Philosophy

Planting Empowerment is dedicated to reducing deforestation by tackling its root cause: rural poverty. We believe that simply reforesting degraded land is not sufficient--in order to achieve lasting change, we must create an incentive to conserve.

Plantation forestry in Panama typically involves the purchase of large tracts of degraded land from poor locals, resulting in their displacement and often, return to slash-and-burn way of life.

We created the leasing model after witnessing other forestry businesses buy out local Panamanians and decrease the amount of land available for farming. Our monthly lease payments offer an economic incentive to keep poor subsistence farmers on their land, reducing their need to deforest, and providing them a steady income. Additionally, PE shares 20% or more of its profits with partnering farmers and their communities through community projects and scholarships.

By demonstrating that it is possible to profit from conservation, local communities can now afford to become better stewards of their resources.