Since its founding in 1974, Plenty has been a conduit for volunteers, material goods, ideas, technology, and funding to help people achieve their aspirations for a better life. Plenty’s mission is to assist in the protection, stewardship and sharing of the world’s resources in order to promote the well being of the communities and the environment we share. To this end, Plenty promotes the exchange of beneficial technologies, skills, and resources between people in a spirit of friendship and respect.

The community groups that Plenty assists represent Native peoples who are working to sustain their cultures; women organizing to improve their health, economic and social status; families, schools and community groups caring for, and educating their children; and older generations imparting the values of respect for the earth, and each other, to the young. Most of Plenty’s projects involve long-term partnerships that developed in response to direct requests for assistance. Together we seek practical, long-term solutions to the challenges they face.

Plenty is a registered non-profit, 501-C-(3) organization which is funded by individual donors, foundations, and community groups. We welcome any and all financial support.

Plenty Belize
Central America Food Security Initiative(CAFSI)
At-Risk Urban Youth, Kids To The Country
Pine Ridge Reservation
Iraq
Israel

Plenty Belize is a registered non-governmental organization located in Punta Gorda Town in the southern Toledo District, bordering Guatemala. Its focus is maternal and infant health care and education, organic school gardens and environmental education, food and nutrition programs, and alternative energy.

In the Toledo District, levels of education, health, literacy, infrastructure and income for the district’s 23,000 residents (majority Maya) are consistently at the bottom of Belize’s national averages. It also contains a number of diverse ecosystems, including primary temperate rainforest. However, the local environment is threatened by increased population growth, unsustainable agriculture, deforestation and development pressures. Since 1990, Plenty has assisted grassroots Mayan, Garifuna and other groups working in the Toledo District.

We have close collaborative relationships with many NGOs, schools and government agencies in the Toledo District, and elsewhere in the immediate region. With a paid staff of two (Coordinator Mark Miller and Administrative Assistant Leah Cho), we rely on local and international volunteers to help support projects.

GATE (Garden-based Agriculture for Toledo’s Environment)

GATE’s goal is to enable primary schools in the Toledo District to develop sustainable organic gardens, both as a way to supply nutritious food for their much needed lunch programs, and as an educational tool for the children and the community. In the 2004 school year two schools were added to the program, for a total of ten. These schools receive tools, seeds, extension support and information on a consistent basis.

School Feeding Program

Plenty Belize has been very involved in a support role, helping organize meetings and activities, transporting donated supplies, and related tasks. Plenty raised some designated funding from our generous Plenty donors in 2004 for the Laguna and Barranco schools to purchase food supplies. With funding provided by the British High Commission of Belize Plenty was able to assist the village of San Felipe in the construction of a kitchen for their school.

KTC offers environmental education, conflict resolution, and creative expression for inner-city youth. The program is based on The Farm in Summertown, TN, the original base of Plenty International.

This Plenty project gives inner-city youth the chance to experience the beauty and peace of the natural world in a structured, positive environment. KTC kids are from 6-12 years old and are referred to Plenty from homeless shelters, low-income housing projects and social programs.

KTC’s summer program in middle Tennessee weaves the development of conflict resolution skills and environmental education into activities such as horseback riding, organic gardening, arts and crafts, swimming, and talent shows. Three other seasonal activities, an urban Earth Day Peace garden in the spring, fall Harvest festival, and winter Kwanzaa celebration encourage the kids to maintain their connection to nature, each other, and to the principles of the program. The KTC Program served 200 children during 2004.

Pine Ridge, located in South Dakota, is home to the Lakota people and is situated in the poorest county in the U.S. Plenty links volunteers, and provides technical and financial help. Plenty assists the Slim Butte organic community gardens project, and other projects which promote local self-sufficiency and cultural sovereignty. Incidence of diabetes and heart disease among reservation Lakotas is way above the national average. Plenty was able to provide $2000 in general support money to the Pine Ridge Gardens Project in June.

Plenty has agreed to fiscally sponsor a new project to introduce and expand the use of soyfoods in Iraq. In January of 2004, Plenty soy technician, Chuck Haren and his wife, Casta Calderon who is also a soy expert with years of experience in Nicaragua, traveled to Turkey, Jordan and Iraq where they performed soy processing demonstrations for interested individuals, groups and one hospital in Baghdad. They found farmers in Iraq who expressed an interest in growing soybeans. Chuck is currently working to make seed available to interested farmers for planting.

Plenty partners, Shmuel and Allison Ofanansky are in northern Israel developing a permaculture demonstration and education center and helping with a small soyfoods business. They are also doing gardening and tree-planting with school children. They write: "While our projects are not directly political, we see ecology and permaculture as bridges between Arab and Israeli communities."