Trees, Water & People

A nonprofit organization

$864 raised by 12 donors

2% complete

$45,000 Goal

Your donation to Trees, Water & People (TWP) supports programs, including our clean cookstoves program in Honduras, that see a whole picture of people’s lives, follow their lead, and in turn, create lasting impact. From our restoration and climate resiliency efforts on Tribal lands in the United States, to our community-based conservation work across Mesoamerica, our ethic is the same. 

We’re an environmental organization, but we understand enduring environmental solutions are woven into the cultural, social, and economic tapestry of people’s lives; we can help provide the yarn, but the real weavers are those who see new paths, and create them. 


Testimonials

"There are hundreds of very good causes and organizations out there, all needing funding - now more than ever. If our giving is to have meaningful impact, we have to make choices, as hard as that may be. I make my choices carefully, and TWP is one of them. Not only does it meet my basic criteria (financial health and efficiency, good reputation, positive recognition from independent organizations), but it also reflects my personal concerns." - Pam Griffin, TWP Donor

Mission

Trees, Water & People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving people's lives by helping communities to protect, conserve and manage the natural resources upon which their long-term well-being depends.

Background Statement

TWP’s model is built on the belief that lasting solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges come from the people who know those challenges best.

We were founded by two foresters, and loss of forests is one of the challenges we’ve focused on most; but having worked closely with local communities for decades, we understand that reforestation is much more complex than planting trees (though we love to do this too!). The challenges communities face are intertwined, and the solutions must look beyond one thread.

Globally, more than half the world’s population cooks every meal over an open fire. In addition to putting pressure on dwindling forest resources, smoke inhalation from indoor open-fire cooking contributes to serious health impacts, most often amongst women and girls.

Since 1998, we’ve worked with community-based partners in Honduras to design a clean cookstoves program that attends to these health impacts, reduces demand for fuels, and benefits local economies. Our stove design significantly lowers indoor air pollution by funneling smoke out of the home and requires 50-70 percent less firewood than open-fire cooking. Less wood means less labor for families and less pressure on forests.

Within the program, all stoves are designed, produced, and distributed locally, creating economic benefit within the region, and locals are equipped to build and repair them. Many of these trained builders are women, providing an important source of income.

Our approach to clean cookstoves, and all of our work, mirrors what we’ve learned from planting trees. We don’t just plant the maximum number of trees, and leave. Instead, we learn from communities to understand conditions in which those trees will thrive, help develop the economic stability they’ll need to care for them, and grow local capacity to plant more going forward.

We don’t just build stoves – we build holistic systems that will last.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Trees, Water & People

other names

TWP

Year Established

1998

Category

Environment

Organization Size

Large Organization

Address

633 Remington St.
Fort Collins, CO 80524

Service areas

Larimer County, CO, US

Other

970-484-3678

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