Today we talk about poverty. 

 

1.3 billion people live in abject poverty. It is estimated that 22,000 children die due to poverty every day. And, more than one billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water. Everyone is affected by poverty. You can’t escape it no matter where you live, what color your skin is, or how you spend your time. “There is no them. Only facets of US.” John Green 

 

Poverty is a problem. But, poverty is a problem we can work to solve. There are hundreds of organizations that give money, food, health care, education, training, and guidance but what about trees? What if trees were the new cure for poverty? Are you dubious? Let me explain. The majority of impoverished people around the world depend on the environment for survival. They depend on plants and animals for food, and natural rivers and streams for clean water. But, with the widespread deforestation and general depletion on our earth’s resources the world’s poor are losing their life line. This is Plant with Purposes mission; “environmental solutions for humanitarian issues”. The nonprofit organization outlines the cycle that combines issues of deforestation and poverty into one massive spiral. Moosa Creek has joined with Plant with Purpose combating poverty one plant, one tree, and one seed packet at a time. 

 

Imagine this example on worldwide, a 1.3 billion person scale. A poor rural family dependent on agriculture begins cutting down trees to make room for crops and provide fuel. The lack of trees leaves an area susceptible to mudslides, topsoil loss and contaminated drinking water sources. The loss of topsoil creates barren, nutrient-lacking ground. Crops aren’t able to grow. Rains become irregular and wells begin to dry up. A family’s source of income, sustenance, and support is destroyed. 

 

So, back to our new cure for poverty. Trees. Plant with Purpose has worked for years on the root causes of poverty. Their strategy reverses the spiral of poverty and ensures that communities thrive through environmental restoration, sustainable agricultural training, savings and loan micro-finance, church mobilization, and local leadership. This is where you come in. With each purchase of Moosa Creek’s Plant of the Month or seed packet a donation is generated to Plant with Purpose, which begins the process of healing areas of the developing world.

 

Through restoration, nitrogen-fixing trees add nutrients to the soil, fruit trees help provide a source of nutrition and income, and restored forests help create longevity and improved biodiversity. Farmers are taught hillside farming-which decreases the amount of topsoil loss and can act as a natural irrigation system as runoff is appropriately channeled. Agro-foresting, a method of farming that helps increase the health of an ecosystem by planting native plants around the crops, and bio intensive gardening, a process that focuses on maximizes the surface area in order to increase crop yield and minimize the amount of water needed, are all integrated. 

 

In many rural communities where individuals don’t have access to financial support loan sharks devastate families with excessive interest rates. Instead, in Susita's village, and others like hers, Plant with Purpose helps villagers set up Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) to provide a financial safety net. This sustainable,  locally organized form of microfinance trains groups of individuals to work together to save their money and create loan groups in order to develop small businesses, invest in their farms, and send their children to school. 

 

Since the health of the community is intrinsically linked with the spiritual health of a community Plant with Purposes provides spiritual support to communities, churches, and individuals. Equipping and the leaders of the community to meet the needs of the people using local resources and solutions. 

 

Plant with Purpose is at the forefront, working to solve one of the most destructive illness' our planet has ever seen; poverty. They combine environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture, economic security and community development to help restore the lives of impoverished families in Susita's village and all over the world. Moosa Creek is so excited to be a part of the Plant with Purpose’s work. Proud that WE can help bring the cure to poverty to people all over the world.