Drought and Deforestation

Lost in all the news of our own first-world problems is the ongoing drought that has stricken Haiti for the last three years.

 This article does a good job of describing the connection between this drought and deforestation, from the perspective of the people who are living it everyday.

As I have often said, the problem is not one of ignorance, but rather desperation. The farmer in this story talks about cutting trees as a survival mechanism. Without the safety net that Plant With Purpose savings groups provide, the few remaining trees become the safety net.

The farmers we work with are suffering from the same drought, but that far have been able to turn to the members of their savings groups for mutual support, and to their savings accounts for emergency funds.