Poverty Uprooted

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When most people think about poverty, they do so with a sense of resignation. Most understand that having to live in poverty is a terrible thing, but accept it as simply a part of the world we live in.

In reality, men and women all around the world are taking steps towards growing out of poverty. They are at the early stages of a process that will send their kids to school, put more food on the table, and restore their farmlands. Plant With Purpose plays an active role investing in this process, empowering families to take these steps.

The following is a booklet I designed to present the journey to those who should take a second look at it. I wanted to show what it looks like through important dimensions of life: financial security, housing, nutrition, and future outlooks to name a few. The result was a tool sent to Plant With Purpose supporters and used by fundraisers to further expand the organization.

Statistical Curation // ROBERT MORIKAWA
Additional Photography // SHAUN BOYTE, KALEN RAMSEY, DREW RENAUD
Landscape Rendering // CODY SMALL

The Last Frontier

I Am Hope

VIDEO

This video debuted at Plant With Purpose’s 2018 Planting Hope Gala. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from our partners whenever I’ve gotten to visit our programs is what hope actually looks like. I used to think of it as a fluffy word– emotionally rich, but ambiguous. Our partners in rural villages grounded that in reality. Hope keeps you moving forward when things are dark. When you feel stuck.

Music // LIGHTS AND MOTION
Video Footage // CHERRY HILLS COMMUNITY CHURCH
Video Footage // DREW RENAUD
Video Footage // SHAUN BOYTE
Video Footage // ECCLESIA COMMUNITY CHURCH
Video Footage // SCOTT HANCOCK

WORDS

I remember you.
Do you remember me?

I was there in your darkest hour.
I was there when you were scared the worst was going to happen.
I was there when you felt stuck– doing the same thing over and over without seeing much results.
I was there when nobody else believed things could be different.

I am hope.
Do you remember me?

I show you things that don’t yet exist.
I help you bring them to life.
Why else would a farmer put her plow in the ground in the spring if she cannot imagine the harvest ahead?
Why else would you leave the familiar in search of something better?

I am hope.
Do you remember me?

Go to the forest that grows where once there was nothing.
Drink from the stream that once ran dry.
If you cannot envision these trees before they are planted then they will never be planted.
I make it possible to see life where there is nothing, so you can plant.

I am not just a good feeling.
I am real.
I am what your faith looks like stretched out towards the future.
I am hope.

I am the reason the children of refugees will never know the horrors their parents had to endure.

I am the reason the farmer who has toiled through drought and famine will one day feast with his family.

I am the reason the mother who has taken many risks for the sake of her children will see them grow strong.

I am the reason you can keep going. The reason you will keep going.

Choose me.
Remember me.
Share me.
I am hope.

BLOG POST

Hope looks like Pablo in the Dominican Republic making the decision to stop drinking, and to instead use the money to invest in his farm and in his family.

Hope looks like Felicite in Burundi taking the first steps towards joining a savings group in Nyakazu, even though she had been denied access to credit before.

Hope looks like Guy and our Haitian staff working with challenging infrastructure, insecure roads, and skepticism towards organizations in order to bring change to remote villages on the island.

These decisions seem small. They often go unrecognized in the moment. But they are acts of hope that put change into motion.

Doing Good in an Age of Anger

We live in contentious times. If you turn on the news for a few minutes, take a quick look at your Facebook news feed, or ask somebody for a quick political opinion, you'll notice that people are angry and divided.

It's difficult to do good in this sort of climate. Our best efforts to help other people are often politicized and turned into arguments. We believe in standing up for what's right and just, but we also don't want to add to the division. How can we find a path through these tricky times?

I've wondered that same thing. I've put together the best principles I've learned together in this helpful roadmap so you can navigate these times with grace.

Doing Good in an Age of Anger is totally free! To get the guide, simply enter your info below and it'll be sent to your inbox.

Other Good Things

A story of a dream trip, told travel vlog style.

The start of the biggest adventure.

Iceland to Italy

There's a place I've never been that I've wanted to see for the longest time. There's another place that changed my life eight years ago, but I haven't been back since.

The first is Iceland. Every picture I've seen, every Icelandic artist I've listened to, every book about it's quirks piqued my curiosity. The other place is Siena, Italy. It's the ancient city where I spent a semester in college, and in exchange gained so much independence and growth.

In 2018, I finally had the chance to go. Not only to those two spots, but also Tonbridge, England to catch the wedding of a dear friend, and to Cinque Terre- the Italian wonder I missed out on during my last visit to the country. I captured the whole journey, travel vlog style.

REYKJAVIK

When we got to Seljalandsfoss, I was impressed by how out of the midst of so much open space, a forceful waterfall suddenly emerged and turned back into a steady stream.

We walked towards it. We climbed behind it. It was impossible to do so without getting wet. I managed to keep the amount of times I slipped on ice and ate it down to just a couple. There were other visitors, but a pretty small crowd all things considered.

This was the sort of thing that had been luring me to Iceland for years, and the sort of thing that made me so glad the trip finally came true.

Iceland has such a mysterious and extraordinary personality that it was suddenly a surprise to discover that one of its best eats is the hot dog.
 
The classic Icelandic dog includes brown mustard and remoulade, along with French onions (those were my favorite addition, since they added a little crisp.).
 
Part of the joy of Icelandic hot dog comes from the fact that they’re made from some much higher quality meat than people usually bother to throw into a hot dog.
 
The other thing that makes these hot dogs so great? They’re one of the cheapest things you can get to eat in Iceland, and in a country where food isn’t cheap, the gas stations that almost always have them become a welcome sight.

The Blue Lagoon gets all the attention, but just 40 minutes south of Reykjavik is the Hot River Trail. You’ll find a random coffee stand next to a creek that is emitting crazy amounts of steam. You don’t want to swim in there. That hot spring is hot enough to cook eggs in. You’ll also find that it runs right next to an ice cold stream, fed by glacier melt.

A trail goes in between these two streams and you can follow it for an hour or an hour and a half. Towards the top of the mountain, you’ll find the spot where these two water streams converge and create the perfect temperature for a dip.

Just make sure you give plenty of time for the return hike before it gets too dark, unlike us, and it should be a real good time.

FROM THE BLOG:

TONBRIDGE

I met Tim in college. He was spending a year on exchange from England. I had just spent a semester in Argentina and wanted to hang with international students all the time. We grabbed coffee and hit it off. That was seven years ago.
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I met Sarah a year and a half later when Tim was back in England and I was visiting London. They just started dating. Though we kept in touch, that was the last time I saw Tim in person until this weekend.
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This is one of my favorite things about life. The simple coffee and conversation can turn into a wedding abroad seven years later. It really makes me wonder what seeds I’m planting in my life right now and what they’ll be in seven years.

Oh- and it was one of the most fun weddings I've ever attended. Some of the highlights?

🐽 Hog Roast
🏝 Sitting at the Santa Barbara table
🍺 Homebrew

ROME

In just a couple hours we managed to grab ourselves a Roman breakfast, and blitz through to the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon.

I know rushing is the least Italian thing ever, but we didn’t really intend to see Rome. I’d been to all these places and was thinking it would be more of a hub to get to Siena. Deanna had never been to Italy, though, and I wanted her to see some of the exciting spots.We made a quest out of it, then managed to grab our bags and train with just enough time to spare. Now it’s on to my old home base- Siena!

SIENA

When I left Siena after studying there for a summer, I said what I imagine a good majority of study abroad students say- I’ll be coming back!
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It’s a weird and amazing thing when you actually make good on that declaration. It took me eight years and I now have a wife to come with me. Most things in my life have since changed but this place hasn’t changed much for hundreds of years.

FROM THE BLOG:

When I left Siena after studying there for a summer, I said what I imagine a good majority of study abroad students say- I’ll be coming back!

It’s a weird and amazing thing when you actually make good on that declaration. It took me eight years and I now have a wife to come with me. Most things in my life have since changed but this place hasn’t changed much for hundreds of years.

Anyways, it’s a thrill to be back even if it did take a good bit of time. Enjoying every second I’m here.

CINQUE TERRE

It was Easter Sunday and it was gorgeous.

Cinque Terre came as beautiful as advertised. It was a gorgeous day outside, so the park was pretty full of visitors especially in the center alleyways if each village.

Still, it wasn’t hard to pull back from the crowds and the hiking trails just outside of each one had incredible views and lots to stop and take in along the way.

It’s been a long winter. It’s time to lose the jackets and the feeling like I’m not doing enough.

I’ve taken so many different kinds of trips in the past few years– work trips and fun trips and ones that blur the lines. Iconic cities and warm villages. Service trips and food adventures. Weekend camping trips and living abroad for months. There’s one thing that ties together all the best kinds of trips. Connection.

Sometimes that means traveling overseas to reunite with friends. Other times it means asking for help and getting welcomed in by locals. Other times it’s a spiritual connection that gets stronger. Or a bond between you and your travel partner. This can look so many different ways, but all the best trips equal connection.

Getting to see some of my favorite places with my favorite person. I think even after a bit of time has gone by I’ll still be digesting how thankful I am for these past few weeks.

FROM THE BLOG: