Fantastic Organization Doing Great Work

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).