Like many of the staff memberswho have worked at TREESthroughout the years, I was a PeaceCorps Volunteer. My husband Brianand I spent more than two years liv-ing in Touroua, a village in the northof Cameroon nestled up to theNigerian border, teaching peoplehow to grow and plant trees.

I remember one day we spentwalking with Alphonse Wanga, whowe were helping to develop a treenursery business, through the farmsand wooded areas around his neigh-borhood. We were trying to identifyall the types of trees in Touroua,take photos of them, and put theminto an album linked with theirFrench, English, and Fulfuldénames.

We pointed out the trees we didn't know and jotteddown all the names and information Alphonse provid-ed. We stopped in front of one tree about 10 meters (33feet) high with thick scaly yellow brown branches, andhe stood for awhile staring up at it. Alphonse's eye-brows were drawn close together, and his lips werepursed as he searched his memory for its name.

While Alphonse was staring at the tree, Brian and Isquatted by the sandy path and watched two Mbororoherders and their cattle moving towards the Faro River.The dust was rising up in a cloud around and abovethem as they, the cattle, walked five abreast towards us.The herders wore loose short-sleeved dark blue robesand pillbox hats. Each carried a long smooth wooden

staff and used it to direct the cattle.The Mbororo are nomadic herders who guide their

cattle from place to place as the seasons change. Theyknow the plants and trees that grow throughout theregion. They know Gabdi (Acacia nilotica) leaves arenourishing for their cattle and that the seeds of Dalehi(Khaya senegalensis) can be used to bring down afever. This knowledge is passed on in this pastoralexistence from the father to the sons as the boysbecome old enough to go with the herds during thelong migrations.

"A andi doe na?" (Do you know it?) Alphonsecalled to the Mbororo when they were close to us.

"Oho, me andi, hedi doe," one of the herders replied.

Page 1

The quarterly newsletter of Trees for the FutureFall 2005 Vol. XIII, No. 3

Reporting from Cameroon: Walking with Farmers

Bayangbe Kassa Vincent, seen kneeling on the left, arrived at Karin’s house at sunriseone morning asking what he could do to fight desertification. Here, Vincent and a

friend attract a crowd as they plant neem and acacia trees outside the Lutheran church

see page 4

Pockets remain of the rainforest thatonce covered most of Liberia. Due toshifting cultivation and logging, thecountry's landscape is now coveredwith farms and dotted primarily with oilpalms. In the Grand Cape MountCountry of the southwest - where com-munities struggle with low rainfall and

deforestation, TREES is working withFuture In Our Hands (FIOH-Liberia) to help ten local communitiesplant 20,000 trees.

Mr. Senesi Fawundu, the projectcoordinator, is training communities toutilize multipurpose trees, namelyAcacia, Calliandra, and Glyricidia

species, to avert fur-ther soil erosion,provide firewood,recharge groundwa-ter supplies, andfight global climatechange. Tree plant-ing is the first step inF I O H - L i b e r i a ' sdevelopment plan;they plan to traincommunity membersin beekeeping overthe coming year.

Page 2

Johnny Ipil-Seed News is aquarterly newsletter of TREESFOR THE FUTURE, Inc., anonprofit organization dedicatedto helping people of the world’spoorest communities to beginenvironmentally beneficial, self-help projects.

This newsletter is printed bywind energy on recycled paperwith soy-based ink and is sent toall supporting members toinform them of recent events,plans, financial matters and howtheir support is helping people.

BOARD OF DIRECTORSDr. John R. Moore, Dr. PeterFalk, Mr. Oscar Gruspe, Mr.

Dave Deppner, Mr. HankDearden, Mr. Bedru Sultan

FOUNDERSDave and Grace Deppner

STAFFJohn Leary, Program Coord.

Karin Vermilye, Program Dev. Chris Wells, Advisor on Asia

Gabby Mondragon, N. PhilippinesMarilou Herman, S. PhilippinesJorge Betancourt, Central. Am.

Omar Ndao, SenegalJohn Coleman, BelizeEben Mensah, Ghana

Frederich Etiang, UgandaLesly Grandin, Haiti

If you wish to receive thisnewsletter, or would like moreinformation, please contact:

TREES FOR THE FUTUREThe Loret Miller Ruppe

Center for Sustainable Development

9000 16th Street, P.O. Box 7027

Silver Spring, MD 20907

Toll Free: 1-800-643-0001Ph: 301-565-0630

Fax: 1-301-565-5012info@treesftf.org

WWW.PLANT-TREES.ORG

Future In Our Hands (FIOH) Network - Liberia

Salvation Army - CongoIn Bas Congo, Katanga, and Bandundu, TREES is supporting the work of the

Salvation Army Agroforestry Programme. Gracia Matondo reports that theproject is going extremely well with more than 3500 people planting fast-growingtrees such as Leucaena, Acacia, and Calliandra species for fodder, fruit, medicine

and shelter.The program is cur-

rently focusing ontraining communitiesin forestry and fruittree propagation, treedomestication, teach-ing grafting tech-niques, and air layer-ing. Many farmershave now witnessedhow combining fruittrees with beekeepingincreases the amountof fruit produced oneach tree and

improves the yield of the honey. Gracia also notices that reforesting degradedareas is bringing back edible mushrooms which disappeared with the loss of trees.

Gracia Matondo teaches Congolese youth how to graft fruit trees

FIOH-Liberia’s newly established nursery in Grand Cape MountCounty. The project coordinator, Senesi Fawundu, is seen kneeling on

the left of the seedlings with nursery attendants.

One of the greatest contributions your program givesthe world is a legacy of hundreds of thousands oftrained individuals capable of spreading the campaignto reforest the world's degraded lands.

Trees for the Future's technicians are among the bestin extending appropriate, sustainable solutions forproblems of the developing world, and we are con-stantly working to equip local leaders world-wide withthe knowledge and skills they need from an ever-grow-ing pool of experience.

TREES' GlobalClassroom reaches intohomes, communities,schools, organizationsand churches in 57countries, and much ofthis is made possible bythe use of effective andappropriate trainingmaterials - and wehave a new line of train-ing materials to tell youabout.Responding to requestsfrom our members inNorth America, yourstaff has written a sec-ond edition of theGlobal CoolingTM

Answer Book - aneasy-to-read booklet that explains how internationaltree-planting addresses global climate change, theglobal energy crisis, world food security, and ultimate-ly peace and development, and how families, students,and businesses can get involved. The GlobalCoolingTM Answer Book is available to TREES'members for $6 including shipping.

We have also responded to over one hundred requestsby international project leaders for new training mate-rials by creating new flipcharts, posters, videos, andPowerPoint presentations in English, Spanish,French, Wolof, Amharic, and Creole. As always hasbeen our policy, training materials are available free ofcharge to international project leaders, made possiblethanks to supporting members like you.

Many new training materials and tech sheets areavailable at: http://www.plant-trees.org/resources.htm.

Page 3

New Training Materials and a Global CoolingTM Answer Book

Masad Issa, a field technician inNigeria for the Ministry of HumanResources, is distributing trainingmaterials throughout Kano State.

Top: Making an agroforestry training video with pilot farmers inSenegal, Above: Two project leaders in Santa Barbara,

Honduras, show their posters in front of their seedling nursery,Below: The front and back covers of the new edition of The

Global CoolingTM Answer Book.

Page 4

I skimmed the glossary of the book I carried for thename. Hedi, the book explained, is Sclerocarya birrea,and its bark can be used to sooth toothaches. Peoplecan become intoxicated by eating too many of the

a c i d i cfruits.

Weasked theM b o r o r oto name afew moreof the treesthat wed i d n ' tknow andafter theydid, theyw a l k e dq u i c k l yb a c kt o w a r d stheir herdand movedaway fromthe village.

We walked to Alphonse's field where he showed us hispeanuts, corn, sorghum, and millet. We all looked outonto his field and the ones bordering his. The dust waslike a blanket in the air, and the peanut leaves werebeginning to dry up. Their green color was pale, notdeep, and dust coated their surface. He asked us whathe should do. Alphonse had no money, no capital tobuy extra fertilizer or pesticides for his food crops.

Most of the houses in the area we lived are sur-rounded with woven grass or mud walls. The walls

give some privacy to those within and function to keepthe goats and sheep out. When we went to visitAlphonse we noticed that his walls had disappeared.

"Alphonse," we had asked him "Where are yourwalls?"

"Ah oui,the walls," hea n s w e r e dwith a shrug."I had to sellthem. I need-ed to go tothe hospitaland to buymedicine andthe trip, it ise x p e n s i v eand so..." Hehad gesturedto those miss-ing walls.Yet the treesin his nurserywere protect-ed. They were all pushed together to one side of thesandy yard with a small thatched wall protecting them.There was a home for trees within a home for a manwith no walls because he sold them for his health.

"But when these trees grow I will sell them,"Alphonse had added, "and I will buy walls again, andmaybe even build a well."

Alphonse Wanga was one of the incredible peopleI was able to work and walk with in Cameroon.

Walking with Farmers continued

A Summer with Karin Vermilye

After having served as a Peace Corps Volunteerin Cameroon and graduating from the University ofMontana with a Master's degree in InternationalResource Conservation, Karin worked for Trees forthe Future this summer providing her experience in

community based conservation, dryland agro-forestry, and sustainable forestry.

TREES’ new technician Karin Vermilye withfarmer Alphonse Wanga in Touroua,Cameroon,behind a F. albida seedling protected with millet

from page 1

A class protects its seedlings from goats

Page 5

360,000 More Trees in HondurasHonduras’ watersheds are in trouble. Thousands of

mountainside springs, which once poured a constantstream of water, are now drying and frightening commu-nities into action. Years ago, trees channeled rainwaterback into the mountains, replenishing natural springs.Now that the mountain tops have been stripped of theirtrees, the water is lost as runoff, eroding the hillsides andwashing precious topsoil into the ocean.

As part of a larger Honduras program that plantedover 360,000 trees this year, Trees for the Future,through a partnership with Peace Corps Honduras,helped over 30 communities throughout the regions andmunicipalities of Choluteca, Francisco Morazan, ElParaiso, Lempira, Intibuca, Santa Barbara, Olancho,Comayagua, La Ceiba, and Tegucigalpa, to reforestdegraded areas around precious water sources.

One of these municipalities is Namasigüe, in the south-ern region of Choluteca, where we helped plant about8,200 trees in eight communities.

Similar to many other municipalities, the people ofNamasigüe are protecting their natural spring by refor-

esting the surrounding areas with deep-rooted legumi-nous trees that will capture rainwater and safeguardNamasigüe’s primary water supply.

Communities throughout Honduras well-under-stand that planting trees around and above their watersources is a vital investment in their future, and wewill continue to provide all the help we can. Throughan extension program with TREES field reps andPeace Corps Volunteers, women’s groups and waterboards are receiving the training they need to produceseedlings of trees that have proven effective in restor-ing watersheds.

Dona Maria Paz in the community of Tierra Blanca, holds oneof 8,200 seedlings TREES helped plant in Namasigüe,

Choluteca, this year through a partnership with Peace Corps Honduras.

A mountainside water catchment near Siguatepeque

Mountains like this are unable to catchwater. Trees are necessary to channel water

back into underground aquifers.

Page 6

"There are also social and cultural reasons for dis-asters...In order to speak with political leaders, itmay be best to begin by talking directly to God andworking backwards from there."

-Dr. Juan Murria, Director Risk Research Center, Punto Fijo, Venezuela. INCEED Conference, Charlotte, NC July 2005

The natural disasters occurring around the worldinclude fires, storms,floods, droughts,tsunamis, earthquakes,volcanos and land-slides. The incidence ofthese disasters reportedworldwide has beengrowing at an amazingrate, since shortly afterthe end of World War II.

These reports do notinclude "creeping" dis-asters such as air pollu-tion, global warming,crop failures, insectswarms, forced massmigration, and theincreased incidence ofdisease.

A week before we wrote this, for example, a "browncloud" crossed the Atlantic from West Africa carryingthe dust of the Sahara Desert, which is now falling onAntigua and other islands of the Caribbean. Warningshave been sent out for people with asthma and otherrespiratory problems to stay indoors.A large part of this rapid increase in the number of dis-

asters can be attributed, in one way or another, to thecontinuing destruction of the world's forests and othernatural resources. Some examples:> In 1988, international loggers denuded a largeforested area in the uplands of Leyte, an island in thecentral Philippines. Some months later the area wasvisited by a strong typhoon with heavy rains over sev-eral days. The resulting landslide killed 6,600 people inthe town of Ormoc and left 55,000 families homeless.> In July, 2004, a series of hurricanes passed by Haiti.Although they did not come ashore, they brought onvery heavy rains. For lack of tree cover, an entire sec-

tion of mountainside above the city of Gonaïves col-lapsed on the town. Our technician there sent photos ofthe mothers walking past piles of dead bodies lookingfor their babies; he also sent this photo seen below.> This spring, sudden storms hit an extremely arid partof Ethiopia, along the Omo River. More than 300 peo-ple died as the river overflowed its banks. Many werekilled by crocodiles that suddenly found themselves onthe streets of nearby towns.

> As an internationalconference on disastersneared conclusion inCharlotte, North Carolinaon July 28, the monsoonrains arrived in northernIndia, in one day drop-ping 37" of rain onBombay, half the usualrainfall of an entire year.Most of the 900+ peoplewho died in the ensuingfloods and landslideswere building a road toimprove traffic flow inthis city of 15 million.

Economics determinesthat the great majority ofvictims of these disasters

are the very poor (who can't afford to live in saferplaces). The experience of TREES shows that these arethe people who quickly see many of the benefits thatcan result from planting trees. That's why our programis especially useful for avoiding, or at least mitigating,many kinds of disasters.

Saving the forests, or planting new trees where theforests once stood, can greatly reduce the number ofdisasters that are happening. As the program of TREESis proving in southern India right now, they performother important services for victims of tsunamis byreducing the damage and loss of life, while sustainablyproducing important products and vital income for thesurvivors.We wish it were otherwise, but an increasingly impor-

tant reason we need your help to bring trees back tothese threatened lands is to prevent, if possible, furtherdisasters and, when that is not possible, to reduce thedevastation while bringing help to the people there.

TREES and DISASTERS

Carrying a coffin from the mudslide: Deforestation in Haiti has allowed mudslides to kill thousands of people in recent years.

How could GlobalWarming possibly affect apolar bear? Like this: as thewater warms, the distancebetween ice blocks keepswidening so it's harder forthem to catch and land sealsand other food. Now polarbears, along with smallermammals that feed withthem, are becoming further

endangered. Ninety-five percent of all glaciers havelost over half their size.

We bring up global climate change once again, evenas we point out that almost none of the people plantingtrees in our projects does so to combat this threat. Theyhave other, more pressing needs. Still, the total num-ber of trees your program has planted so far annu-ally removes a million tons of carbon dioxide fromthe global atmosphere. That means you, our mem-bers, are doing far more than most of the world.

This last dry season has been especially brutalthroughout the tropics. And here as well. Along theEast Coast, temperature records were broken--and bro-ken again. An international conference on climate andenergy held in Charlotte North Carolina in July sawdelegates sweltering against daytime temperaturesreaching 105 degrees F.

It has been a summer of remarkably high tempera-tures, fires, and violent weather including a recordnumber of hurricanes, typhoons and other storms.Research shows that the strength, and duration, ofthese storms has increased by more than 30% since1970.

It's also been a summer of heated, often misleading,even more often self-serving, rhetoric. One thing, how-ever, can't be ignored: there will have been a 40%increase in CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2020. GlobalWarming has become a true environmental crisis andan economic deterrent in which almost any activity canbe called counter-productive and any investment inenergy can be considered at risk.

The US finds itself at a crossroads and can no longercontinue to be inactive. Seven states have alreadypassed legislation concerning carbon dioxide emis-sions from cars, trucks and power stations. One energycorporation (Duke) recommends a carbon tax (on the

consumers of course) across a broad spectrum of theeconomy as making "solid business sense".

Still, our energy corporations continue to be hung upon fossil fuels and nuclear energy even though thePrice-Anderson Law, which subsidizes insurance fornuclear energy plants, has been extended again: aftermore than 50 years, nuclear energy technology is stillnot safe enough to pay its own insurance bill. There isnow talk about shooting nuclear waste into space. Thatgets scary.

At the same time, there have been some excitingdevelopments: energy from waves could some daylight nearly every home in the USA. New ideas for cut-ting costs for heat pumps could put them in everyhome. This one advance would reduce our total CO2

emissions by as much as 24%. To all this, we repeat what we consider to be common

sense. Any workable idea to address this threat shouldbe developed as an investment rather than a cost. And,as any polar bear could tell you, cutting emissions (asthe Kyoto plan suggests) is not going to answer theproblem: it's time to take carbon out of the atmosphere.Doing less that's bad is still bad. It's time to startdoing something good. Trees take carbon out of theatmosphere and turn it into things people can use.That's good.Considering all the above, we have recently produced

a second edition of our Global CoolingTM AnswerBook. Thanks to the kindness of several concernedbusinesses, several thousand copies are now beingprinted. Writing it has been quite a challenge and wethank so many people who provided facts and ideas. Ifyou would like a copy, we will mail it to you for $6.00.If you want a lot of copies (100 or more) we will pro-vide them at a price of $2.00 each plus postage. Although we own the copyright, any or all of the book

may be reprinted. We ask only that our name be cred-ited. Our idea is not to make a lot of money, but at thistime of growing recognition of a true global crisis, wewant to get as many people as possible involved infinding real and workable answers. That includes you:

Many people are already hard at work doing this. Wehope that this will inspire a 3rd edition in the nearfuture and that it will include your ideas and experi-ence as well.

Page 7

Opinion: IT'S STILL GETTING HOTTER

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Fall Activities

p. 1 Walking with Farmersp. 2 New West Africa Programsp. 3 New Training Materials and a Global

CoolingTM Answer Bookp. 5 310,000 More Trees in Hondurasp. 6 TREES and DISASTERSp. 7 Opinion: IT'S STILL GETTING HOTTER

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