When the 110 families of El Asintal resettled in Guatemala, they arrived home to a near-empty plot of land, with scarce resources to rebuild.

Like many Indigenous communities in the region, these families were displaced amidst Guatemala’s violent civil war. The government’s designation of lands for resettlement in the early 2000s was an opportunity to return home, but not without significant debt and great hardship.

After years of collaboration between our Indigenous Lands Program and local collaborators, we are proud to be concluding the first phase of the County Road 39 Traditional Harvest Project in Southwest Colorado. 

While we are working to continue and expand this project regionally, the first phase focused on riparian restoration and planting of native species along 3 private easements of the Mancos River.

When facing a challenge as urgent and far-reaching as climate change, it’s natural to look for seemingly efficient, single-issue solutions. At Trees, Water & People, we’ve learned that the most effective climate action is just the opposite—it grows outward, addressing environmental challenges alongside health, quality of life, and community resilience.

In 2025, more than 150 people were employed through TWP’s work. 

We know that people can only sustain their territories if they can sustain their families. And like many of our programs, our clean cookstoves program in Honduras keeps this recognition central, investing in sustained benefits for local communities, economies, and environments.

TWP has long been known for planting trees. 

But what’s most important to us is who, and how. 

In Northern New Mexico, we’re continuing to see what’s possible when these pillars remain central. Over a two-week hitch in October, an all-Indigenous crew planted nearly 6,000 trees within the Cerro Pelado burn scar of the Jemez Mountains.

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are one of the most powerful tools for charitable giving.

There are many tax-friendly incentives to donate to organizations like TWP in 2025. Some of these incentives stem from newer tax laws, while others have been long-standing.

TWP’s Indigenous Lands Outreach Coordinator, Phillip Chavez, shares the importance of TWP’s youth engagement efforts.

Our partners throughout Mesoamerica take to heart that youth are the future of their efforts, and of their communities. 

While many of our partners focus on programs that improve food security for youth and families, they also work to integrate young people into those programs, ensuring learnings and practices are carried forward.

Marvin Lopez Torres is the Co-Manager of TWP’s Mesoamerica Program. Based in Honduras, Marvin originally joined the team as a consultant in 2020, and has since been crucial in deepening our work in his country.

For years, TWP worked in the Apeneca-Illamatepec Biosphere Reserve in El Salvador with our local partner, AAP, helping with reforestation, fire mitigation, environmental education, and food sovereignty projects.

COEAS member Carmen Rodríguez, only 40 years old, left us very suddenly on August 19. 

This loss, along with the death of Luis Hernán Baca “Mero,” has left a huge hole in the hearts of our friends and colleagues at COEAS, but it has also left one in the hearts of the entire TWP team.

When I started working with TWP a year ago, I knew it was a special organization. 

I knew we did good work, in a good way. And I knew it felt right to walk in the door every morning.

Now, after my first TWP staff retreat, I have a much better sense of why.

As federal investments in public lands and natural resources continue to be challenged, TWP is collaborating with local groups to ensure Tribal leadership remains central in land management across the Southwest.

Our Mesoamerica program has seen great change over the past 2 years, taking on a new country, a new name, and an increasingly complex set of regional challenges. 

But we’re always reminded why we do what we do. Our growth has meant new relationships and new impact, and we’ve seen both through completion of a pilot project with our first partner in Mexico, Red MOCAF.

Jason Baldes is the executive director of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative (WRTBI), led by the Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes of central Wyoming. One of many groups managing buffalo from the TWP-supported Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd, WRTBI has been a leader in restoring buffalo as wildlife within Tribal lands.

Breathing smoke from burning firewood and spending money every day to obtain it was part of the daily life of Eula Ortéz, a 71-year-old housewife from the community of Bañaderos, Teupasenti, El Paraíso.

Henry Rael has been with the McCune Charitable Foundation, a strong supporter of TWP’s work in New Mexico, for more than 13 years. As the director of strategy and initiatives, Henry has been instrumental in helping position the foundation as a leader in deeply collaborative, trust-based approaches to grant making.

Amidst the economic turmoil of USAID closures, tariffs, deportations, and other shifts in Mesoamerica, the need to invest in resilient economies has become even more clear. The region’s long-term stability will come from supporting the communities who know it best, and many of those communities are already finding ways to sustain their livelihoods while also protecting their landscapes, culture, and people.

In June, TWP’s Indigenous Lands Program team participated in a 3-day staff retreat with our partner, Montezuma Land Conservancy. Bringing together 6 staff from each team in Cortez, CO, the retreat focused on visiting sites of the traditional harvest program and river restoration structures, planning shared work in coming years, and celebrating our new joint staff member, Wyatt Wilson. TWP’s ILP resource coordinator, Zoe Bashkin, shares her experiences and insights from her days with the team