Spring 2011 Newsletter

Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIX, No. 1

The people of Konso, a semi-arid, mountainous re-gion in southwestern Ethiopia, have long been known for their innovation and foresight in soil and water conservation practices. The evolution of agricultural resource management in Konso began over 400 years ago when early settlers began farming the valley floors. To address the problems of persistent water shortage and soil infertility they developed systems to harness floodwater and fertile topsoil that ran down the mountainsides dur-ing the relatively short rainy season. Around this time, it is said, they also began plac-ing crop residues, or thrash lines, and tree branches perpendicular to the flow of the water to trap water, retain moisture and provide nutrients to the soil. In this way, the Konso people were able to maintain a diversity of crops in a climate and on soils that were not overly-conducive to agriculture.

Over time, the population in the region began to grow. A need for more agricultural land, coupled with increasingly common attacks from neighboring tribes, forced people to move their settlements and farmlands from the valleys to the mountainsides. This topographi-cal migration obviously resulted in new challenges for the Konsos. Instead of simply allowing gravity to bring

topsoil and water to their fields, they were confronted with the challenge of identifying ways to prevent grav-ity from carrying their precious resources away.

It is difficult to say how long it took for these Konso ancestors to identify solutions to this problem. It is said that the process was developed endogenously, originat-ing in part from the earlier use of thrash lines for mois-ture conservation and mulching. Presumably, people

combined this technol-ogy with their observa-tions of how soil would collect behind fallen tree trunks. What we do know is that over time the Konso people developed a complex system for conserving soil and water through building large net-works of stone terraces and tied ridges.

The construction of these intricate systems spanned from gen-eration to generation, eventually covering the

steep slopes of entire mountainsides. Moreover, these early Konsos integrated complex agricultural systems of intercropping, agroforestry, fallowing and manur-ing into the physical structures they built to maintain soil structure and fertility. Today it is truly a marvel to witness the ingenuity that these Abyssinian forefathers displayed. With a keen understanding of the move-ments and manipulation of soil and water, along with

Continued, page 5

Ethiopia: Lessons from the Past to Guide Development for the Future

Stone terrace system developed in Konso over 400 years ago.

Johnny Ipil-Seed NewsSpring 2011 Vol. XIX, No. 1

The quarterly newsletter of Trees for the Future


Johnny Ipil-Seed News is a quarterly newsletter of TREES FOR THE FUTURE, Inc., a 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 pa-per 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 DIRECTORSDr. John R. Moore - Chairman, Dr. Peter Falk - Vice Chair-man, Dave Deppner - President, Mr. Bedru Sultan, Mr. Franz Stuppard, Mrs Linda S. Katz, Mr. John Leary - Members, R. Grace Deppner - Recording Secretary (non-voting)

ADVISORY COUNCILDr. 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.

STAFFDave Deppner - Founder, Executive Director

R. Grace Deppner - Founder, Associate DirectorGorav Seth - Head of Partnerships and Operations

Josh Bogart - Central America CoordinatorEthan Budiansky - International Programs Coordinator

Jeff Follett - South America CoordinatorFrancis Deppner - Southeast Asia Coordinator

David Tye - East Africa CoordinatorGabe Buttram - Greener Africa Coordinator

Catherine Bukowski - Training Program Coordinator

FIELD STAFFLouis Nkembi - Cameroon; Gerardo Santos Matta, Jose Hilar-io Osorio Giron, Guillermo Valle - Honduras; Sagapala Gan-gisetty, Manoj Bhatt, Aman Singh - India, Donal Perez - Ni-caragua; Danny Zabala - Philippines; Omar Ndao, Karamba Diakhaby - Senegal; Kay Howe, Abdul Chamid - Indonesia; Fernanda Peixoto - Brazil; Paulino Damiano Mugendi, Dick-son Omandi - Kenya; Mathius Lukwago - Uganda; Lovans Owusu-Takyi -Ghana; Robin Achah - Cameroon; Alexis Ni-tunga - Burundi; Timote Georges - Haiti; Mohamed Traore - Mali; Merkebu Garedew - Ethiopia; Juan Alberto - Colombia

To receive this newsletter or for more information, contact:TREES FOR THE FUTURE

The Loret Miller Ruppe Center for Sustainable DevelopmentP.O. Box 7027, Silver Spring, MD 20907

Toll Free: 1-800-643-0001: Ph: 301-565-0630 [email protected]

WWW.PLANT-TREES.ORG

THANK YOU!

It began, first, in West Africa, then spread east as far as Egypt, and on into several countries of the Middle East. Suddenly thousands of people, from various walks of life, were in the streets, assembling in public parks and on major roadways.

They appear to have come for various reasons: in Cairo, Muslims and Christians prayed together in the streets in the early stages—and later fought with each other in those same streets. Yet they were unanimous in venting their anger against their dictatorial governments, the favoritism to-ward the select few and the resulting economic disaster that impoverished the many. They wanted government to be responsive to their needs. Obviously this caused quite a stir in a number of governments that had been less than responsive to the needs of most of their people.

While America, as a symbol of democracy, came up in many discussions among the protesters, both as a source of inspiration and as a target for heated animos-ity, it was clear that these demonstrations were internal matters: if it came to revolution, it would be their revo-lution! Maybe, as things later developed in Libya and elsewhere, they would need some help—but only on their terms.

For the past three decades, and longer, the United States has maintained a strong presence throughout these countries, at least as evidenced by the amount of money we spent, for both military and economic devel-opment assistance. That at least should beg the question: why were we surprised when all this happened? If we want to maintain a strong presence in these countries, how is it we aren’t talking to the people who make up the great majority of the population?

Given that we must always be speaking with the country’s leaders but, apparently that leadership isn’t speaking to this great majority of their own people either. Otherwise, the present happenings would never have had a chance to escape early notice.

Certainly the problem can’t be that there isn’t enough

Opinion: Communication, We Didn’t Even Hear Them Coming


money to help that majority. Our foreign assistance efforts, there and elsewhere, have become a major in-dustry, now spread between a great number of agencies and backstopped by an army of consulting firms. But it seems obvious that, for most of the peoples of these lands we try to befriend, it’s not bringing them any noticeable benefit. Would it not be in the best interest of all concerned if we were to initiate programs that respond to the needs of the people who are the most in need? Despite what is now taking place in Libya, and which will possibly spread elsewhere in the weeks ahead, they may be around for a good bit longer than the regimes we have been supporting.

As this struggle for freedom continues, here at home we are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Peace Corps, a program where we have always talked, — and listened, to what people around the world are saying. Maybe that’s why, after half a century, the Peace Corps is still around.

As many of you have noted, I haven’t been around the office, or answering my e-mail, much these past few months. For this, I do apologize. Several things started happening to me late last summer. Finally, I checked myself into a local hospital where, after some study, they let me know I have colon cancer. A couple of operations and some chemotherapy later, along with some great sacrifices by Grace and those terrific kids and, slowly, I’m making my way back to the real world. What’s the long-term outlook? So far, nobody seems to want to offer an opinion—or even make a guess.

On the other hand, I’ve been fortunate to speak with so many wonderful people, some I had never met be-fore. They sought me out, told me of their experiences, often very much like my own, of their fears and the stark changes this made in their lives, often ending with: “So here I am, ten years later and still around.”

People, it seems, are very good at surviving. I feel far better about all this for having met them. Many of them have offered their prayers. I’ve learned that’s even better than medicine. What do these musings have to do with TREES? Well, for one thing, the experience has shown that we have some very capable people here and in our regional offices; that the program can sur-vive—and do quite well at that, if I’m not looking over the shoulders of the staff all the time. In 2010, thanks

to their combined efforts, your organization worked in more communities, developed more new partnerships, and planted far more trees, than ever before. Thanks to them, and to you, for making that happen.

So then, what do we do with me? Is it time, as the song goes, for this old cowboy to head down the trail and into the sunset? Grace thinks, as I do, that we should keep on going while we can, although we have many months of unused leave time built up over these 22 years. There are still plenty of places in this world we have yet to help trees get planted.

While we contemplate this, your organization is try-ing to develop some new leadership and some better ways to address growing threats to our environment. I hope you will support us in this. For my part, I want to spend my time doing what I think will be most benefi-cial for whatever time I can still give: meeting more of you, learning what you want to see your organization accomplish, finding ways to get more of us involved and productive. Learning how we can better commu-nicate ideas, back and forth, with people in the world’s developing communities. With your help, I’ll keep do-ing my best as long as I can.

Youth green club planting trees to restore degraded lands. Konso, Ethiopia

Transition

At 2:00 AM on an October day in 1960, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John F. Kennedy made an impromptu speech to 5,000 students at the University of Michigan in which he threw out a challenge: Would they be willing to contribute two years of their lives to help people in the countries of the developing world?

On the following March 1, President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924, making Peace Corps a tempo-rary program. He named Sargent Shriver as Director (if it didn’t work, it was easier to fire a relative, he re-called.) As it turned out, it did work and “Sarge” was a great choice. Impatient for results, he brought to the job the vision, the dedi-cation and the leadership without which the program could never have survived those early challenges. Within only a few months, more than 11,000 applica-tions had been completed and submitted. Obviously the challenge of the previous fall had been given a posi-tive answer.

The same was true in the developing world. By the end of the year, more than 500 Peace Corps Volunteers had already been assigned in nine host countries: Ghana (the first country served), Chile, Colombia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, St. Lucia, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and Pakistan. With another 200 trainees back in the United States, awaiting assignment.

By the end of 1962, another 28 developing countries had requested the program and over 2,800 volunteers were then in the field. By the completion of Director Shriver’s service in 1966, some 15,000 volunteers (the highest number in the history of Peace Corps) were in training or serving in the field.

By the end of this first half-century, more than 200,000 people, young and not so young; including President Carter’s mother Lillian, had answered the call to serve. Why did we answer the call?

Obviously, from such a diverse crowd, thousands of reasons emerged, covering a wide range of circum-stances and ideas. But, over

the years, as thousands of former Volunteers recalled their service and explained what had convinced them to join, there was one recurring theme: many of them were convinced that, just by being Americans, they had been so blessed that they felt an obligation, even a duty, to share those blessings with others who had not been so fortunate. That sense of duty may well have been the biggest reason Peace Corps has been highly successful in making so many friends around the world.

Peace Corps has always had a triple mission. We help developing countries to meet their need for more skilled men and women. We make it possible for the people of these lands to see Americans as they truly are. And we help people back home to know more about people in other parts of the world. And we are doing all this as private citizens.

The actions and prin-ciples we learned as Volunteers have been our guide in successfully developing your worldwide TREES pro-gram. Our Maryland office is dedicated to the memory of Loret Miller Ruppe, the longest serving director of the U.S. Peace Corps (1981-1989) whose home was in nearby Bethesda and who, with her strong belief that there can be no true and lasting peace without econom-ic development, brought a new sense of purpose and achieved so much toward assuring that Peace Corps would be able to reach its 50th birthday.

Over the past 22 years, 37 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have come to work at TREES FOR THE FUTURE. Many have gone on from here to other very successful careers. As PCV’s they served in 18 coun-tries and brought to TREES a great treasure of vital technical skills, language and cross-cultural experi-ences, together with a shared love for the people of the countries where they served.

Many of us believe we left a little bit of ourselves out there. That’s probably why some of us are determined to continue the work we started back then.

Peace Corps Turns FiftyIn 139 Countries, Bringing Peace and Friendship to the World

Members of Ghana I board “The Peace Corps Clipper” bound for Accra, Ghana on August 28, 1961.

Photo Courtesy of Peace Corps



In his inaugural address, President Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” The following day he called on his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, to head a task force that would lead to the establishment of the Peace Corps.

While recognizing the many difficult problems in the way of reaching that goal, within a month his task force reported back, recommending its immediate establish-ment. Less than two months later, the Peace Corps was established and, five months after that, the first group of Volunteers was on its way to Ghana.

“Sarge” became Peace Corps’ guiding light over the next 50 years. He believed that it was to show the best of our society, and that serving there would be far dif-ferent than working in various agencies of government. As its first director, tasked with building a working program from a great number of vague ideas about helping the world’s struggling poor, he personally vis-ited many project sites, learning the realities of work-ing in the mass misery of the huts and villages of the developing world, convincing foreign leaders to host the Volunteers and, at the same time, building a staff back home and convincing Congress that Peace Corps deserved funding.

Sarge knew of TREES as one of the successful or-ganizations that had spun off from Peace Corps service and, from his home in nearby Maryland, he occasionally called us with a question, or an idea, or sometimes just to growl about some of the dumb things that sometimes take place in Washington.

He almost made it to the 50th. He died on January 18, 2011 at the age of 95. President Obama’s statement said “Over the course of his long and distinguished ca-reer, Sarge came to embody the idea of public service.” Thanks for everything, Sarge.

Sargent Shriver, director of the Peace Corps & Presi-dent John F. Kennedy at the White House, Aug 28, 1961.

R. Sargent Shriver: Making Big Ideas Come True

Photo Courtesy of Peace Corps

a great deal of hard work, they developed an advanced agricultural and natural resource management system that lasted for centuries.

The Malady of Modernization These laborious stone terraces and mixed cropping

systems were maintained and expanded for many gen-erations. In more recent times, however, population pressures have decreased land holding size in Konso considerably. Furthermore, the introduction of more modern, less burdensome farming technologies made these previously sustainable systems less compatible for modern food production. The use of ox-drawn

ploughs, for instance, do not fare well on tree-scattered terraces. The need to produce more food on less land for an increasing population has discouraged fallowing periods. Modern monocropping systems are replacing the diverse and complex production systems that were common before. Livestock, the numbers of which have increased steeply, are consuming the crop resi-dues that were previously used for mulch. Agroforestry and intercropping practices on terraces of the past are being abandoned and neglected for bush farming and monocropping on less fertile but more gentle slopes. Natural resource management in Konso is now becom-ing increasingly elusive and problematic. Top all of

Konso, Ethiopia (continued from front page)

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this with increasing frequency and intensity of drought, courtesy of global climate change, and it is no wonder that the Konso region is now commonly classified by the UNDP as being severely food insecure.

In fact, the people of Konso are now less food and resource secure than ever before: malnutrition is wide-spread and severe; what were once perennial rivers now, for the first time in living memory, cease to flow in the dry season; the frequency of climatic and economic shocks and stresses are depleting household food stocks and other assets. It is generally agreed that wealth and prosperity in Konso was more prevalent in the past. The ques-tion is: what can the people of Konso do now to reverse this trend toward livelihood insecurity and environmental degradation?

Merging Past with Present for a Brighter Future

Trees for the Future, working with our local partners Greener Ethiopia, made it a goal in 2010 to address this question through our work with the Konso people. We realize, as the Konso ances-tors knew centuries ago, that solutions should be determined through careful observation of the problems at hand. We are confident that lessons from the past, combined with new insights from more recent development experiences, might shed light on solutions to many of the livelihood issues in Konso. Moreover, we are thoroughly aware that effective solutions will never be achieved without the participation of all of the groups involved.

With all of this in mind, Trees for the Future and Greener Ethiopia began collaborating with a large group of stakeholders, including the Konso Development Association, the Office of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Office of Land Administration and Environmental Protection, as well as with commu-nity leaders, and representatives of local schools and community organizations, to identify some of the major problems associated with decreasing livelihood secu-rity in Konso. It was found that some of the primary problems most people are facing include: decreasing soil fertility, water shortages, lack of food and animal fodder (particularly during the dry season), severe ero-

sion, scarcity of fuelwood and other forest products and lack of ability to generate income.

Through stakeholders meetings and general observa-tion, it became clear that the people of Konso, in general, are not managing their natural resources as sustainably as their ancestors had done. There are a number of rea-sons for this, with population pressure, deforestation, shifting rainfall patterns and increasing occurrence and severity of drought ranking at the top of the list. Unfortunately the current land scarcity challenge, along with the introduction of modern social and political

institutions, prevent Konsos from reverting to their traditional land-use systems. This does not mean, however, that past practices can-not be taken into consideration in the design of a more sustainable development framework to be undertaken presently.

A New Direction on an Old Path

Trees for the Future and their partners have now completed the pilot year to a three year liveli-hood development project that merges lessons from traditional land-use practices with the needs of the present-day Konso people.

This project focuses heavily on land restoration through the planting of multi-purpose, beneficial trees. Nearly 300,000 trees were planted in 2010. Some were planted to take pressure off of existing (and quickly disappear-ing) forests by providing fuelwood, timber and non-timber forest products for people to use in and around their households. Others were planted as fodder trees, their leaves and pods to be used as a supplement for animal fodder, a scarcity in the dry season.

Training on modern agroforestry practices is also an important objective of the project. Through the incor-poration of alley cropping for instance, an agroforestry technique where rows of trees are planted alongside rows of crops in order to control erosion and increase soil fertility, people can continue to maintain trees in their fields, even in an ox-plough system. Through the provision of both seeds and seedlings, people are also being encouraged to plant more, diverse, food-produc-ing trees in their fields and gardens to provide food and reduce the risk of famine when other crops are scarce.

In 2010, a four hectare, highly degraded watershed was selected for a commu-nity driven rehabilitation

project. Over the course of several days, nearly 700

people worked collectively to combine traditional ter-racing practices with more modern soil and water con-

servation methods


Training on grafting for improved fruit production, on honey production and on processing, packaging and marketing of moringa leaves will also provide oppor-tunities for participating families to generate much-needed income.

In 2010, a four hectare, highly degraded watershed was also selected for a community-driven rehabilita-tion project. Over the course of several days, nearly 700 people worked collectively to combine traditional terracing practices with more modern soil and water conservation methods, constructing stone terraces and gabions, soil bunds and water retention ponds to con-trol erosion and collect water. They also planted over 40,000 seedlings to stabilize the soil and begin restor-ing fertility to the land.

Overall the pilot year was a great success. Though the nature of this type of work takes time to reflect signifi-cant change, the stakeholders involved are well aware of the future benefits they will receive and are anxious to continue. In 2011, Trees for the Future and their partners in Konso will more than double their efforts. We are expanding to two additional nurseries, and will

plant 750,000 trees. We are also in the process of select-ing three additional watersheds in target communities to pursue soil and water conservation projects.

Though the people of Konso presently face challenges that scale far beyond what their ancestors overcame, it is encouraging to know that they have a long history of finding solutions to adverse situations. The path that the Konso people have followed for centuries has been fraught with difficulties. The task at hand now, when the path is increasingly ominous, is to find a new direc-tion that will help them to adapt to current challenges and move forward. Through providing the support they need to meet the challenges they are facing, Trees for the Future is hopeful that future generations in Konso will enjoy wealth and prosperity as their ancestors be-fore them had.

Beshah, Tesfaye. 2003 . Understanding Farmers: Explaining Soil and Water Conservation in Konso, Wolaita and Wello, Ethiopia. Tropical Resource Management Papers, No. 41.

Lemessa, Dechassa. 1999. Rapid Assessment Report: Konso Special Woreda, SNNPR. United Nations Development Programme, Emergency Unit for Ethiopia. Retrieved from: http://www.africa.upenn.edu/eue_web/somo0999.htm .

Stone and soil damns, terraces and gabions were built to slow down and trap moving water and soil. This picture was taken during the first season after the conservation project began. The water that does not penetrate the soil to

replenish the groundwater supply is used for irrigation.


The genus Leucaena has a number of excellent agro-forestry species; L. leucocephala, L. diversifolia, L. collinsii, L. pallida, and L. salvadorensis are all being used in Trees for the Future's worldwide program. The many products and services this genus provides, includ-ing fuelwood, remediation of degraded lands, sustain-able fertilizer, forage, and nectar for honey production, make it this issue's featured tree.

Although the specifics for each species varies, all are small to medium-sized, growing up to 10-20 meters when left unharvested, and are covered with many small evergreen leaflets with a sparse, bipinni-ate morphology. In their natural state, the tree forms a single smooth dark to light gray trunk which then forms many angular branches, giving the tree a goblet shaped crown. Depending on conditions, the tree provides white flowers throughout much of the year. Native to Central, and South America, several species are known to have been used by the Maya in their agricultural systems. Leucaena species are still very important in indigenous agricultural systems in the lowland of Central America. According to Leucaeana guru Jim Brewbaker,“Leucaena the tree has been spread pan

tropically, possibly as early as 1600, as Spanish trade ships reported bringing it to the Philippines; however, more attention has been given to these species as a tropical agroforestry tree since the 1960's."

A desirable characteristic of this fast growing tree, which allows it to be a key species in many agroforestry systems is that it “coppices,” well, or grows back many new trunks after being cut year after year. This enables the tree to alleviate the pressure on the surrounding for-ests, as farmers can regularly harvest Leucaena's trunks and branches for fuel, timber and posts.

Farmers in many regions in which TREES works plant Leucaena directly into their agricultural fields. During the rainy season they harvest branches and mix the nitrogen-rich leaves and branches directly into the soil as a renewable source of fertilizer. TREES Senegal program is currently making wide use of Leucaena for this purpose. This technique is also being used in Brazil, Colombia, Eastern Africa, and the Philippines. In areas where Leucaena has a tendency to spread out of control, such as India, farmers are able to reap its ben-efits while keeping it in check by cutting its branches before the tree goes to seed.

Coppiced Leucaena providing material for human needs, year after year.

Leucaena: A Tree of Many Uses


Leucaena's roots provide significant quantities of fertilizer due to their symbiotic relationship with ben-eficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Nitrogen, a vital nutri-ent for plant growth, is abundant in the atmosphere but must be "fixed", or converted to usable forms, in order to be utilized by plants. In this way, fixed nitrogen, along with other nutrients brought up from deep in the soil are deposited by leaf-fall into the surrounding soils. Thanks to high levels of nitrogen fixation, Leucaena can be used in agroforestry systems to significantly improve soil fertility.

As a catalyst for bringing damaged lands back to life, Leucaena is a hardy tree whose aggressive roots penetrate and loosen poor, compacted, rocky soils, and help direct rainwater into the ground, replenishing wa-ter tables. By establishing favorable conditions such as partial shade, and water and soil retention, Leucaena acts as a pioneer species, enabling other vegetation to take root, thus starting the process of regenerative succession. TREES' local Ugandan technician, Mathius Lukwago, reports that in the hills of Buddha District, where Leucaena is planted on agricultural terraces, topsoil conditions are improving, accredited to its pres-ence. Also, in the Philippines, Leucaena is being planted along with Vetiver grass on terraced, steep hillsides to help control erosion.

Due to its high calorific value and low smoke content, Leucaena is a valued firewood. This is important as un-sustainable firewood harvesting is one of the leading causes of deforestation. The ease with which Leucaena coppices makes it a sustainable source of fuel year after year, and its small branches fit well in fuel efficient

stoves, reducing the need for splitting the wood. In Central America Leucaena trees are being planted in plots to provide sustainable fuel for expanding cities and rural industries.

Palatability and high nutrient value make Leucaena's leaves a desirable supplement for cattle feed. Paulino Damiano, TREES local Kenyan program coordinator currently reports that cows and goats who receive lim-ited Leucaena rations in their diets are gaining weight and increasing milk production by 40-60%. It must be noted that Leucaena leaves should be fed to single-stomach animals in limited amounts (25% for goats and sheep; none to horses or mules) but can be fed to large ruminants up to 30% of the total ration., as excess consumption of mimosine, an amino acid found in the leaves, can cause adverse effects. Leucaena grows well as part of windbreaks and as posts of living fences. These are ideal places from which to harvest forage leaves, as the farmer receives a double benefit from one tree.

Leucaena flowers throughout much of the year, providing nectar for honey bees (which are now under threat in many areas). The bees, in return provide a cru-cial role in that they pollinate species, ensuring that the natural environment continues to function and support life. TREES' Central American Coordinator, Joshua encourages local honey groups to use Leucaena in their bee forage plots, as its presence helps provide bees with a continuous supply of nectar.

For these reasons we celebrate Leucaena and look forward to continue putting it to work in many of the projects you help support. Thank you!

Leucaena being used for alley-cropping in Senegal. Leucaena's evergreen, bipinnate leaves and round white flowers.


We're happy to introduce Andrew Zacharias as TREES Northern Tanzania Coordinator. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, in 2008 he graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a bachelors in Political Science and Comparative religion, and a minor in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies. Having joined The Peace Corps in 2008, he left for Tanzania one month after graduating college, and spent the next two years living in a village on a dirt road north of Same, Kilimanjaro, where his work was geared to-wards environmental education. There, he met and worked on nursery and agroforestry proj-ects with TREES East Africa Coordinator, David Tye.

“I knew that I wanted to join the Peace Corps since my

sophomore year of high school, during my second trip to Mexico to build houses for impoverished families,” Andrew says. “ I enjoyed giving back to humanity.” Having extended his Peace Corps tour for one year,

afterwards he plans to remain in the area, working for TREES, and continuing to strengthen the relationships we have with vil-lage groups, local governments, and the international organi-zations we partner with. His future goals include getting his masters degree, and continuing to work in foreign nations.

In a year that Peace Corps turns fifty, Andrew is doing an outstanding job of being a good-will ambassador of his country. Thank you for your service Andrew Zacharias, please keep up the good work!

The Waldorf International School in Baltimore, Maryland provided funds to the Trees for the Future, Uganda Program to facilitate a fuel-efficient stove and tree planting project for the Bright Star Junior School in Nansana Town near Kampala, Uganda. Bright Star Junior School did not have a proper kitchen facility and was us-ing substantial amounts of firewood to cook food for the students every day. With the support from Waldorf International School, and under the guidance of The Uganda Program Coordinator, Mathius Lukwago, two large fuel-efficient stoves have been built to accommodate the needs of the 200 students at-tending the school.

Combined with the construction of the fuel-efficient stoves and a proper kitchen structure, Trees for the Future also took the initiative to establish a tree nursery

at the site. Establishing a tree nursery corresponds well with construction of fuel-efficient stoves, since firewood is still needed by the school. The school has established

1,500 Leucaena, Calliandra, and Gliricidia seedlings at the tree nursery, which will be pri-marily used for firewood. The school has about an acre of land about 10 kilometers from the school on which the trees will be planted.

Mathius has taken the op-portunity provided by the tree nursery and fuel-efficient stoves project to educate the students at Bright Star Junior School on the importance of effectively managing the

environment. Mathius conducted a workshop with the students on how to establish and maintain a tree nurs-ery, and the uses of different tree species including, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala, Moringa oleifera, and Calliandra calothyrsus, among others.

These fuel efficient stoves will accommodate 200 students, and reduce the amount of fuelwood

gathered from local trees.

Introducing Andrew Zacharias

Fuel Efficient Stove Project, Uganda


Warm greetings from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania! My name is Andrew Zacharias and I am one of the new-est members of the Trees for the Future (TREES) family. After two years of serving in the Peace Corps here in Tanzania, I decided to extend my volunteering experience with Trees for the Future, as they are an organization that has assisted myself and other Peace Corps Volunteers to establish forestry projects in our villages and has a solid reputation within the Tanzanian Peace Corps community. Working throughout northern Tanzania to introduce agroforestry and reforestation projects has been a challenging and rewarding experi-ence for me.

Terat Ward, located south of Arusha, is comprised of the three main villages of Njiro, Mkonoo and Nadosoito. Community members are Masai, a tribe that is traditionally pastoralist but is gradually shifting their focus to agricultural production. We were contacted by Anita Boiling of Village Network Africa (ViNA), a de-velopment NGO which has worked with the Trees for the Future Uganda Program. Anita saw an opportunity for ViNA and TREES to work together on tree planting projects in Terat.

The area of Terat is nearly devoid of trees and the effects are impacting the livelihoods of local villagers. Women must travel several kilometers to illegally har-vest firewood from protected forests simply to prepare food for their families, and men find it increasingly difficult to provide fodder for their large herds of live-stock. They keenly understand the relationship between trees and rain (or rather, denuded land and drought) and

were eager to start a project to reintroduce tree cover to their villages.

After a short visit home, I returned to Tanzania in February and conducted three days of seminars throughout Terat. Sixty people were trained on how to establish tree nurseries, the benefits of different spe-cies of trees, and were provided around seeds to start three forestry groups in their villages. I then left them with the challenge for the three groups to each produce 10,000 seedlings by the end of the year.

With the tools, education, and continued support provided by TREES, this tribe of Masai herdsmen, caught in the difficult transition from pastoralism to agricultural production, has developed their capacity to improve the future of their environment and, more importantly, their lives. The next few months in Njiro, Mkonoo, and Nadosoito should prove interesting and I am excited to visit my new friends again and see how TREES can further assist them in this process.

Kind regards,Andrew ZachariasPeace Corps Volunteer, TanzaniaTrees for the Future, Northern Tanzania Coordinator

A group member of Mkonoo rakes smooth a nursery bed in preparation of planting (above); Group members of Mkonoo work together to plant a tree nursery (left).

Beginning New Tree Planting Efforts in Terat Ward, Tanzania


When asked, “what do you do?” at conferences or meetings, Trees for the Future coordinators respond with, “I help farmers to plant trees,” or “I work on sustain-able agriculture in region or country X.” Unfortunately, this is usually the end of the conversation. The “what” question is answered simply and people can move on.

Sometimes, people move from the “what” to the “how.” Well, here at TREES we plant trees in a diverse agriculture system called agroforestry. We plant trees by distributing seeds, conducting workshops, and start-ing nurseries.

Despite the importance of knowing what we do and how we do it, this information provides no context for our work. If someone hears about our organization and only learns that we plant trees in agroforestry systems then we are simply a “tree planting organization.” To truly know our organization you must know why we do what we do.

All of the people who work at TREES have worked in communities around the world that have suffered due to the loss of forests. We have seen firsthand the social and envi-ronmental costs of deforestation. We believe that people have the power to solve their own problems when given a little assistance, so we focus our efforts on small groups of people in remote communities that can implement life-changing projects on their land. We under-stand that farming has the largest impact on the environment and that the poorest people in the developing world are farmers, so if you want to improve the environment and help people, farming is a great place to start.

Over the past three years we have tried to match why TREES exists with the needs of communities in Brazil, Colombia, and other countries in South America. Sometimes it is difficult to work on abstract concepts such as “improving the environment” and “help-ing people,” so we have identified several specific “whys” for our programs in South America. We work to improve agricultural production, to enhance nutrition, and to con-serve resources. These three themes provide guidance for all of what we do, and how we do it, in the region. They also contribute to the organization’s mission of improving the

environment and helping people.In the coming months, you will see updates from our

programs in South America in the form of newslet-ters, pictures, videos, and short stories on the project pages of our website. All of these updates will provide information on what we are doing in our programs and will explain a bit about how we are doing it. When you receive these updates, please take a moment to think about how they fit within the themes that we identified above.

We understand that recent economic times have made decisions about supporting nonprofit work much more difficult. Please know that your support is for much more than planting a tree. You are supporting improved agricultural production, enhanced nutrition, and the conservation of resources. It just so happens that we think trees provide the best way to accomplish these goals.

Alvina Mouro planted Gliricidia sepium as part of a windbreak in the community of Promissao Reunidas, Brazil. The windbreak will conserve soil in her fields and will protect her crops from damag-

ing winds.

One Million Hows, Two Million Wheres, and Seven Million Whys


The beginning of the year is a busy time for our part-ners in the Philippines as we are working with several new groups in various places in the Philippines and the dry weather has our technicians literally on guard watching for wildfires. The end of 2010 brought many people from the Philippines to Trees for the Future seeking assistance in providing them with seeds, train-ing materials and insight as to how to aid in our tree planting efforts.

One of these groups is called the Justified Development and Reforestation Association who are aiming to pro-duce and distribute 1 million seedlings by the end of 2011. This group is headed by Ms. Janet Orin who owns the Don Luis College of Criminology located not too far from our planting sites in Iba, Zambales. Her group was recently awarded with a 500 hectare (1,235 acre) plot from the Department of Natural Resources through a Socialized Industrial Forest Management Agreement (SIFMA). The terms of the agreement are in line with the goals of Trees for the Future includ-ing increasing food and forest products, accelerating the natural regeneration of the lands, increasing soil and water quality, and generating additional sources of income. They are coming to us for technical assistance, seeds and training materials and working with TREES

Philippines, our main working partner there as they have much experience in the area.

We have also been extending our reach to other plac-es in the Philippines by sending seeds to other groups throughout the country and assisting them to start tree planting projects. One of these groups is The Carcar Water District located in Carcar City on the island of Cebu. The water company realizes the importance trees play on maintaining a steady supply of water through-out the dry season and is why they are encouraging tree planting in denuded watershed areas. We sent them seeds and have recently gotten word back that the seedlings have already sprouted and will be ready for transplanting in a few months.

Another group is called ALEY-NM located in Northern Mindanao near Cagayan de Oro who we have put in contact with a group of students looking to assist on tree planting projects in the area. During a visit to the Philippines last October, we met with representa-tives from the group and discussed plans to work to-gether on tree planting projects that would engage the local communities and would also create an ecotourism destination that would provide supplementary income to those involved in the projects.

A priest by the name of Father Beltran has a parish that wishes to engage in tree planting activities to prevent erosion and as a source of income for residents of Galbadon, a municipality located to the East of our projects on the island of Luzon. They want to plant fast growing veg-etable and tree species for immediate returns, as well as slower growing tree species such as Mahogany and Teak as a longer term invest-ment which will also make people involved less likely to abandon the projects.

In addition to all of the groups looking to work with us, many individuals have contact-ed us from all over the Philippines looking for ways to assist us in our efforts there. We are glad to have been able to successfully reach so many people in the country and word of our work is definitely spreading. The Philippines is a difficult place to work due to the weather and red tape but we look forward to planting more trees and assisting more people this year than we ever have in the past.

Initial meeting with Managing Directors of the Carcar Water and TREES Director Dave Deppner.

Meeting with Managing Directors of Carcar Water in Philippines


2010 saw a year of significant growth for the in-ternational tree planting program. We are presently working in 28 developing countries: Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Columbia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. TREES has been able to provide more on-site technical support to these projects and this has resulted in a major increase to approximately 17,100,000 trees planted in 2010—about 21% more than in the previous year.

New technology has been made available to local groups. We have established a training office to make technology more available to participants and we have developed sources of seeds in five countries, where we are also training local farmers in the selection of seed bearing trees and in the harvest and storage of seeds. We are now assisting local groups to plant more than 80 species of beneficial, noninvasive trees. The Forest Garden concept is gaining popularity also. All this is increasing the benefits to the participants, resulting in more groups asking TREES to help them start programs.

Personnel: In order to provide the necessary on-site technical assistance to these projects, we now have staff coordinators for six (6) regions. Three of these are per-manently based in the regions they serve. Additionally, we have trained and now support three country program coordinators and six country representatives. In addi-tion we now have 46 locally-hired field technicians. This assures us a continuing presence in many areas where major programs have been started. Additionally, TREES has six trained technicians working from the Maryland office assisting programs worldwide.

The Haiti Program: Through a major grant from Timberland through the Yele Foundation, TREES has been able to initiate a major program for the coastal city of Gonaives, which is surrounded on three sides by barren mountains and, in times of heavy rainfall, has experienced great loss of life. This, together with programs in two other areas, allows us a major presence with two field offices and 11 local technicians.

On January 12, Haiti was struck by a major earth-quake which devastated the capitol, Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Nearly 300,000 people were killed and over a million left as refugees, wandering

the countryside in search of food and a place to rest. The program was virtually closed down: almost every member of the staff there lost at least one close relative. However because of the great need to produce food , safe drinking water and other essentials, team leader Timote Georges and the Haiti team quickly recovered and new communities continued to join in. Largely for the sake of the hapless families wandering country roads, they devised an emergency program distributing seeds of grain and vegetables, which could be harvested in only a few months to address the growing threats from malnutrition and cholera. Because hand tools are always short of need in Haiti’s rural areas, a second effort distributed tools as well. These successful seed and tool bank programs continue to this time. Despite these great obstacles, the Haiti Program planted over 1,250,000 trees in 2010.

We began 2010 with a surplus of over $300,000 in cash and securities, mostly the result of surpluses in 2007-2008, and with the promise of a major grant to expand the Haiti program. Along with this, contribu-tions and grants had been most generous in late 2009. The program had successfully moved into many new areas and we were receiving more requests from local organizations than ever before. We therefore decided to expand your program as rapidly as possible in 2010.

Tree planting is seasonal and our major effort is in the first 5-6 months of the year. By early July we discovered that gifts were not arriving as expected. At the same time, we were making every possible effort to assist all the communities that had asked for our assistance. We made every possible effort to economize without turn-ing our backs to the people asking for our help.

By year's end, your program had expanded by more than 21%. Income, however, only increased by 6%. All considered, I believe 2010 was a very successful year in that we built momentum that continues well into 2011. And I believe most of our members would prefer we keep helping all the communities we possibly can. For the year, TREES remains financially solid, we met all our obligations, on time, and the program continues to grow in 2011. Our main problem has been with cash flow and that is slowly resolving itself. We appreciate your continuing support and make every effort to produce the greatest possible benefit to the participating com-munities and to the environment.

Trees for the Future, Inc. Annual Report - 2010


Preliminary Financial Report - 2010Income:Individual Donations $325,390Foundation Grants 136,413Corporate Gifts 753,092Other Income 2,607Total Income 1,217,502Investment Gain/ Loss (8501)INCOME - 2010 $1,209,001

Expenses:Salaries, Consulting, Benefits Salaries $550,821Consulting Fees 44,685SSS/ Taxes / SUTA 44,052Health/ Other Benefits 31,299Payroll Processing 1,909 SUBTOTAL $672,766

International Tree Planting ProgramSupport for Partnering Groups $471,481Support for Local Technicians 98,377On-Site Expenses 27,864Project Materials 33,376International Travel 32,644Bank Charges 1,889Develop New Technology 576Phone/Fax/e-Mail 1,544Mail Project Materials 1,410Computer Maintenance 3,822SUBTOTAL $672,983

Public Information ProgramLocal Travel $5,940Print/Copy 5,570Advertising 4,886Computer Maintenance 4,109Postage/Delivery 2,880Phone/Fax/E-Mail 1,544SUBTOTAL $24,939

Occupancy ExpensesInterest On Mortgage 10,495Property and Taxes 5,805Depreciation 7,208Utilities 5,473Repairs/Maintenance 3,648Liability Insurance 2,148SUBTOTAL $34,777

Office ExpensesNew Database $5,928Supplies/Materials 10,342Print/Copy 10,453Bookkeeping/Accounting 5,600Legal Charges 4,000Permits/Charges 4,141Local Travel 5,940Phone/Fax/Email 1,544SUBTOTAL $47,948

FundraisingLocal Travel $7,925Print/Copy 5,600Postage/Delivery 6,123Advertisement 11,401New Database 13,610Computer Maintenance 2,089Phone/Fax/Email 1,584SUBTOTAL $48,332 TOTAL EXPENSES - 2010 $1,501,745

SummaryNet Income $1,209,001Expenses: $1,501,745Net Income 2010 (incl. depreciation) ($292,744)

Expense Breakdown Project Expenses: $1,187,880 79.1%Administration: $265,809 17.7%Fundraising: $48,056 3.2%


In This Newsletter p. 1: Ethiopia: Lessons from the Past to Guide Development for the Futurep. 2: Opinion: Communication, We Didn’t Even Hear Them Coming.p. 3: Transitionp. 4: Peace Corps Turns 50p. 5: R. Sergeant Shriver: Making Big Ideas Come Truep. 8: Leucaena: A Tree of Many Usesp. 10: Introducing Andrew Zachariasp. 10: Fuel Efficient Stove Project, Ugandap. 11: Beginning New Tree Planting Efforts in Terat Ward, Tanzaniap. 12: One Million Hows, Two Million Wheres, and Seven Million Whysp. 13: Meeting with Managing Directors of Carcar Water in the Philippinesp. 14: Annual Report - 2010 p. 15: Preliminary Financial Report - 2010

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Spring 2011 Newsletter

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