Burundi - Planting trees to fight drought

Nshimirimana Protais is one of 1,000 farmers who are planting nearly 500,000 trees in Burundi through an MCC-supported project. During the 1990s, more than 60 percent of Burundi's trees were destroyed. Because of a civil war during that period, soldiers destroyed forests to deprive their enemies of cover. Struggling farmers also destroyed trees when they cleared land for cultivation.

Trees return water to the atmosphere and increase the amount of water held in the ground. The lack of trees makes farmers more vulnerable to drought and other environmental problems. In response, MCC is helping local farmers replant trees in coordination with a partner organization, Help Channel Burundi.

MCC provides two 28-ounce cans of meat to Nshimirimana and other farmers for each day of tree-planting work. When asked if he'd prefer to be paid in cash, Nshimirimana answered, "No, for when we receive money we are tempted to use it in a way that doesn't benefit our homes. We prefer the food for work system. My family has no more food problems. We eat some of the turkey and a part of what we receive we exchange for other staples that we need."

 

If contributions to a project exceed the amount needed, MCC will use the donations to support similar projects.