Plenty International

History

In 1974, Plenty International was founded as an outreach arm of The Farm Community in Summertown Tennessee, to express our desire to make a difference in the world. At first, Plenty just gave food away to the hungry. The Farm's crop surpluses were distributed to the local rural poor. We moved our food aid farther afield as we discovered pockets of hunger in urban Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, rural Alabama and Mississippi. Sometimes we would learn of a tornado or flash flood hitting a town in the mid-west, and we would send out volunteers to assist in the clean-up and reconstruction.
When a devastating earthquake struck Guatemala in 1976, killing 23,000 and leaving a million homeless, The Farm and Plenty decided to decided to go and see if there was anything this young, untested organization could do to help. At the time, that earthquake was the greatest natural disaster ever in the history of Central America, and the volunteers were overwhelmed to view the destruction.
Initially Plenty committed crews of carpenters to assist the Mayans in their efforts to rebuild. Over the next four years Plenty volunteers built over twelve hundred houses, schools and public buildings. More than 100 Plenty volunteers served in Guatemala, working side by side with Guatemalan farmers and villagers. Many of us witnessed for the first time the depth of poverty in the Third World.			Indigenous Municipal Building, Solola, Guatemala, built by Plenty
We soon learned that poverty is a wheel with many spokes that rolls over the backs of the poor. The spokes are racism, poor sanitation, lack of health care and clean water, land and food shortages, as well as economic and political oppression. It's just like the old song says, Them that's got shall get, them that's not shall lose. Recognizing the need for additional protein to fight malnutrition, Plenty volunteers began introducing the Mayan people to soybean foods and agriculture.
Soy foods processing demonstrations were part of a strategy to get more protein to the kids. Ice "Bean" was always a big hit!
This led to the construction of a Mayan owned and operated soy dairy (Alimentos San Bartolo), in the village of San Bartolo, Solola, that is still in business today providing both jobs and a reliable source of inexpensive protein.
Plenty volunteers also engaged in projects to promote primary health care, and helped to install potable water systems sanitation and communications technology. We felt extremely lucky to be able to exchange a few of our life-supporting technologies for the privilege of experiencing the richness of the Maya culture and the powerful heart and intelligence of its people. Plenty volunteers were forced to leave Guatemala in the fall of 1980 due to the escalating violence. Since then Plenty has assisted projects such as fair trade crafts marketing for Mayan women, a community library in Jacaltenango, and continued technical support for the Alimentos San Bartolo soy dairy.
Building on our experiences in Guatemala, Plenty launched projects in the South Bronx, Native American Reservations, Southern Africa, and Belize. Plenty has also worked extensively in the development of soy foods technology and promoting fair trade. In 1980, Plenty was a recipient of the first Right Livelihood Prize, annually awarded in Stockholm, Sweden.

South Bronx

In 1978 Plenty volunteers entered a forgotten third world settlement, the South Bronx.

The South Bronx attracted our interest after seeing a television news report about a group of urban pioneers called "Sweat Equity", and their heroic enterprise of refurbishing abandoned housing for the poor in the midst of a burning ghetto.

The Plenty Ambulance Service provided free, emergency care and transport to residents of the South Bronx from 1978 until 1984.

In 1982 the Plenty Ambulance Service received New York's Jefferson Award for "outstanding public service."

The Emergency Medical Technician training program graduated 200 N.Y. State-licensed EMTs , who took over emergency care in the South Bronx as employees of the city.

Bumper sticker in the Bronx: Next time you need help, call a hippie!

Lesotho, South Africa

Lesotho is an independent, black-ruled nation surrounded by South Africa.

From 1979 to 1985 Plenty promoted village-scale technology development (running water, sanitation, reforestation, agriculture, alternative energy, health care) in a region comprising 60 villages and a population of approximately 10,000 Basotho tribes people.

Village Technology Training Center, Lesotho, South Africa, 1978

In 1982, in Washington, DC, Plenty co-founded "Clinica del Pueblo," a free, bilingual, primary health care clinic and training program for refugees from Central America. In 1984, we turned over the management of the clinic to the local community, and it continues today.

The Carib Territory, on the island of Dominica

The Carib Territory, on the island of Dominica in the West Indies, is home to the remaining 3,500 descendants of the original inhabitants of the Caribbean who hold their land in common trust and elect a tribal council to manage the affairs of their people.

Plenty began working with the Carib people in 1983, first bringing a boatload of materials and supplies and later long term Plenty volunteers to assist in construction of community buildings , businesses, and other efforts.

Since 1987 Plenty's summer volunteers program has placed University graduates and under graduates, primarily from American business schools, in short-term economic development projects in the Caribbean and on Indian reservations in the U.S. Besides staffing the projects, the volunteers raise the money to pay for them and their own expenses as well.

PLENTY TODAY

Belize

In Belize, Plenty is working in partnership with indigenous Mayan and Garifuna farmers and crafts producers who are attempting to create sustainable economic solutions to poverty in one of the last frontiers of unspoiled mountain and coastal rainforest on the planet.

Plenty is also assisting the Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA), a group of Mayan and Garifuna villagers that is trying to create jobs in the villages through responsible tourism and educate visitors about the beauty and value of their indigenous cultures and the environment they inhabit ...more

Pine Ridge On Indian reservations in the US, Plenty is supporting the efforts of Native Americans striving to regain a measure of cultural and economic sovereignty. At the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, we are working with a coalition of development agencies to help families and indigenous Oglala Sioux organizations who are reestablishing their land-based economy through agriculture and uses of hemp...more
Soy food and nutrition education in Belize.	Soy Worldwide Plenty extends training and information in the specialized field of soybean agriculture and utilization on a home, village and commercial scale...more In 1995, Plenty published From the Global Kitchen: A Collection of Vegetarian Recipes which describes Plenty's soy projects in all parts of the world and includes recipes for soy-based dishes from Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America and the Caribbean...more

Liberia In war-ravaged Liberia Plenty is assisting IMANI HOUSE in their efforts to combat malnutrition with soy foods, as well as other projects.
	Kids To The Country In 1986 Plenty established a youth program in Tennessee called "Kids to the Country" in which disadvantaged inner-city youth live on the Farm for a week. Kids to the Country, annually, transports one hundred of Nashville's most at-risk children to the countryside where they can experience nature as well as social and intellectual stimulation in a safe and peaceful setting...more
The Ecovillage Training Center Plenty is aN affiliate of another project based on the Farm: The Ecovillage Training Center. The ETC is a member of a growing world network of projects demonstrating methods of living lightly on the earth in harmony with natural systems and vulnerable environments. Such alternative technologies as strawbale construction and permaculture design are taught here.
As always, Plenty's strongest asset is its people to people connection, sharing information and ideas, heart and soul. Building a network of friends around the world reinforces our spiritual beliefs, that we are one planet, we are all one.