Plant With Purpose: Community Designed Restoration at the Watershed Level
Plant With Purpose partners with communities that farm some of the world’s most remote, steep, and degraded terrain, equipping them to build climate resilience through restoring watershed ecosystems and reversing rural poverty. We were founded in 1984 in the Dominican Republic, where our founder recognized the connection between rural poverty and deforestation, and we have since expanded into eight other countries: Burundi, the DRC, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Thailand, Haiti, Mexico. Through partnership with us, farmers attend regenerative agricultural training, join saving and loan communities, and plant trees in agroforestry systems and in community forests to bring long-term restoration to entire project watersheds. Communities own the development process, with farmers choosing the agricultural/reforestation interventions that best meet their needs. After 7-9 years, communities graduate from our program, motivated and empowered to continue ecosystem restoration indefinitely.
Project story
At Plant With Purpose, we care deeply about this work because we have seen how environmental restoration can transform entire communities. For more than 40 years, we have partnered with farming families who depend on the land for their livelihoods, yet face growing challenges from soil degradation, deforestation, and climate change.
In many of the watersheds where we work, years of environmental degradation have reduced soil fertility, increased erosion, and diminished water availability. Combined with economic hardship and climate-related shocks, these pressures make it difficult for families to produce enough food and generate reliable income. The result is a cycle in which poverty and environmental decline reinforce one another.
Our approach addresses both challenges simultaneously. We work alongside local farming communities, churches, and schools to restore degraded landscapes while strengthening household livelihoods. Together, we establish tree nurseries, plant trees, implement soil and water conservation measures, promote regenerative agriculture, and form community savings groups that help families invest in their futures. Because communities lead the process, the solutions are locally owned and sustainable.
Within six months, community members are growing seedlings, adopting conservation practices, and building financial resilience through savings groups. Within a year, restored vegetation begins to stabilize soils, reduce erosion, and improve watershed health. Over time, these efforts help increase agricultural productivity, strengthen biodiversity, improve water resources, and create lasting economic opportunities for families.
By empowering communities to restore the land they depend on, we help create healthier ecosystems and more resilient futures for generations to come.
Project updates
Team
Plant With Purpose: Community Designed Restoration at the Watershed Level
Plant With Purpose partners with communities that farm some of the world’s most remote, steep, and degraded terrain, equipping them to build climate resilience through restoring watershed ecosystems and reversing rural poverty. We were founded in 1984 in the Dominican Republic, where our founder recognized the connection between rural poverty and deforestation, and we have since expanded into eight other countries: Burundi, the DRC, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Thailand, Haiti, Mexico. Through partnership with us, farmers attend regenerative agricultural training, join saving and loan communities, and plant trees in agroforestry systems and in community forests to bring long-term restoration to entire project watersheds. Communities own the development process, with farmers choosing the agricultural/reforestation interventions that best meet their needs. After 7-9 years, communities graduate from our program, motivated and empowered to continue ecosystem restoration indefinitely.
Project story
At Plant With Purpose, we care deeply about this work because we have seen how environmental restoration can transform entire communities. For more than 40 years, we have partnered with farming families who depend on the land for their livelihoods, yet face growing challenges from soil degradation, deforestation, and climate change.
In many of the watersheds where we work, years of environmental degradation have reduced soil fertility, increased erosion, and diminished water availability. Combined with economic hardship and climate-related shocks, these pressures make it difficult for families to produce enough food and generate reliable income. The result is a cycle in which poverty and environmental decline reinforce one another.
Our approach addresses both challenges simultaneously. We work alongside local farming communities, churches, and schools to restore degraded landscapes while strengthening household livelihoods. Together, we establish tree nurseries, plant trees, implement soil and water conservation measures, promote regenerative agriculture, and form community savings groups that help families invest in their futures. Because communities lead the process, the solutions are locally owned and sustainable.
Within six months, community members are growing seedlings, adopting conservation practices, and building financial resilience through savings groups. Within a year, restored vegetation begins to stabilize soils, reduce erosion, and improve watershed health. Over time, these efforts help increase agricultural productivity, strengthen biodiversity, improve water resources, and create lasting economic opportunities for families.
By empowering communities to restore the land they depend on, we help create healthier ecosystems and more resilient futures for generations to come.
Project updates
Team
Location
Dominican Republic