There are 800 million rural subsistence farmers around the world and each one of them are relying on their land for survival. Many farmers have to use slash and burn agriculture to create more land to plant cash crops or clear cut forests to produce charcoal and provide enough income to support their families. These harmful methods lead to further environmental degradation and eventually force desperate families to flee their lands and move into densely overpopulated cities such as Port-au-Prince to seek economic opportunity.

Plant With Purpose is a San Diego based non-profit organization that works internationally to reverse cycles of environmental decline and poverty by teaching sustainable agriculture and microfinance.

As a part with Plant With Purpose’s holistic approach to community development, they teach savings-led microfinance to encourage savings and provide access to affordable credit in regions where money lenders charge exorbitant rates and traditional banks refuse to loan to farmers. Access to credit can create a buffer to allow families to pay for things like school fees for their children when their crops haven’t been harvested and sold yet. Savings-led credit groups use social capital and local leadership to equip rural farmers with financial tools to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.

One example of the transformation spurred by Plant With Purpose’s savings and credit program is the story of Dina Kokeroe, a mother of five school age children from the village of Ashira, Tanzania. After Dina’s husband abandoned the family, she was left in a desperate situation. Unable to provide for her family’s needs, she was forced to borrow money from relatives. After hearing how Plant With Purpose’s work had benefited the nearby village of Masia Mamba, she took the initiative to gather a group of 40 people and invited Plant with Purpose to help them form a Village Community Bank in Ashira. Dina has been able to grow her small business and can now support her five children. She says, “Now I can look to the future with confidence, since I am able to sand on my own. I am so happy that Plant with Purpose has come to my community.”

For more information visit www.plantwithpurpose.org.