In April, we had an incredible week in Mexico visiting our newest partner, Red Mexicana de Organizaciones Campesinas Forestales (Red MOCAF). Amidst inspiring trips to see their work in action, we also learned more about the incredible people who’ve kept the organization running for nearly 3 decades – amongst them, Gustavo Sánchez Valle, Red MOCAF’s president.

It is hard to keep your head above the rising water these days. Every day, I wake up thinking about the state of the world, humanity, our planet, and the future generations.

We’ve partnered with the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA) and Coordinadora de Mujeres Líderes Territoriales de Mesoamérica (CMLT) over the past two years to support community-based organizations in strengthening their institutional capacity.

At Trees, Water & People (TWP), we’re fortunate to have minimal exposure to current federal cuts, and to be well-positioned to sustain programs. Make no mistake, these will be trying times for the places we work and the people we serve, but TWP stands prepared to continue and expand our efforts.

As Mexico experiences one of the hottest and driest years on record, the vital need to protect watersheds remains at the forefront for many of our partner communities. This summer, nearly 68% of the country faces moderate to extreme drought, and large stretches of Mexico City came dangerously close to losing water access entirely.

This afternoon we had a visit from long time Trees, Water & People (TWP) supporter, Karen Allen. Not only had she brought us a bunch of surplus tomato seedlings for TWP staff, she also came bearing a significant gift to start TWP’s work in Mexico.

For years, TWP has been studying and exploring innovative climate resiliency strategies across the Americas. In 2023, our Central America team had the pleasure of attending our first Climate Week in Panama, where we met exemplary organizations working across Mesoamerica.

This year, I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Mexico twice. The first visit was a two-week-trip to three different Departments in Mexico (Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca) to get to know our new potential partner Red Mocaf, visit their communities, meet their community leaders, and get to know the realities of each region.

The theme of Trees, Water and People’s 25th anniversary year has been People over Projects - which recognizes that the processes we undertake are ongoing, and depend on people with stable economic and social footing to get done well.