Purpose Earth Grant Recipients

Expanding on the important work already being done by the organization LEB (Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Business) Congo, this 6-week, in-person program will focus on empowering 100 individuals in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire with leadership, entrepreneurship and team management skills and business development.

The Capacity-Building Program for the Unemployed Living with Disabilities includes: in-person workshops, virtual coaching, and a pitch competition to turn business ideas into viable ventures. The positive impact involves empowering disabled youth, ages 18-35 years old, in creating job opportunities and reducing juvenile crime.

The Tsavo Conservation Education Program focuses on Tsavo Conservation Area, specifically Tsavo West National Park, and vulnerable communities in Mang’elete and Mtito Andei, Kenya. Partnering since 2018, the project aims to enhance community resilience, empower women and promote conservation, with a new focus on engaging the younger generation in conservation education.

This project will focus on outreach within the youth of two communities bordering the north of Tsavo West National Park (TWNP) to foster increased knowledge of the importance of sustainable resource management and ecosystem resilience, as well as increased responsibility
for protecting and conserving their surrounding environment. This will be achieved through establishing conservation education clubs in six schools, supported by educational bus trips into TWNP and community-wide conservation celebration days.

Addressing the environmental challenges from climate change and human activities, this reforestation project is focused on restoring the mangrove ecosystem along the Bimbia River in Tiko, Cameroon. The Community-Based Mangrove Restoration project engages the local community in reforestation, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods to positively impact both the environment and community well-being.

The Sustainable Life Skills Development for Vulnerable Children project aims to address the pressing needs of vulnerable children (10-18 years old) in Pakwach Town, Uganda by establishing a life skills program focusing on creativity, communication, sexual and reproductive health and sports. As an interdisciplinary, intersectional initiative, it emphasizes social, economic, environmental, educational and cultural applications.

Social aspects of the project will include developing a sports program through basketball and netball. Economically, the project will focus on advancing capacity-building and life skills through training on crafting reusable sanitary towels, candles, liquid soap and recycling bottles and plastic bags into items for sale. Active community engagement, led by local volunteers, ensures cultural relevance and sustainability. The project, with a community board overseeing activities, aims to create lasting change in Pakwach's youth.

This Cambodian social initiative expands Epic Encounters, an inclusive dance company, to empower disabled individuals and promote inclusivity in rural communities through dance performances and workshops. The project will be based in Kampot, Cambodia and operate within various rural communities in the country, focusing on areas with limited exposure to inclusive arts and disability awareness initiatives. By targeting these specific locations, the project aims to effect positive change at the grassroots level, to create meaningful change within their communities.

The Earth Guardians Indigenous Youth Initiative is a unique program focusing on uplifting Indigenous ways of life, voice and leadership, with a vision of bringing the planet back into balance and out of climate chaos. Every year this program plans a 7-day, in-person training, followed by ongoing support for the participating youth.

This in-person gathering is led by Indigenous adult mentors and the Earth Guardians Indigenous Youth Initiative Committee and engaging with 25+ Native youth leaders ages 18-25 years of age from diverse tribes. This training equips each participant with the tools and confidence to inspire and lead other tribal youth, and their community members, to effect impactful lasting change in the areas of: traditional ecological knowledge, food sovereignty, environmental/social justice issues, reclamation of story, multimedia techniques, Native nation building, non-violent direct action, campaign development, cultural resilience and decolonization. Youth participants are empowered in their own climate projects, learning valuable skills and building relationships with mentors and peers during the program.

The Indigenous Peoples of Brazil Water Project’s mission is to build drinking water wells for two Indigenous communities in Acre in Brazil: the Madha people, a community of 1500 people, who live along the banks of the Juruá and Purus rivers and the Apurina people, who live near Boca do Acre.

While visiting these two villages in 2023, Co-Founder of the Planetary Healing Centre, Claudia Goncalves, learned that the Madha people are forced to drink water from contaminated, polluted rivers. Without the money and tools to drill a working well, the health of their community is deteriorating. The lack of safe drinking water has led to an increase in illness among the children and elders, and in some cases, death.

Meeting with the Apurina women near Boca do Acre, she learned that they too are without immediate access to drinking water and have to walk long distances carrying water for their families and home. Elders, mothers, and children have an endless task of carrying buckets of water every day while the men are working collecting Brazil Nuts. This project is in motion to provide wells to these two villages that are in desperate need of a sustainable source of clean water.

The Sustainable Farming in the Climate Crisis project revolutionizes farming in Zimbabwe by partnering with three primary schools to introduce climate-smart agriculture to enhance crop yields and nutritional diversity. Through training and student engagement, the project fosters self-reliance, mitigating food insecurity and promoting sustainable farming by nurturing the next generation of farmers for a resilient agricultural landscape.

The project is centered on three schools in one area to receive training in climate smart agriculture and the establishment of eight Pfumvudza plots and a nutritional garden (carrots, tomatoes, onions, cabbages and peas) on the school grounds. The project goal is to improve the farming practices of schools and implement innovative ways to encourage surrounding communities to do the same. Additional women’s community farming Pfumvudza plots
and a nutritional garden will also be created. A single 'Pfumvudza' pack has the potential to feed a family of six with maize or sugar beans for a year.

In 2023, Cultural Crossroads Asia launched its first partnership in the villages: the Living Legacy Project - Akha Oral Tradition. This project aims to promote cultural heritage, empower indigenous youth, and inspire global appreciation through a six-month course in Ban Saen Suk, an Akha village in the mountains of Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand. Throughout the program, Master Akha Musicians instruct the Akha youth in their traditional songs, instrumental music, stories, life lessons and instrument-making practices. Lessons also reinforce the importance of maintaining our planet's natural resources and replanting the materials used to make instruments.

Classes are taught using the 'Mother Tongue Method,' call and response between teacher and students, just as their forebears learned. The songs, instruments, and stories they absorb in each class are reviewed week after week, so the students accumulate wide musical knowledge. By the fifth month, when their repertoire and self-assurance have grown, students will break into small groups to prepare demonstrations to present their music and stories, solo and in ensembles, at Akha Festivals and at concerts for the general public.

The Sustainable Community Livelihoods Rehabilitation Project gives hope and sustainable solutions to the Higa-onon tribal communities devastated by the Super typhoon Rai in December 2021. The goals of the project are to provide the communities a sustainable income, restore their farms through coffee and cacao production and involve women in the enterprise. This project will give long-term, sustainable income that benefits the tribes and the environment through eco-friendly coffee and cacao production, grown within shaded plots of land.

The Beautiful Earth Foundation was birthed as a unique educational experience for people of all ages that combine live music, a multimedia presentation of NASA visualizations and timelapses, NASA scientist and Native American perspectives of the Earth, and hands-on workshops at partner museums and schools across the United States. The Beautiful Earth (BE) program illuminates the connections between natural systems and human activities to inspire audiences to act as stewards for our shared resources. BE has successfully been used to instill in people of all ages and backgrounds a desire to care for our home planet.

Black Land Ownership’s mission is to centralize information, identify opportunities and empower Black people to purchase land - specifically in rural areas.

Their first land project involves 37 acres in Otsego County, New York purchased for our Eco-Hub.

The goal is to utilize the creation of natural trails, earthen buildings, heated/safe inner spaces, and educational platforms/displays for land-based education, research and artist residencies and community building among urban Black New Yorkers as well as other marginalized communities-women, trans, indigenous, immigrants - with limited resources or capital.

Uganda's Rhino Camp refugee settlement hosts over 200,000 refugees, most of whom are youths living with extreme economic challenges, food shortages and a weakened health care system. This project, led by Youth Camp Africa in Uganda, provides life and vocational skills and education in finance management to empower 100 youth living within Ariwa and Yelulu of the Rhino Camp refugee settlement.

Waste Evolution: Positive Plastic, an initiative of Ahla Fawda to eliminate need and greed, aims to turn single-use plastic bags into strong, usable and reusable carrier bags. The procedure involves taking single-use plastic bags, layering them on top of each other, ironing them for adhesive purposes, and then using a standardized module to sculpt the bags into sturdy reusable carrier bags. Their goals are to create a mindset in the community of being environmentally aware and reduce waste, as well as provide workshops to educate the community on simple ways to make products out of plastic bags and recycling. The project also hopes to create a market space to display and sell these up-cycled items to the public.

Nordson Green Earth Foundation, “established to improve Chicago’s tree equity by providing urban forests to deserving communities,” encompasses 'Markham’s Greening Initiative’ that will enhance the mental, physical, and social health of the Markham Community by creating inviting, accessible green spaces.

The first step in this initiative was the planting of a native "Miyawaki" forest (the first in Illinois) adjacent to the Markham Cook County Courthouse, completed on May 20, 2022. Now they are expanding their vision to create serene outdoor reading spaces (reading gardens) around the Bradford Anderson Oglesby Public Library (Markham Library).

Kanerahtiio Roger Jock, a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) leader from the Akwesasne Reserve, carries a vision of return for his people to their ancestral lands in the Mohawk Valley of Central New York. To catalyze this homecoming, Kanerahtiio has gathered people of all cultures and political stripes together to build the frame of a traditional Longhouse on his ancestral soil.

The autumn of 2020 saw the Eastern and Western doors of the Longhouse raised and a frame constructed throughout the summer. The process of building the Longhouse has also helped to generate widespread support for Kanerahtiio’s larger vision of establishing a regenerative farming community in the Valley.

The Maasai Ngosuani Greening Project seeks to solve the waste management problem plaguing their growing town in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The environmental concern is threatening the growth of this small center and negatively affecting the lives of the people and surrounding wildlife. This project, spearheaded by local leader John Matelong Saiyalel, will empower the Maasai community members by educating them on recycling and waste management practices, as well as assist local leaders in developing a strategic management plan. Through community participation and education, the Maasai Ngosuani community will work together to ensure waste is managed at its earliest disposal stage.

Tell the Vision is an annual event, followed by quarterly meet ups, designed to support young people by giving them a sacred space to address their emotional challenges. In doing so, they are better able to see a pathway to design their future. This project will be operated from the Canarsie community located in Brooklyn, New York, engaging in a six month program for young men awaiting trial or making their court dates within a juvenile detention center. Many of these men have aspirations of becoming hip hop stars and/or graphic artists and this program is designed to bring in professionals who can support them by enhancing their language and fine art skills while guiding them in emotional work in a group setting.

The Gazala Collective is composed of Bedouin and Jewish artisans; weavers, spinners, dyers, shepherds, and farmers. As a commission-based collective, they produce a wide range of fine museum-quality textiles. In the spirit of cross-cultural unity, Gazala Collective uses an ethical, environmentally sustainable process which supports economic empowerment through a cultural flourishing of traditional textile arts in the Middle East. Their wool is sourced directly from camel and sheep flocks of Bedouin shepherds. The animals’ diets are dependent on wild rain-fed plants. The wool is harvested, hand-spun and dyed by Razala artisans all by hand. Their work model is based on redistributing wealth, by providing fair wages wherein the majority of the cost of each textile goes directly to the artist.

She is the Universe is a global platform designed to amplify the voices of teenage girls from around the world by inspiring, empowering and offering the support to stand in their own stories and to pursue their dreams through storytelling, mentorship and community.

Purpose Earth’s support has helped to launch “The Galaxy,” the newest virtual community platform where more than 80 girls from 26 countries can connect about their dreams, fears and hopes for the world.

This community allows young women to connect and be a part of something greater—a global movement of girls who want to support each other. To date, young women are connecting from home countries in: Algeria, Philippines, Bolivia, Brazil, Turkey, USA, Dominican Republic. Canada, Chile, Congo DRC, Ecuador, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, India, South Africa, Kenya, Jamaica, Poland, Mexico, Australia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Perú, United Arab Emirates, España, Colombia, Venezuela, and Panamá.

The Empowerment Collective is dedicated to eradicating hunger in the Saptari district, one of the most populated regions of Nepal. To achieve its goal, the collective engages with local leaders and makes home visits, providing support to countless people currently unable to provide for their families.

Global Coralition is a project dedicated to marine ecosystem regeneration, primarily focused on coral reef ecosystems. To-date, our planet has lost over half of our reefs in the last 30 years and are expected to lose 90% by 2050. In the Dominican Republic, they have less than 10% living tissue left. To combat this environmental degradation, Global Coralition unites art, science and community to regenerate collapsing coral reef ecosystems by building large-scale sculptures inspired by indigenous wisdom and deploying them into the sea to become coral reefs. Their current efforts are also focused on developing a volunteer program and creating micro fragmenting and coral gardening nurseries.

Wambulishe Water Project is a community-initiated project with a vision to provide the rural residents of the Wambulishe area with clean and safe water. Affecting a population of over 3,000 in five villages, this project will assist in improving community health and improve the livelihood for the people of the area.

Enseñando Para el Futuro (Teaching for the Future) is a nursery and education center for children ages one to six years of age in the rural community of Villa Paraíso in Sosúa, Dominican Republic. The project, lead by local community leader Nikauris Vasquez, implements an educational model based on the Montessori method to create a safe, educational space for vulnerable children within the community. Talks and workshops will also be given for parents to support them in parenting, healthy food preparation and to create a space for positive and long-lasting intergenerational impact for both children and adults.

The Truth Telling Project is committed to implementing and sustaining grassroots, community-centered truth-telling processes to amplify voices of the traditionally silenced, disenfranchised and vulnerabilized in response to state-sanctioned direct and indirect violence.
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Konservation is a youth-led platform showing young people how to engage in conservation and sustainable development through rural-based grassroots projects. Konservation is particularly focused on engaging farmers in regions within Nyamira County, where monocropping and tea farming have affected the bargaining power of local farmers. They work directly alongside local farmers to raise awareness about the need to preserve indigenous seeds and practice regenerative agriculture. Their primary focus is to work with farmers from three constituencies within Nyamira County: Borabu Constituency, Metamaywa Constituency and Matutu Constituency. They are currently holding trainings, workshops, and information sessions with farmers from the constituencies within Nyamira County, Kenya.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Konservation has also begun collecting seeds from trusted farmers and has established connections with a network of women farmers in the community. As they work towards full establishment and management of the seed bank, located in Kijauri Town in southwest Kenya’s Borabu Constituency, they are engaging women and farmers more directly through workshops and a seed saving initiative plan.

Unleashing the African Potential is a human development and community development project in a small village in the Kweneng district of Botswana called Mmopane, situated 15kms from Gaborone. It was created and championed by “We, The World ” Botswana Branch Coordinator Angelina Gabaitse.

Ramapough's Sweetwater Cultural Centers mission is to support the voice of the voiceless, particularly indigenous people. To support cross-cultural dialogue for peace, the environment, and for planetary sanity and survival.

Festival of the Child is an immersive, experiential adventure and online education summit, for a global community of courageous, creative and curious parents and educators, willing to step into the unknown fire of these difficult and intense times and re-imagine education from the grassroots up.

The Mona Dance School was founded  in April 2008 out of a desire to engage the three arms of the Performing Arts (Music, Dance and Drama) in the Niger delta. Their mission is to teach and build a dance program for all ages with the sense of commitment to societal transformation, healthy lifestyle as an art form, and to promote education for sustainable development and hope in an area that has suffered greatly from environmental degradation.

Since their inception, Mona Dance school has been able to raise over 600 dancers and has taught over 1,000 students to-date, many going on to become professionals in the industry. More than dance instruction, rehearsals and classes offer opportunities to build tenacity, provide mentoring sessions and encourage nearly 50% of youth to return to school. A number of their students are using dance to make an impact in the world and secure jobs in fields of entertainment.
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The Cosmic Hologram, authored by cosmologist Jude Currivan, Ph.D., explores how information is more fundamental than energy, matter, space or time. By examining the latest research across many fields Dr. Currivan explains how the fractal in-formational patterns that guide behavior at the atomic level also guide the structure of galactic clusters in space.

Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI) is a nonprofit collaborative offering educational programming that highlights and honors indigenous wisdom and artists, while sharing the science and practice of healing.

Light on Light Press is an imprint dedicated to interspirituality, the sacred ground upon which all religious and wisdom traditions intersect and share their deeper unity of experiences. Light on Light aims to continue this interfaith dialogue by publishing the contemporary works of both sacred and secular thought leaders whose messages perpetuate an engaged spirituality that fully embodies our beliefs, respects our differences and inspires us to compassionate action.

Lake Victoria’s centuries-long fishing culture has been devastated over recent decades as a result of exploitation by Western interests and environmental degradation. The Piscedos Project, initiated by community leader Valentine Okoth, is aimed at economic empowerment and socio-cultural sustainable management of available natural resources by introducing fish farming of tilapia at Siginga Beach of Lake Victoria. The Piscedos Project endeavors to be a self-sustaining, communally responsible entity that responds to the plight of a people robbed of their livelihood through climate change and excessive strain on available natural resources.