The quarterly newsletter of Trees for the Future
Spring 2010 Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Hope for Haiti On January 12 one of the most destructive natural di- has been playing a crucial role in bringing relief efforts sasters in history devastated a country already suffering to the specific communities where we are working. from rampant poverty, malnutrition and environmen- TREES has witnessed overwhelming support from our tal degradation. At Trees for the Future's main office members and business partners, which is allowing us in Silver Spring, Maryland, we sat in a state of shock to expand our efforts to assist tree planting and comanxiously awaiting any word of safety from our staff munity development activities throughout the country. on the ground, the communities where we were work- Following the earthquake, there is an even greater ing, and the loved ones of our friends and colleagues. need to bring Haiti's degraded lands back to higher proAlmost immediately, emails and telephone calls from ductivity. Without restoration, serious issues of food concerned friends of TREES flooded into our office insecurity and unemployment will continue to plague seeking such answers. Haiti. At TREES, our goal is to expand our Haiti pro Thankfully our coordinator Timote Georges and oth- gram to reach more communities in all regions of the er staff members are all okay, but there was tremendous country. In 2009, we worked with communities along sorrow for the many family members and friends that the Arcadine coast, north of Port-au-Prince, to plant perished. TREES office in Leveque was seriously damaged. Many of the communities where we have been working experienced the full magnitude of the quake and currently lack food, shelter and medicine. Haiti is seeing a mass migration of suddenly homeless and desperate people out of Port-au-Prince back to the rural regions. However, the degraded, overused land in these areas struggles to even support the permanent residents there. Therefore, as reported in many sources, we expect to see drastic increases in malnutrition, sickness and unemployment throughout the country. Nevertheless, here at TREES we In Desvase, 50 people were recently trained in agroforestry and provided with seeds and materials to establish a tree nursery to reforest have seen a lot to give us hope. Haitheir community. ti is slowly rebuilding and Timote Page 1 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
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The Johnny Ipil-Seed News is a quarterly newsletter of TREES FOR THE FUTURE, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people of the world’s poorest communities to begin environmentally beneficial, self-help projects. This newsletter is printed using wind energy on recycled paper with soy-based ink and is sent to all supporting members to inform them of recent events, plans, financial matters and how their support is helping people. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. John R. Moore - Chairman, Dr. Peter Falk - Vice Chairman, Mr. Oscar V. Gruspe - Finance Officer, Dave Deppner President, Mr. Bedru Sultan, Ms. Marilou Herman, Mr. Franz Stuppard, Mr. John Leary - Members, R. Grace Deppner - Recording Secretary (non-voting) ADVISORY COUNCIL Dr. Mizani Kristos - West African Development, Dr. James Brewbaker - University of Hawaii, Mr. William Campbell - Seasoned Energy, Mr. Steve McCrea - Global Climate Change, FL, Dr. Malcolm Novins - George Mason University, Dr. Noel Vietmeyer - The Vetiver Institute, Mr. Sean Griffin - Forestry & GIS Specialist STAFF Dave Deppner - Founder, Executive Director R. Grace Deppner - Founder, Associate Director Jeffrey Manuel - Membership Services Gorav Seth - International Programs Coordinator Josh Bogart - Central America Coordinator Ethan Budiansky - Africa and Caribbean Program Officer Jeff Follett - South America Program Officer Francis Deppner - Southeast Asia Coordinator David Tye - East Africa Coordinator Heather Muszyinski - Grants Coordinator Gabe Buttram - Ethiopia Program Coordinator Ryan Murphy - Tree Pals Coordinator Leandro Monteiro - Business Partnerships Coordinator Cathie Bukowski - Training Program Coordinator FIELD STAFF Louis Nkembi - Cameroon, Guillermo Valle - Honduras, Subramanian Periyasamy - India, Sagapala Gangisetty - India, Manoj Bhatt - India, Donal Perez - Nicaragua, Danny Zabala - Philippines, Omar Ndao - Senegal, Kay Howe - Indonesia, Abdul Chamid - Indonesia, Fernanda Peixoto - Brazil, Paulino Damiano Mugendi - Kenya, Mathius Lukwago - Uganda, Karamba Diakhaby - Senegal, Lovans Owusu-Takyi -Ghana, Robin Achah- Cameroon, Timote Georges - Haiti, Mohamed Traore - Mali, Merkebu Garedew - Ethiopia To receive this newsletter or for more information, contact: TREES FOR THE FUTURE The Loret Miller Ruppe Center for Sustainable Development P.O. Box 7027, Silver Spring, MD 20907 Toll Free: 1-800-643-0001: Ph: 301-565-0630 info@treesftf.org WWW.PLANT-TREES.ORG
Opinion: Looking Back at 2009 Let me start by saying "Thank you!" As it turns out, 2009 was a very successful year for TREES. With all of the hardship that spread across our land, we are that much more appreciative of what all of you have done to help desperate people in the world's developing communities. Now, here in the shadow of the Nation's Capitol, the sun has returned and the day has come when the mountains of snow have disappeared. In light of the cold weather in the DC area and all of the snow, many people are asking the question, "Can you still believe in global warming?" That issue has been very much on people's minds these past months. The bulk of evidence still says it's true. The vast majority of the scientific community agrees. And while it is less apparent while standing on a Chicago sidewalk in January, our travels into warmer climates show us, first hand, that it's happening. We see it in ways we wish would never happen in any part of the world. Still, there's room for doubt, especially because of the information given to the public. There are all those challengeable statements made by the coal, oil, gas and other vested interests. And on the other side, there are the hyped-up claims so often made by the so-called "true believers." Then, last December there was the UN Conference in Copenhagen. That's where the professional freeloaders booked every room in town as early as five months in advance. Where everybody promised everybody else big grants but nobody came with a cohesive plan for the funding. Groups of individuals from the world's developing communities, who have seen, and been the victims of, the flooding, landslides, droughts and failing water supplies didn't even have a place at the table where they could share their stories; this despite their daily need to protect their homes and way of life in a changing world. So if the so-called experts came to town without a plan, without even an idea after all these years, then why should it be surprising that people doubt climate change exists? And, either way, why should any public funding, such as was widely promised in Copenhagen,
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Opinion (continued from page 2) be given to organizations that don't have the slightest clue what to do with it? Sounds more like a bunch of politicians promising other politicians big bundles of cash. Well, there is climate change, and something has to be done about it. Here at TREES, we don't agree that massive public funding, with or without a plan, is necessary. With your help, we're working with communities that are proving the effectiveness of our approach all around the world. Look at it this way, of the tens of millions of trees you've helped us plant over these past 20 years, not a single tree was ever planted for its "carbon mitigating" value. Every one of them was planted as a means to help people save their lands and their way of life. But we also point out that every year these same trees remove more than three million tons of carbon dioxide from the global atmosphere! Now, is anybody in the "carbon business" doing anything even half as beneficial as that? Every project we start is designed to be "bankable," the participating families are expected to gain a number of important benefits, including an increase in their income. If we don't help them achieve that, we're not
doing our job. What TREES is doing is helping people repair the massive environmental destruction done, through stupidity and greed, over the past 60 or more years and doing it in a way that brings important economic benefit to places where that assistance is especially needed. So IF there is climate change (and there is) and if you want to plant trees to end this threat, the experts say it would require the planting of some 800 billion trees in the world's tropical developing communities. That could be done, not by wasting the taxpayers' money, but as a solid investment in the future for all of us. That's what you're helping us prove to the world. Many private corporations are already discovering this. They see that in our new economy being a good neighbor is also good business. More of these business partners are joining with us every day. In this issue we'll tell you about two partners and what they help us accomplish. I think you'll agree that businesses can be "good people" too.
PBteen Pillow Covers Benefit Trees for the Future PBteen is proud to partner with Trees for the Future. With every purchase of their 100% Organic Love Your Planet and Tree Hug/Planet Love Pillow Covers, Trees for the Future will plant one thriving tree. PBteen is an exclusive line of furniture, bedding, lighting and accessories from Pottery Barn designed just for teens. Since 2003, PBteen has been offering fun and innovative solutions for teen bedrooms, lounges, dorm rooms and more. As a part of the Pottery Barn family, PBteen is dedicated to several environmental initiatives. They now offer a wide range of eco-friendly products using 100% organic cotton and recycled fill in select seating. More than half of their bedding collections now contain at least 5% organic fiber and a majority of their bedding has been certified by OekoTex to ensure that it’s healthy for you, healthy for those who produce it and healthy for the environment. To stay on top of PBteen’s progress, visit pbteen.com/environment. To purchase one of their pillow covers to benefit Trees for the Future, search planet at pbteen.com.
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Mali Update This past February, Africa and Caribbean Programs Officer, Ethan Budiansky, made a trip to see and evaluate Trees for the Future's programs in Mali and Burkina Faso. TREES began working in Mali back in 2006 with the assistance of local technician Mohamed Traore, who is also a founding member of Bamakobased NGO Mali-Espoir. In the early years of the program, TREES provided Mohamed with tree seeds and training, including a visit to Senegal to spend time learning from TREES Senegal Technician Omar Ndao. With TREES' assistance, Mohamed and Mali-Espoir worked with numerous communities throughout Mali to develop agroforestry projects. For two years Mohamed pursued a master’s degree in natural resources in Alexandria, Egypt. In 2009, with Mohamed's return, the Mali program expanded to the countries of Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso. Ethan's recent visit brought him to projects throughout Mali and Burkina Faso. In Mali, TREES works in four regions – Sanenkoroba, Kalifabougou, Nioro and Nara. The projects are as diverse as the landscape and the people. Closer to the capital, Bamako, in Kalifabougou TREES is working with a women's group of 166 members. The women are
all part of a large communal garden and share in all of their activities. After a meeting with the women, Ethan, Mohamed and the women visited the projects from this past year. They established a nursery of around 40,000 trees. Many of the trees were planted as live fencing around the field. The men of the community were also given a number of seedlings as well to plant in their fields. Most interesting was the women's intensive baobab project. Baobab trees, pictured in many images of Africa, are slow growing, but produce a highly desirable and tasty leaf used in many local dishes. In this project, women plant many seedlings in lines spaced at 20cm apart in a garden bed. For the first two years, the women harvest the leaves of the young seedlings every two weeks to eat or sell in the local market. When the trees get to be too large, the women will plant them in their fields. With intensive leaf production, the women can make an additional $250 per year, which is the annual income of many rural farmers. Therefore, TREES intends to develop similar projects throughout Mali and other countries. In 2010 TREES will continue expanding its pro-
Valentin planted this live fence of Acacia nilotica in 2009. The thorny live fence will protect his fruit trees (in protective structures) and gardens from animals.
This sign, at the tree nursery in Balga, proudly shows the partnership between TREES and the local farmers' cooperative, YENPAABU
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Mali Update (continued from page 4) gram in Mali. There are numerous new communities who wish to become involved in TREES' program. In addition to baobab, TREES is working with communities to develop projects around Shea trees in order to produce Shea butter, another highly desirable product from trees. During this visit Ethan met with the Peace Corps director in Mali. Many Peace Corps country programs are focusing strongly on issues of food security, a subject in which agroforestry plays an important role. In the near future, TREES will be assisting volunteers to develop agroforestry Ethan, Mohamed and Emmanuel with the farmer’s cooperative projects in their villages throughout the in Balga country. In addition, Mohamed will be windbreaks such as Acacia nilotica, Leucaena leucoa resource to train volunteers in handson agroforestry techniques. Peace Corps looks to place cephala, and Jatropha curcas. Many farmers are alvolunteers in areas where they can assist communities ready engaged in planting corn and sorghum annually, though, in the future, they would like to establish fruit working with TREES. The program in Burkina Faso, in only its first year, is tree orchards. The live fences and windbreaks were off to an excellent start. Emmanuel Yoni learned about planted to protect the future fruit trees from intruding Trees for the Future while studying with Mohamed in animals and wind, which knocks fruit off the trees. In Egypt and wanted to develop agroforestry projects in total, the community planted over 50,000 trees. his home country. He started in the community where Looking into 2010, Emmanuel intends to expand he was raised, Balga. The community group consist- TREES' efforts in three different regions of Burkina ing of 43 farmers established a shared nursery in 2009. Faso. The project in Balga is further developing and They planted trees primarily used in live fencing and will include tree planting with the local secondary school this year. In addition, we are developing a partnership with Peace Corps in the country. At a meeting during the visit, many Peace Corps volunteers expressed their desire to work with TREES to develop agroforestry projects in their village. The programs in Niger and Guinea will also continue in 2010. The program in West Africa continues to be very successful and TREES is reaching rural communities throughout the region. Much of the land is heavily degraded; however, people are learning that with a little hard work and dedication, they can improve their lives and TREES local coordinator Mohamed Traore and the women's group bring life back to their environment by standing along a live fence that was planted in 2007 planting trees. Page 5 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Hope for Haiti (continued from page 1) over 1 million trees. This year, we are continuing those practices that incorporate trees. efforts and expanding into 2 new regions - Gonaives and Medor, where we are hoping to plant over 500,000 Gonaives trees In December 2009, Trees for the Future and the YĂŠle Foundation (www.yele.org) established a major partnership to develop a program in Gonaives, a region which suffers from extreme poverty, malnutrition and vulnerability to hurricanes. Under the YĂŠle Foundation's YĂŠle Vert program, we will establish a central tree nursery, office, and training and agriculture center in the city of Gonaives. In addition, five community nurseries will be established in rural communities surrounding the city. The tree nurseries will supply multipurpose and fast-growing trees for food, animal fodder, construction material, biofuel and sustainable fuelwood and charcoal production. Each nursery will provide an agricultural service to help small scale farmers and cooperatives improve their crop production and integrate trees into their farming practices. In total, the program expects to produce over 1 million trees per year in Gonaives. The program was delayed following the earthquake, 50 people participated in the agroforestry training. as everyone focused on immediate relief and recovThey are establishing a nursery of 45,000 trees including Jatropha, Mahogany, Moringa, Acacia angustissima, ery efforts. Now, Timote has reached two communities where participants have learned about agroforestry Catalpa longissima, Leucaena leucocephala techniques. Tree nurseries were established in Februand Samanea saman. Arcadine Coast Currently we are working with 12 communities along the Arcadine coast. We collaborated with some of these communities in 2009, but many are new partners who are in particular need following the earthquake. In these communities, people are planting trees that grow quickly, regenerate and protect the depleted soil, and provide sources of fuelwood, construction materials, food, animal fodder and other valuable resources. Farmers have been organized and trained and we expect to plant around 500,000 trees in this region by mid-2010. In response to the serious issue of food insecurity, we are incorporating a strong agriculture component to the program. We are providing the participating farmers with tools to farm their land along with seeds for corn, sorghum and beans. Supplying people with these seeds helps address immediate needs for hunger while also providing a platform to discuss sustainable agricultural
Members of the community of Medor were trained in agroforestry. They established a nursery of 30,000 seedlings.
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Hope for Haiti (continued from page 6) ary and about 100,000 trees will be planted by June. The farmers will also plant traditional crops as part of the agriculture program. Beginning this April, we will break ground on the central nursery and training center in Gonaives and reach new rural communities interested in the program. By this November, we expect the program to be running near full capacity. Medor Trees for the Future is developing a new program in the mountains of Medor, in the Chaine des Cahos region, Northeast of Port au Prince. In partnership with Our Lady Queen of Peace in Arlington, VA, we are working with 13 parishes in Medor to develop a sizeable reforestation campaign along the exposed hillsides. We have already started a pilot project with the main parish in Medor. Farmers were trained in agroforestry, and by June participants will plant 30,000 trees in the degraded mountains and hillsides surrounding their community.
Why we need your help The current situation adds a new sense of urgency to expand our program in 2010. Our area of activity covers regions which have been devastated by the earthquake, and we must expand our coverage to reach as many of these villages as possible. We will continue to concentrate our efforts on hillside restoration, soil improvement and training new people in agroforestry techniques. Our approach is based on sustainable agriculture practices that improve crop yields and provide food and income for the people of Haiti. Experience has taught us that the land can be rehabilitated and that the Haitian people are eager to participate in the process when the necessary assistance is provided. There are numerous communities throughout Haiti asking to participate in Trees for the Future's program. In addition to supporting immediate relief efforts in Haiti, we hope that our supporters can help us address the long-term needs of people in Haiti. Please visit our website at www.plant-trees.org and thank you for all of your past and continued support.
A Cold Leap for Trees St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the alma mater of TREES fundraising coordinator Heather Muszynski, hosted their fifth annual Polar Bear Plunge on February 19, 2010. The plunge, which was started by the college’s Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), is an effort to have fun while raising awareness about global climate change. Every year the students select a specific cause to raise money for in conjunction with the plunge and this year Trees for the Future was their pick! More then 100 students, faculty Students from St. Mary's College of Maryland take the plunge to benefit and staff came together to take the Trees for the Future plunge. The water and air temperature were both in the low 30s, making for a very chilly dip in the river! Trees for the Future would like to thank the college and students for organizing the event, as well as for donating the money they raised to our Haiti program. Way to go guys! Page 7 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Teaching with Trees for the Future in Uganda One of the great things about working with Trees for the Future is the wonderful, inspiring people you have a chance to be in contact with. Mariane Mugerwa, a teacher in rural Uganda, is one of these people. Recently, we asked her some questions about her life, work and involvement with Trees for the Future. Treesftf: Can you tell me a little about your background? Mariane: I came from a family of six and am 25 years old. I am a graduate from Makerere University with a working experience of one and a half years. During my high school time, I was the secretary of an environmental club and we made sure that our school compound was always beautified and protected to bring green to our being. Treesftf: What was your childhood like? Mariane: During my childhood, I went through school and came to observe that trees and flower protection was very important. Any kid who could dare breaking or disturbing a tree or a flower would be punished and told to replace it with another one and this stuck in my heart as I grew up. I tried my level best not to fall a victim of plant or flower destruction but I could not save myself all the time and I found myself picking one flower from the plant and a fellow kid reported me. I had to get my dad to get another beautiful flower to replace it. Treesftf: How did you get involved with Trees for the Future? Mariane: When the Executive of Rural and Urban Community Development was informed of the programs of TREES we were also informed about it and we wrote requesting for partnership, which was accepted. We started fully understanding what TREES is all about and we were convinced that we can be part of it so we have never looked back. Treesftf: What are you and your students doing with Scouts preparing to plant their trees at the Kaazi campTrees for the Future and Tree Pals? ing ground in Uganda Mariane: We prepare nursery beds, and also plant trees in our communities. The seeds that we got from TREES helped us to reach areas we were unable to reach before because we did not have a strong environment partner to rely on. With Tree Pals, we are waiting to start exchanging views and ideas on how trees are important and how we can conserve them for the good of our lives with a partner class[room of students]. I am convinced that kids can be great agents of environmental conservation once informed well of what their roles can be, which is what we are doing at Angels of Hope Junior School. Tree Pals will help students to understand how different nations handle environmental issues and what we have in common as regards environment Treesftf: What would you like to do in your community in the future? Mariane: In the future, I would like to see that all schools in our areas of operation have set up environmental clubs that will help propagate the message of conserving the environment and seeing all the school compounds with suitable trees. In addition to that, I would like to encourage and involve community members in tree planting campaigns, and organize for environmental campaign programs to educate the community on the role of a conserved environment. We are glad that our school-going children have picked interest in tree planting and nursery bed preparing and we are only missing seeds to give to them so that they can start their own beds and then distribute the seedlings because many people use scarcity of money as a reason to why they don’t plant trees in their land. With more seedlings given out free of charge, many trees will be planted. Page 8 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
United States Experience with Tree Pals After supporting our organization for the past few years, Instructional Assistant Melissa Perkins decided to get a little more involved with Trees for the Future and participated in the Tree Pals program this past Fall. She and the students in the class she works with from Tully Elementary school in Louisville, Kentucky were linked with a partner classroom working with us to plant trees in Masaya, Nicaragua. They exchanged letters and pictures of themselves, the school and trees in the area with their partner class. Recently, Tree Pals Program Coordinator Ryan Murphy had a chance to ask her a few questions about her experience. Treesftf: Why did you decide to get involved with Trees for the Future? Melissa: I became involved with Trees for the Future in 2008 after learning about the wonderful job you were doing around the world raising environmental awareness. I also started to make contributions in honor of the students at Tully Elementary. Treesftf: What have you done with Tree Pals and how does it fit in with the work already going on at Tully Elementary? Melissa: Along with environmental studies being conducted in classrooms and throughout our school, Tree Pals seemed to be a perfect fit. The students sent letters and a picture of themselves to students in Nicaragua. With our package we also included pictures of our school environment, trees planted at Tully and our wonderful greenhouse. Treesftf: What have your students learned from the letter-writing activity? Melissa: In the letter that we received from one of the classrooms in Nicaragua, we were able to learn about their school, society, crops, and environmental studies. These smart and compassionate students will make some of the great leaders of tomorrow. Treesftf: Why do you think this type of program is important? Melissa: I was very excited last year when I found out the Trees for the Future was continuing Tree Pals. It’s a great way to continue the building of international communication, not only for the Students in Nicaragua showing their new seedlings children, but for adults as well. Melissa is participating in the program again this spring and excited to add Tree Pals into other environmental education activities at her school, including a recent visit Dr. Anne Savage, Senior Conservation Biologist at Disney's Animal Kingdom, who spoke with classrooms about rain forests and deforestation. Tree Pals wants to thank Mariane, Melissa, and dedicated educators like them for bringing the Tree Pals program to life. Without their continued support and perseverance, none of what we do would be possible. If you are interested in getting involved or supporting the program you can go to the website at www.treepals.org. Page 9 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Trees for the Future Honored by the Maryland State Legislature On the morning of February 23rd, Dave and Grace Deppner, members of our Board of Directors, and TREES staff made it to Annapolis, Maryland to receive resolutions by both the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates recognizing the work of the organization over its twenty-year history. The morning began with a breakfast at the Maryland Inn, a historic landmark in the center of Annapolis. Staff members, volunteers, members of the board, long-time supporters and friends mingled over coffee and pancakes, and local politicians were introduced to our work planting trees around the world from their own back yard. After a laudatory introduction by Senator Brian Frosh and Delegate Al Carr, Dave addressed the crowd. He spoke of the growth of TREES from humble beginnings at the kitchen table of the Deppner household to an organization that has planted over 65 million trees and is currently working in 28 countries. He then gave the floor to board member Franz Stuppard, who explained TREES history in Haiti and told the audience how the organization will move forward there in the future. Finally, board chairman John Moore gave a unique perspective on the beginnings of Trees for the Future and the founder Dave Deppner. John has known Dave for more than fifty years! Dave closed the presentation with thanks to the Mary-
Speaker of the House Michael Busch, Dave Deppner, Franz Stuppard and John Moore with Delegate Al Carr after receiving the resolution
land legislators and their recognition of the value of the work that we do. Then, it was off to the floor of the House and Senate Chambers to receive the resolutions. Dave, Franz and John were handed certificates as the entire Maryland Legislature voted to award resolutions to Trees for the Future in honor of the organization's amazing work for the past 20 years. The event was not only a celebration of the past, but an indicator of the promising future of TREES and a symbol of the support the Maryland community has for the work we do.
Praise for Our Brazil Program We have just finished up with a successful transplanting season. As an added bonus, we received some great third-party recognition of our work. Danielle Weiss, Project Manager for Planeterra, visited our projects in mid-February. We are very proud of our program and it was wonderful to get such positive feedback from Danielle. You can check out her blog postings at: http://www.community.planeterra.org/profiles/blogs/ planeterra-plants-half-a http://www.community.planeterra.org/profiles/blogs/ heading-out-to-the-brazilian http://www.community.planeterra.org/profiles/blogs/ volunteer-opportunities-at-our The forest garden approach to reforestation at the Peixoto demonstration site
Thanks to Fernanda Peixoto and Paulo Polvora for taking time to show Danielle around.
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Disaster Strikes Our Friends in Uganda Recently there was a landslide in Uganda due to unusually heavy rains in the third week of the rainy season. This unfortunate natural disaster took place in an area where Trees for the Future started working in 2008 in association with Randa United Farmers Group (RUFG), which is based in and works with small holder farmers in Randa Village in Bududa District, Uganda. RUFG was one of the first organizations that Trees for the Future began working with after establishing the East Africa Office. TREES has worked with RUFG to provide tree seeds to 25 farmers throughout the community. We have also worked together to train farmers on establishing contours and terraces on hillsides to stabilize the land converted to farms. The contours have been combined with plantings of vetiver grass and Calliandra calothyrsus trees to create barriers that help
Khaukha, wrote to the organizations that they are working with, like TREES, to explain the situation. The following is his appeal for assistance and support during this difficult time: "If you can afford to donate, please come in, we are badly off with a need for clothes, iron sheets, medical supplies, water, equipment, food and funds. Randa United Farmers Group will be used as a centre to supply what has been donated to the survivors. RUFG therefore requests friends and well wishers to make contributions of anything which will be used to help household necessities for those who have lost their homes. We need emergency kits to offer the affected households that have lost their homes and property including blankets, water containers, basins, saucepans, plates, tarpaulins, soap, and cups as well as water purification tablets. Anything can be sent to this address:" c/o UCSD P. O. Box 27551 Kampala - Uganda
Despite our initial work with RUFG, the damage from the landslide in Uganda is truly catastrophic.
counter soil erosion. RUFG is interested in expanding the agroforestry and tree planting program to other nearby villages in Bududa District to prevent what happened in the nearby villages of Kubehwo, Namakansa, and Nametsi. Natural disasters may be inevitable, but the severity of the consequences they cause for communities can be mitigated by improving the land management practices in areas prone to these disasters. The events from Haiti and Uganda so far this year, emphasize the ever-increasing importance of the work and education that TREES strives to provide. The Executive Director of RUFG, Mukhobeh Moses
For further details on the landslide and the devastation it has caused, we have included an account from allAfrica.com (http://allafrica.com/stories/201003030037.html) that Director Khaukha included in his appeal for help: A MASSIVE landslide swept the slopes of Mt. Elgon [near our project area] in eastern Uganda on Monday night, killing at least 80 people, with 350 missing and feared dead. The landslide erased three villages in Bududa district known as Kubehwo, Namakansa and Nametsi located in Bukalasi sub-county. By press time, 80 bodies had been recovered, with only 43 survivors, two of them elderly women. Over 100 pupils, who could not walk home in time because River Wukha was flooded, and took shelter in a shop in Nametsi, were buried. The shop attendant, Michael Nabute, who had reportedly sheltered them, took off when he heard thunderous sound of rolling earth up-hill. Other people were trapped for running in the wrong direction in a desperate attempt to escape. Weeping residents, who lost all their belongings and livelihood, were inconsolable. They stood in small groups trying to come to terms with the loss. Men shook their heads in disbelief while others placed their hands over their heads in shock. Children sat on the ground help-
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Disaster for Our Friends in Uganda (continued from page 11) lessly. "It's a mourning mood," Alex Bright, a security officer at the scene, remarked. "A mudslide covering an area of 200 metres wide came down and buried the three villages," he said. "The situation is sad," Kabwegyere's deputy Musa Ecweru said. He oversaw the rescue mission at Nametsi. The army, the Police, the Uganda Red Cross and district leaders rushed to the area which was reduced to a
brown slope with bodies buried underneath. Rescuers joined residents to dig up the soil for survivors and the dead for burial. The survivors were rushed to Bududa Hospital. Landslides occur when there is a downward slide of a dry mass of earth and rock. The Red Cross in a statement warned of floods in Moroto, Katakwi and Nakapiripirit.
Randa Village is built on steep hillsides. Years of continued farming and constant soil erosion has led to poverty and low agricultural production. TREES is working on agroforestry projects that will help rejuvenate these lands.
eco Optics Trees for the Future would like to introduce a new business partner - eco Optics part of MODO Eyewear. For each pair of eco frames purchased, MODO donates one new tree to Trees for the Future. eco plans to plant over a half a million trees in 2010 in Cameroon. eco, the first line of affordable luxury eyewear to bring environmental responsibility to the forefront, is a new collection of Earth-Conscious Optics for men and women created by renowned luxury eyewear designer MODO. eco works to repurpose, recycle or reuse materials throughout every step of the product lifecycle boasting a 360° approach to sustainability without sacrificing quality, design or price. The eco collection has become the first-ever consumer brand and eyewear collection to receive an Environmental Claims Validation™ (ECV) from UL Environment (ULE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a world leader in product evaluation. The ULE validation substantiates eco’s assertion that the eyewear is made of at least 95 percent recycled stainless steel and plastic. In addition to using recycled and repurposed materials to create the frames, the collection is packaged in recycled materials and each new pair is accompanied by an easy to use mail-in recycling kit. eco created a system that allows customers to donate their unwanted frames to charities helping people with poor vision in developing areas of the world. Page 12 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Trees for the Future, Inc. Annual Report – 2009 The General Situation: The year began cautiously because of so many discouraging predictions about the economy. Even at the beginning of the year, we were aware that many new communities – even new countries - were asking to join the program. Therefore we decided to set aside a sufficient reserve to assure that we could provide the inputs these new projects would need. As it turned out, with careful management, there was adequate funding to continue all of our programs. And to keep growing. Total income increased in 2009 slightly over 2008. Your support allowed us to bring on two (2) new staff technicians and to establish a new regional office in Ethiopia. A high percentage of the total income came from private businesses, which now produce nearly 60% of our annual income. While grants from private foundations were disappointing, by year’s end we had been awarded a major grant from the Yéle Foundation in Haiti, to initiate a major two-year program in the uplands above the often threatened city of Gonaives. Despite the earthquake this past January, the program started as planned in early 2010.
support for addressing the global climate issue. By year’s end, NOAH had stated that carbon levels had increased to 387 parts per million, while most scientists are of the opinion that a safe CO-2 level would be somewhere below 350 ppm. At the same time, around the world we face increasing difficulties that can almost surely be blamed on climate change: the rapidly rising sea levels that caused so much flooding in the Philippines, the devastating landslides in Indonesia, the 10 years of drought in Southeast Australia, the movement of insects and diseases into areas that had not been found before, the very disappointing monsoon season in the Indian Subcontinent and, more recently, the “la Nina” effect with extremely high temperatures that is now sweeping across the Pacific.
International Tree Planting: The total number of trees successfully planted by our program in 2009 is approximately the same as projected in 2008 – about 13,400,000 seedlings successfully transplanted and surviving the first, critical, rainy season. While the effort was considerably expanded from 2008, disappointing weather conditions, some very limiting political situations that hobbled efforts in HonClimate & Environmental issues: duras, Ethiopia and, more recently, with the beginning In 2009 we found that acceptance of our reasons for stages of the Philippine national elections. restoring tree cover to the world’s degraded lands inThese are situations that are always expected, but creased significantly, although there was less public in 2009 they happened more frequently than we had encountered in the past. Also, as we purchased seed for expansion in some places we found low germination rates, sometimes as low as 20% from some formerly reliable sources. This is a situation TREES can’t tolerate and, fortunately, we are slowly developing our own seed orchards in a number of countries. We anticipate that a great number of additional organizations will begin agroforestry projects in the near future and that high quality seeds will be in heavy demand. We now have staff members permanently residing in three (3) regions: Northeast Africa, East Africa, and Central America. We hope to have two more assigned in 2010. By the end of 2009, we had trained and are Don Rodriguez with a 19 month old Swietenia humilis tree also supporting 53 local field technicians worldwide. Continued on page 14 Page 13 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Trees for the Future, Inc. Annual Report – 2009 (continued from page 13)
Technical Development: Our program is presently planting approximately 50 species of beneficial, non-invasive permanent trees in various parts of the world. In this way we are gaining a great deal of knowledge about symbiotic relationships. This knowledge is being made available to a rapidly growing worldwide audience through the translation (now in 5 languages) of our Agroforestry Manual- and also the Forest Garden Handbook. Peace Corps Volunteers in several countries have now received several hundred manuals and the demand continues to grow. Because of the great number of local organizations, concerned about the environment and looking to develop their own action programs, and recognizing that we do not have the resources to reach many such groups, we believe we must expand our long-distance training program. At years end we hired a technician, Cathie Bukowski, a recently returned Peace Corps volunteer from Honduras, to build this program. There is a great need in this program, as well as requests from many of our business partners, that we produce a number of films, of about 4-5 minutes each, explaining various concerns of the program and also training films about various technologies of the program. These are both for a US audience and for community organiza-
Calliandra, Leucaena, and Grevillea seedlings protected on Swai Ranch near Kivisini Village, Mwanga District, Tanzania
tions wanting to learn about reforestation/agroforestry Here I’ll mention that much about producing high quality films is a new activity to us and we would appreciate any help you, our members, can provide. For example, one of our Advisors, Steve McCrea recently gave us a grant to buy a much needed high resolution camera with a good microphone. Recognition: TREES was recently recognized by the Maryland legislature for our 20 years of service to the community and to the world so, again, thank you! This was only achieved because we have so many good donors. The event is covered on page 10 of this newsletter.
As part of its report about food security issues in Senegal, BBC World News reported on Omar and TREES' work to develop agroforestry projects in the country.
Page 14 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
Trees for the Future, Inc. Preliminary Financial Report 2009 Income: Individual Donations Foundation Grants Corporate Gifts Dividends & Interest Investment Gain/ Loss TOTAL INCOME
$403,514 $47,680 $715,913 $4,343 ($41,228) $1,130,222
Expenses: Salaries, Consulting, Benefits: Salaries Consulting Fees SSS/ Taxes / SUTA Health/ Other Benefits Payroll Processing SUBTOTAL
$478,859 $85,765 $37,513 $26,407 $2,171 $630,715
International Tree Planting Program: On-Site Expenses Project Materials International Travel & Related Website/Phone/Internet SUBTOTAL
$347,140 $24,879 $86,588 $6,578 $465,185
Public Information Program: Printing, Publishing, Mailing Travel & Exhibits Website, Phone/Internet Meetings, Equipment Rental SUBTOTAL
$23,012 $8,055 $7,660 $797 $39,524
Occupancy Expenses: Mortgage Payments Utilities Property Taxes/Insurance Maintenance SUBTOTAL
$12,045 $5,097 $8,416 $7,200 $32,758
Office Expenses: Supplies & Equipment Purchases Licenses & Permits Website, Phone, Internet Bank Charges, Credit Postage, Dues, Subscriptions, Gifts Accounting Equipment Depreciation SUBTOTAL
$16,044 $4,483 $4,206 $5,342 $7,501 $2,500 $7,749 $47,825
Fundraising: Printing/Mailing Travel, Meals/Lodging SUBTOTAL TOTAL EXPENSES - 2009
$13,254 $7,046 $20,300 $1,236,307
Summary: Income, All Sources: Expenses: Actual Loss 2009 (incl. depreciation)
$1,130,022 $1,236,307 ($106,085)
Program-related expenses: 79.08% Fundraising Costs: 4.2% Administrative Costs: 16.72%
Page 15 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XVIII, No. 1
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Inside p.1: Hope for Haiti p.2: Opinion: Looking Back at 2009 p.3: PBteen Pillow Covers Benefit Trees for the Future p.4: Mali Update p.7: A Cold Leap for Trees p.8: Teaching with Trees for the Future in Uganda p.9: United States Experience with Tree Pals p.10: Trees for the Future Honored by the Maryland State Legislature p.10: Praise for Our Brazil Program p.11: Disaster for Our Friends in Uganda p.12: eco Optics p.13: Trees for the Future, Inc. Preliminary Annual Report – 2009
Mother's Day By giving the gift of trees to your mom, you give the gift of clean air, improved soils, and better agricultural production to people around the world. Go to www.plant-trees.org today to buy her a tree planting certificate.
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