term ‘safety

net’ over the past few months. as the econ-
omy lags and many americans plunge head
according to the IFaD 2011 Rural Poverty
Report, “Poor rural people have less resil-
to tAke
responsIBIlIty.
ience than less-poor people because they
have fewer assets to fall back on when

2 FORmeRlY kNOWN aS FlOReSta USa

shocks occur. When they do occur, poor peo-
ple may have to resort to coping strategies
that involve incurring debt, selling assets, or
foregoing on education opportunities for chil-
dren and youth – all of which leave them that
much more vulnerable to future shocks.”
at Plant With Purpose, we use the term “vi-
cious cycle” to describe this downward spiral
of poverty and depletion of resources, both
environmental and otherwise, that grips rural
families. For these families, seemingly small
shocks, like bad weather or an illness, thrust
them deeper into poverty, into debt, into
hopelessness and despair. Daily life is a bal-
ancing act with no safety net in sight.
reasonably commit to saving each week. Peer
accountability and financial training builds a
culture of saving, and groups provide guid-
ance and encouragement to their members.
these groups are composed of and led by
community members and have few overhead
costs that formal institutions require. Unlike
traditional microfinance institutions, all of the
interest collected from loans goes back to the
group itself rather than being drained off to
an institution outside of the community. to
accommodate illiterate populations, village
savings and loan groups utilize memorization
as well as symbols that represent the number
of group pledges.
Where every drought at home—or price
drop around the world—won’t prevent
them from feeding their families. Where ev-
ery storm or illness or bad harvest doesn’t
have to be as perilous as a tightrope walk
without a safety net.
To learn more about Plant With Purpose’s
innovative village savings and loan
groups, or to sponsor a village that is im-
plementing these techniques, visit our
website at www.plantwithpurpose.org.

Plant With Purpose partners with rural com-
munities to reduce these risks so that they
can move out of poverty. One way we do this
is through village savings and loan groups.
like the name suggests, village savings and
loan groups provide an avenue for communi-
ty members to save, manage, and even loan
out their money. Plant With Purpose utilizes a
savings-led system that has had tremendous
success in providing financial services to the
rural poor who do not have access to bank-
ing institutions, are unable to qualify for even
small loans, and often cannot read or write.
Wait a second, how can poor people afford
to save? If they can barely survive, it seems
like saving would be the last thing they’d be
able to do.
What makes village savings and loan groups
not only feasible but also highly successful
among the rural poor is that group members
themselves decide on the amount they can
Plant With Purpose has experienced great
success with this savings-led system in its
program in tanzania, where we have a thriv-
ing network of 64 groups with over 1,800
members. mrs. eltruda, a woman from the
village of Buruka in tanzania, said, “Before
VICOBa, we barely lived to survive anoth-
er day. Now, we are sending our children to
school and learning to take responsibility. We
see now the value of education. We are us-
ing our own money to take care of ourselves.
there are no loan sharks or government offi-
cials to worry about. We have little to lose, but
everything to gain.”
these small groups mean big change for fam-
ilies on the brink. By providing families with
a buffer of savings for emergencies, invest-
ing in their land, starting small businesses,
or participating in other activities that could
help bring them out of poverty become less
risky. they are able to stabilize their income
to a level where they can absorb shocks.

WWW.PlaNtWItHPURPOSe.ORg 3
 JessNer’s
COrNer
By SCOTT SABIN
Executive Director
For as long as I have been here we have had
a section in The Sower called “the Director’s
Corner.” Sometimes it has my picture next
to it, and sometimes I make our editor leave
it off. I realize that it is my job to represent
the organization—to be the face of the orga-
nization, if you will. However, all of the re-
ally great things we are doing are being ac-
complished not by me but by the people we
work with, the people who are empowered
by your support and prayer. they are the
ones who have planted the 6.3 million trees
that we talk about. they are the ones oper-
ating the savings and loan groups, and they
are the ones restoring fertility and abundance
to the land. they are the heroes of the Plant
With Purpose story. So today I would like this
to be Jessner’s Corner.
Jessner is a Haitian farmer with almost no
formal education. I took this picture of him
last spring, shortly after the earthquake. this
picture of him with his son offers a great win-
dow on his character and personality. It was
a time when smiles were the last thing one
would expect to see. Yet Jessner is a man
with hope for the future and he is a man who
has discovered his vocation.
as it turns out, he has an enormous talent
for agricultural innovation and experimenta-
tion. He lives not far from our office in south-
ern Haiti where he runs our research farm.
His own farm is filled with experiments he
has devised to test the interactions between
various plants and trees. When I last visit-
ed, he proudly showed me the work he had
done, work that had begun to restore and re-
turn fruitfulness to a steep rocky plot of land
where he and his family draw sustenance.
the media rarely talks about the poor except
to portray them as victims, helplessly await-
4
4 FORmeRlY kNOWN aS FlOReSta USa
ing rescue. Poor people, sadly, often buy
into the same story. they believe the lie
that they have nothing to offer, no tal-
ent that is valuable to anyone. this lie is
even stronger among subsistence farm-
ers, the rural poor. In most countries they
are looked upon as backwards, an imped-
iment to development, despite the fact
they often produce much of the wealth of
the country.
Since the earthquake there has been much
speculation in the media about who, from
the outside, should “fix” Haiti. there has
been an expectation that the disaster re-
lief and associated aid would rescue the
country and set it in the right direction.
this has been followed by disappoint-
ment when the relief work did nothing to
correct the deeper problems that face the
country. today most articles tend to lack
hope. But I think Jessner, and a million
more like him, are the hope of Haiti.
One of the most important things we do
at Plant With Purpose is help people dis-
cover and utilize their talents. I believe an
important and sometimes neglected part
of the gospel is the good news that Jesus
calls us all to contribute to the kingdom.
all of us have talents, and all of us have
something to offer. all of us have a vo-
cation. Jessner is a man who has discov-
ered his.
scott sabin
executive Director
Visit our website, www.plantwithpurpose.org,
for the most recent update on our work in Haiti
and to donate toward these efforts.
OaxaCa WahiNes
By KATe NAre
Marketing Coordinator
In early may, myself and Plant With Pur-
pose’s Board Chair, Cathi lundy, led the first-
ever all women’s trip to see our programs in
Oaxaca. the ten of us, who nicknamed our-
selves the “Oaxaca Wahines”, traveled to six
different communities to meet with wom-
en’s groups to pray with them, love them,
and witness their revolving funds and loans
group meetings. In a short time span we
were able to see god’s spirit at work as the
women showed us their gardens, which pro-
vide nutritious food for their families and ex-
tra to sell; their fuel-efficient stoves, which
use 60% less wood and have improved
their families’ health; their revolving funds
and loan groups, which allow the women
to save their money and acquire loans to
fund their occupations; and much more.
One woman named eliasar, who we met in
monteflor, had a particularly touching sto-
ry of how Plant With Purpose’s partnership
had helped completely transform their com-
munity: “Our entire community has greatly
benefited from our relationship with Plant
With Purpose. I can remember when our ba-
bies would die because of malnutrition, and
we would have to walk two hours to Oaxaca
City to find food, supplies, and work. Plant
With Purpose taught us how to do things
ourselves and showed us a way to solve our
problems. Now we grow squash, radishes,
lettuce, onions, and other vegetables in our
garden to feed our families and sell in the
local market. Our children are healthy and
we’re able to send them to school. We have
experienced a lot of benefit from our rela-
tionship with Plant With Purpose.”
Plant With Purpose’s next Vision Trip to Oaxaca
is scheduled for October 19 – 24, 2011. If you are
interested in participating in this or any other
Vision Trip, please contact Doug Satre at doug@
plantwithpurpose.org or call (800) 633-5319.
DOuBle A group of generous supporters has offered to match all
gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000. This means that your
yOur impaCt: gift can go twice as far to help farmers who are in desperate
need of your support.
Give Now aNd watch your gift of $10, doubled to $20, will plant two orchards to improve the quality of
Your Gift Grow soil and water, prevent erosion, and provide families with food and income.

your gift of $30, doubled to $60, will provide two fuel-efficient stoves to help
families and the environment.
By DOug SATre your gift of $50, doubled to $100, will plant two family gardens to provide nutri-
Director of Outreach and Development tious produce and a source of income to families in need.

Your donation will help communities like Sa-
vane Bomb, which is located on the Haitian
side of the Haiti / Dominican Republic border.
It is impossible to overstate the depth of the
environmental damage and poverty here. this
truly is one of the materially poorest corners
of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere. However, with Plant With Pur-
pose’s training and support, Savane Bomb
and the surrounding villages have made tre-
mendous strides. they now have ten savings
and loan groups that meet regularly to make
credit available to group members and to
learn together how to improve their commu-
nity. One farmer said, “In the past there was
another organization that supported us here,
but not anymore. and they did not really show
us how to do things for ourselves. Plant With
Purpose has been here for five years now, and
is teaching people to be successful by teaching
us how to work so that after they are gone, we
will be able to do the work ourselves.”
Please help us continue our work of empow-
ering the poor to transform their lives and
have the ability to feed their families, send
their children to school, have fresh drinking
water, and experience god’s love and grace.
thank you so much for you support. We are
deeply grateful!
You may donate online at plantwithpurpose.
org, or by mailing the enclosed envelop to
our office.

the sOWer issue #93 4903 morena Blvd. Ste 1215

San Diego, Ca 92117
editor-In-Chief: kate Nare
kate@plantwithpurpose.org
The Sower is published quarterly Ph: (800) 633-5319
Fax: (858) 274-3728 Please consider including Plant With
by Plant With Purpose. email: info@plantwithpurpose.org Purpose in your wills and bequests.
www. plantwithpurpose.org

WWW.PlaNtWItHPURPOSe.ORg 5
 BreakiNg NeWs
“trees please!” CampaigN aN
“uNBeleaFaBle” suCCess!
We asked, “trees, Please?” and you an-
swered. thanks to your support, our april
“trees Please!” campaign was an “un-
beleafable” success! We raised a total of
$10,920, which means that nearly 11,000
trees will be planted in the six countries
where we work to reverse deforestation
and help transform the lives of the rural
poor. thanks so much for your support!!
is yOur ChurCh lOOkiNg FOr a speaker?
Plant With Purpose’s executive Director,
Scott Sabin, would love the opportunity
to speak at your church or home fellow-
ship. We are now booking appointments
for the fall and winter. Possible topics in-
clude: “Understanding the Connection
Between Poverty and the environment,”
the Biblical basis for Creation Care, what
works and what doesn’t when helping
the poor (ideal for short-term mission
teams), “How Not to be a Hero” (how we
try to be the savior to a world that already
has a savior), and tending to eden: envi-
ronmental Stewardship for god’s People
(an overview of Scott’s book).
For more information and to book a
date, please contact kate Nare at kate@
plantwithpurpose.org or call our office at
(800) 633-5319.
6 FORmeRlY kNOWN aS FlOReSta USa
save the date
plaNtiNg hOpe gala
oCtober 8, 2011 th
Paradise Point resort
plaNtiNg NeW partNerships
Plant With Purpose has partnered with Project 7,
a non-profit working to “change the score” and
help other non-profits raise money through mer-
chandise sales. Over half your purchase of Proj-
ect 7 mints, coffee, gum, and water, which are
available at airports (including the San Diego
airport), Walmart, and grocery stores around the
nation, goes back to Plant With Purpose as a do-
nation. through Project 7’s support, we have al-
ready raised funds to plant 86,087 fruit trees in
Haiti! So next time you go to buy one of these
every day products, please look for the “Save
the earth” Project 7 brand and help support Plant
With Purpose.
additionally, we are excited to announce that we
have partnered with Compassion International,
along with six other prominent nonprofits, an ef-
fort to end extreme global poverty. the founda-
tion of this initiative is based off of Isaiah 58, part
of which says: “and if you spend yourselves on
behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the
oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark-
ness, and your night will become like the noon-
day.” Visit www.live58.org and join us as we work
together to fast-forward the end of poverty.
Come experience the gala like never be-
fore at a fresh new venue with locally grown
gourmet food, exciting entertainment, live-
ly auction activities, a captivating video, an
exclusive opportunity drawing, and new tes-
timonies of transformation from our pro-
grams! Please save the date for Plant With
Purpose’s largest fundraiser of the year and
help us spread the word about this inspir-
ing evening. this is a great way for your fam-
ily and friends to learn about Plant With Pur-
pose’s vital work of empowering the rural
poor. to sponsor a table, donate an auction
item, or volunteer, please contact our gala
Chair, kate Nare, at kate@plantwithpurpose.
org. We hope to see you there!
teND tO yOur summer reaDiNg list
looking for a good summer read?
Tending to Eden: Environmen-
tal Stewardship for God’s People
by Plant With Purpose executive
Director Scott Sabin is a quick,
must-read. In Tending to Eden,
Scott reflects on many of the lessons learned in
eighteen years of working to heal the land and its
people around the world. Please help us spread
the word by telling your friends and family about
this wonderful resource, or by sharing the Cre-
ation Care Bible Study in the back of the book
with your small group or church.Tending to Eden
was named a finalist in the Christianity Today
Book of the Year awards and the National Indie
excellence awards. If you purchase Tending to
Eden through our website, www.plantwithpur-
pose.org, Plant With Purpose will receive a por-
tion of the proceeds from amazon.com.
BlOg Buzz
Stay up to date on the latest happenings at Plant
With Purpose by signing up to receive blog posts
to your email inbox! Hear stories of peace and
reconciliation in Burundi, receive “Ripple Re-
ports” about how news of our work is spreading
rapidly in Oaxaca, and other inspiring testimo-
nies from the farmers we work with. Our blog
is also a great way to stay connected and hear
about exciting upcoming events and ways you
can get involved. Visit www.plantwithpurpose.
org/blog to keep up with the blog buzz.
 Village spOtlight:
Panasawan, thaiLand
“SAWAT DEE!” or “Greetings”
from Panasawan, Thailand!
the village of Panasawan is rich in vibrant
colors and culture, yet plagued with extreme
poverty, environmental destruction, and the
despair of a displaced and disregarded peo-
ple. most of the villagers belong to the lahu
hill tribe, and the younger generation is
forced to seek work in neighboring cities just
to keep their families afloat.
Plant With Purpose is working in Panasawan
to provide the community with relevant and
sustainable options that address issues of
poverty, lack of citizenship and related rights,
and the loss of access to and degradation of
forests and fields.
Jayaw licha, a member of this community, is
a dedicated farmer with a wife and a child.
With the help of Plant With Purpose, his entire
family has seen great transformation in their
lives. Plant With Purpose taught him sustain-
able agriculture techniques, such as inter-
planting crops with trees and using organic
fertilizers and pesticides, which he applied to
his farm.
Now his thriving farm produces an impres-
sive variety of food year round—coffee and
tea, corn and beans, mangos, bananas, and
pineapple, just to name a few. His land pro-
duces enough to feed his family and he sells
his corn for extra income. In fact, his farm is
doing so well he no longer has to leave his
community to work as a day laborer to sup-
port his family!
Visit our website, www.plantwithpurpose.org,
to learn how you can sponsor Panasawan for
$30 per month. With our matching grant, this
amount will be doubled to $60 per month to
make an even greater impact in the lives of the
rural poor in Thailand.
WWW.PlaNtWItHPURPOSe.ORg 7
Plant with Purpose
4903 morena Blvd. Suite 1215 NoN-Profit org
San Diego, Ca 92117 U.S. PoStage
Paid
Ph: (800) 633-5319
Permit 751
Fax: (858) 274-3728 SaN diego Ca
email: info@plantwithpurpose.org
www.plantwithpurpose.org

saVe the Date FOr the

plaNtiNg hOpe gala!
OctOber 8th, 2011
Paradise Point Resort, San Diego

risky BusiNess
read how Communities Lift themseLves out of Poverty
through viLLage savings and Loan grouPs

DOuBle yOur impaCt

give now and watCh your gift grow

plaNt With purpOse, FOrmerly kNOWN as FlOresta