Planting Empowerment

Planting Empowerment (PE) is a sustainable timber company funded by patrons willing to invest in the improvement of social and environmental conditions in the Darien province of Panama. Planting Empowerment leases land in eastern Panama that has eroded under slash-and-burn farming methods. Money from investors is used to plant and tend to AbOUT 500 trees an acre that, in 25 years, should become a source of valuable tropical hardwood.

As of June 2008, PE maintains 50 acres of timber plantations that includes over six species of trees.

Mission

Planting Empowerment parnters with rainforest-dependent populations to create opportunities in commercial forestry and increase conservation in fragile environmental areas.

History

Planting Empowerment was founded in October 2006 by former Peace Corps Volunteers who worked in Panama’s Darien province between 2002 and 2006. During that time they witnessed slash-and-burn development that depleted thousands of acres of old-growth rainforest. Living with those who depend on this practice for their livelihoods instilled in the founders an understanding of the economic dependence on the rainforest.

Current Principles

Damion Croston, Director of Operations
Jose Deago, Head Forester
Andrew Parrucci, Director of Marketing
Andrew Wulf, Strategic Advisor
Planting Empowerment grew from the belief that there exists a better way for Panamanian peasant farmers and indigenous communities to maximize the economic benefit from their natural resources.
The company’s business plan has won recognition in college-sponsored competitions aimed at fostering socially responsible ventures, including those at the University of Washington, Notre Dame, Yale and the University of Texas at Austin, where Planting Empowerment was second out of more than 1,000 ideas.
Planting Empowerment also reached the final round of the SEED Competition, a collaboration of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Business Model

Planting Empowerment raises capital from investors (1) and partners with rural Panamanians to rent their titled land and invest the money in reforestation and timber management (2). The landowner maintains possession of his land and receives income from future wood sales (3), while investors profit through a 10 percent rate of return (4). The rain forest is protected from clear-[...], as the farmer learns to care for the land.







Official Site
[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Planting-Empowerment/85766941343?ref=search&sid=1459392637.1203124480..1 PE Facebook Page]
PE Twitter Feed
Youtube: Planting Empowerment Promo Video
2009 SEED Awards Press Release