Help Plant Fruit Trees in El Salvador

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation organized a wonderful experience planting fruit trees in the neighboring communities. Everything was taken care of; lodging, transportation and a few local excursions. The staff was friendly and helpful. It was an "easy" project. We physically worked hard, but it didn't feel like work. We met so many people and made new friends, very rewarding! I can't wait for 2019!

Not only was this my very first international trip with FTPF, it was also my first time volunteering abroad period. I had lived in South America, but living/working in a city and volunteering with a NGO in rural towns are very different things.

I spent an amazing week in which I felt both challenged and at ease simultaneously; every day was full of new experiences and chances to learn. I racked up knowledge on planting techniques, organic tree care, how to say new words in Spanish, Salvadoran lingo, local foods, this small country's fascinating and unhappy history, traditional uses for medical plants, and the list goes on and on. But the best part was just being in these small towns, or in the schools, or in people's homes where you felt completely part of their lives. It was not a vacation or a tourist experience, but truly a slice of life in El Salvador at this moment.

I have since continued volunteering with FTPF, but as my first international trip with the organization, I can say that this project really lit the fire of my passion for their work. I highly recommend this trip to anyone looking to have a tangible impact on a local AND global level, while also getting off the beaten track and truly seeing a country. Me encanta El Salvador!

I spent a week in June of 2015 helping the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation plant trees in El Salvador. I am a 62 year old woman and I had just started traveling abroad. I really had little interest in going to Central America, but I have a lot of respect for FTP. I had such a wonderful experience! If you want to really meet people and get a true understanding of a country's culture, planting trees with a group like FTPF is the way to do so. We planted at schools and co-ops. I met school principles, students, teachers and local farmers. I was invited into their homes, shared their meals, met their children and spouses. I marched in the National Environmental Day parade in San Salvador with hundreds of local groups. I ate the local food, (yay pupusas!) drank the local beer, drove the local streets with a local driver at rush hour (not for the faint of heart), and was made to feel welcome everywhere I went. The personal satisfaction I got from knowing I was giving something tangible to a country in extreme need without asking for anything but for them to care for the trees and enjoy their fruit was wonderful. I would recommend to anyone of any age to try this experience. I hope to return in the future.

I spent one week in El Salvador in 2014 with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation helping to plant 10,000 trees with children at schools and at family-owned farming cooperatives, providing training and education on the benefits of trees and proper tree planting techniques.

Each day brought a new adventure, on days that we weren’t at schools planting trees and educating children we would be at farming cooperatives planting trees with farmers. The work was focused in the western region of El Salvador where we worked in low-income areas, in mountain villages and along the Pacific coast, and at schools in remote mountain areas and in villages. We traveled from place to place in a pickup truck with a Spanish-English interpreter who is local to El Salvador and who translated our messages to the locals. FTPF staff ensured that we were safe, well hydrated, and had adequate food and a safe place to sleep. While the work was gratifying, spending time and getting to know the FTPF staff was equally as rewarding. The FTPF staff is a genuine group of people who have the utmost respect for humanity and nature. Not only that, but they are friendly and like to laugh and make you laugh…a lot!

The impact of planting thousands of fruit trees in El Salvador is tremendous and will only grow as the trees grow. The most rewarding thing about this trip, was working with children and families. Knowing that the trees we planted will provide a source of nourishment and a source of income for a poor family is really a profoundly positive feeling.

I honestly could not find a better use of my time than volunteering with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF).