World Water Day

Like too much of the planet, a combination of oligarchic rapacity -- rich families cutting timber and grazing life stock, mostly -- and climate warming has destroyed half of Nicaragua's forests over the last 50 years. Rural people compound environmental damage as they scour the land for firewood to fuel wood burning cook stoves.

Without healthy forests, clean water becomes more scarce, trickling away as run off. Communities are left with less arable fields and simply less water to sustain lives.

Pastor and his family now practice agroforestry, have orchards, and set up a local seed bank. "...We see that as the future for our children so they will have good land to work on.”

El Porvenir has been helping rural Nicaraguans improve their access to clean water since 1990. Where once that work consisted in digging more and deeper wells, today much of the organization's effort has turned to helping communities preserve sustainable water sources by improving whole watersheds.

What's that mean? Mostly, it means smart planting and tending of young trees. Healthier forests help improve adjacent crop yields. Conservation preserves water sources for future generations.

You can help improve Nicaraguan watersheds and the lives of rural communities with any contribution to El Porvenir's watershed improvements campaign.