Trees, Water & People shares the grief felt by all mourning the tragic death of David Bartecchi. Dave was a longtime friend, peer, and collaborator of TWP’s, and was the Executive Director of Village Earth, a global educational organization based here in Fort Collins, CO.

In 2022, Trees, Water & People (TWP) took on the challenge of stepping back to define our priorities, both for internal clarity, as well as to share with our more than 2,000 individual supporters and dozens of foundations and corporate partners. The insightful conversations and reflection led to the definition of our 5 priorities that we hope to achieve through our programs, whether on Tribal Lands in the U.S., or abroad in Central America.

TWP had the privilege to host 13 of our partners and community leaders from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador at the first Mesoamerican Indigenous People and Local Communities Climate Week.

In 2011, over 100 displaced families self-organized to purchase a piece of land. Today, approximately 75 families reside in “La Bendición”, Guatemala and the community continues to stand out for its strong leadership and capacity for self-management. After multiple years of fighting, La Bendición hit a huge milestone in June, 2022, when they finally celebrated having resolved the payment of the agrarian debt of the territory they occupy and own since 2001, a process of community struggle and perseverance.

Our project “Tz’unun: Ending Environmental Violence Against Indigenous Women in Guatemala through Empowerment in Community Forestry, Agroecology, and Collective Healing Spaces ” in partnership with Utz Che’, was selected as one of the winners of the 2020 USAID RISE Challenge, which aims to address gender-based violence (GBV) in environmental programs.

Through our 25 years we have been supported by our host community, Fort Collins, Colorado. To honor the diversity of our local community we entrusted artist Armando Silva with the task of capturing stories of climate migration, indigeneity, and resilience, and portray them through a mural in downtown Fort Collins.

Doña Bertilia Gómez, a primary school teacher, lives with her family in the community of El Churune, where approximately 200 inhabitants live and is located near the core area of the Comayagua Mountain National Park (PANACOMA). This area is a true natural treasure that captivates with its scenic beauty and biological diversity, reaches an area of 57,136 acres and has mountains that exceed 2000 meters above sea level. This mountain range is located in the department of Comayagua and is the main source of water for most of the population of the entire municipality.

One year ago, my beloved home state of New Mexico experienced its worst wildfire in recorded history. The aftermath of the fire has displaced centuries-old communities, devastated critical ecosystems and challenged how land management policies need to be refined. Even with support and resources, the road to recovery remains long and challenging.

We value cross-cultural exchange, as it helps you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and those around you. In summer of 2022 we had the privilege to take a group of first-generation high school students to South Dakota. Thanks to the ongoing support of Dutch Bros. Coffee, these students from the TRIO Upward Bound Program at Colorado State University were able to visit an Indigenous community for the first time.

In 2017 we created TWP Tours to organize unique trips to the countries and communities we work with and give our donors and supporters the opportunity to see first hand the work they make possible and to meet the people benefitting from it.

We are proud to continually receive top marks in various third-party charity assessment organizations. We currently hold a 99% rating on Charity Navigator, with top marks for Accountability and Finance, as well as for Leadership and Adaptability and a platinum rating on Candid / Guidestar, with an in-depth evaluation of our financial metrics over time.

Our partners at Comité Ecológico Aldea de Suyapa (COEAS) in Honduras have been fighting for over 2 decades to protect the Triquilapa Mountain which is a vital source of water and oxygen to the Aldea Suyapa and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This year we celebrated alongside them the upcoming declaration by the National Congress of Honduras of the Triquilapa and Cantagallo Mountains as a Wildlife Refuge. This is a big win for the sovereignty of the Indios Laborios of the Aldea de Suyapa.Proud that TWP was able to help get them to this point... and grateful that we get to support these efforts daily!

Youth development is a big part of our work here at Trees, Water & People (TWP). In Colorado, we partner with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s (UMUT) local charter school, Kwiyagat Community Academy (KCA), and other local organizations to involve youth in outdoor play and environmental stewardship work.

The community of La Bendición continues to stand out for its strong leadership and capacity for self-management. The most vital part of this community is not only its inhabitants and leadership, but also their beautiful lush forest. With the support of Utz Che’, the community groups (youth group, women’s group, and general assembly) have been a part of forest conservation projects, and its proper management and care for years. This year, in collaboration with TWP, Utz Che’, and Colorado State University, the community participated in their first biodiversity project.

Seb started his first day as an intern for TWP almost 2 decades ago. As he himself recalled, he was sent to lead TWP’s stove work in rural Honduras. In the coming years he would contribute enormously to the advancement of the cookstove program and every other aspect of TWPs projects and operations that he could. In 2017 he became our Executive Director, bringing first-hand experience from his days in Central America, an innovative approach to business and non-profit development, dedication to advancing TWP’s goals and our staff’s quality of life and true passion for the communities we serve. Gracias jefe for your commitment and hard-work through the years!

Five years ago Trees, Water & People ran a campaign - Roots of Migration - speaking to the rise in climate migration out of Central America.

We spoke to the fact that people migrated for three main reasons: 1. Security - including physical violence and sociopolitical violence like corruption, 2. Economic - where people weren't making enough income to live with dignity, and 3. Environmental - where people's land no longer provided for basic needs.

TWP is staffed by a group of dedicated and culturally grounded professionals with diverse backgrounds who get up every day to work for people and the planet, and to help communities manage the natural resources upon which their livelihoods depend. The commitment of our people to our mission makes a difference!

For over 8 years, Chief Henry Red Cloud and tribal community members have planted trees on Oglala Tribal Lands (known as Pine Ridge, South Dakota) to restore areas impacted by wildfires. Since this reforestation effort began, over 160,000 ponderosa pines and other culturally significant species have been planted and distributed in the local community.

Since 2003, TWP has been privileged to work in Pine Ridge, SD on community-centered projects that improve and protect the cultural, environmental and social values of the community. Working alongside Chief Henry Red Cloud, our vision was to co-develop a nonprofit organization that would coordinate, engage and supervise locally driven projects with Tribal members. In 2017, Red Cloud Renewable (RCR), a Native-led and managed nonprofit organization was born of these efforts, to carry on the projects incubated under TWP for years. Today, RCR is running strong independently, with significant autonomy and funding, while still deeply rooted in cultivating the next generation of Native American solar warriors spreading the renewable energy revolution to Indian country.

TWP’s Indigenous Lands Program was launched in 2003, after a realization that Native American communities in the U.S. struggled with some of the same issues we were addressing in Central America. The program was built to support Native American Tribal communities and organizations in the preservation of their lands, natural resources, and cultural lifeways, while meeting acute household energy needs. From its beginnings with the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota, TWP has worked with Tribal communities across the western U.S., supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency, reforestation, and the creation of economic opportunities for local people to conserve and protect their natural resources.