We have raised funds to remove thousands more landmines in Croatia, Israel, Palestine and Vietnam--preventing the footsteps of children and farmers from being maimed or killed.
Once the landmines have been safely removed, the land is no longer held hostage.
These are fertile grounds for peace to flourish. Roots of Peace has planted rice in Cambodia, orchards in Croatia, wheat in Iraq, strawberries in Angola, grapes in Afghanistan, olives in The Holy Land, and black pepper in Vietnam.
In Afghanistan, we have planted over five million fruit trees in all 34 provinces benefiting over 1 million farmers and families. In 2014, there were an estimated $250 million in agricultural exports when we were bombed by The Taliban (March 28, 2014). This was a defining moment for our organization. Yet, we decided to go the distance, and not cave to terrorism. Roots of Peace, with funding from USAID, increased agricultural exports to over $1.4 billion by the end of 2019. Millions of farmers and traders benefited from our efforts to firmly plant the Roots of Peace in Afghanistan--despite the many challenges. There is a phrase, "May the gentle wings of a butterfly cause a gentle breeze to flow around the world." In this case, our noble efforts in California greatly impacted Afghanistan.
In Croatia, fields of lavender are now flourishing on former battlefields. And, I have personally witnessed the country going from an estimated 1.2 million landmines after The Balkan War to one of the top tourist destinations in the world!
Roots of Peace had similar success in Quang Tri, Vietnam, former DMZ. This province remains heavily contaminated by explosive remnants of war long after the guns have silenced from the Vietnam War. Over 80% of the land is mined, and over 100,000 innocent footsteps have been maimed or killed since the war ended 45 years ago (April 30, 1975). Roots of Peace has trained over 3,800 farmers to grow black pepper on former battlefields. Furthermore, we are providing exports to new markets in the United States. Morton Gothelf, owner, Morton & Bassett Spice Company, served in The Vietnam War during the 1960s. Yet, today, Morton, age 85, is now bottling black pepper from former war-torn lands and selling his product nationwide with the logo of Roots of Peace on every spice bottle.
This is 'how' we give the world a taste of peace!
JB: Thanks so much for sharing your story with us, Heidi. You're living proof of the power of an idea taking root and doing good.
The humble root, doing its magic, changing lives, rebuilding war-torn communities
(Image by courtesy of Heidi) Details DMCA
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Note from Joan: Several of the photos lack optimal clarity. The originals are inaccessible currently, due to the pandemic. When they become available, they will be inserted instead of the blurrier placeholders. This is an opportunity to use your imagination in the meantime.
Roots of Peace website(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
