FORESTS FOREVER
Fall 2025 • Trees, Water & People Newsletter
A Letter from Sebastian Africano, Executive Director
Dear friends,
What does the future look like from where you’re standing?
Our partners in Central America, Mexico and on Tribal Lands in the U.S. are concerned. They feel the ground shifting beneath them, and are struggling to keep their feet.
Historic lines of support have been cut, causing a rising tide of unemployment and economic uncertainty, and cutting short commitments, relationships, and ongoing programs.
Nonprofit organizations, local governments, and philanthropists see needs increasing while resources ebb and cost of living continues to swell. Add increasing temperatures and climate risk, and the situation becomes pretty precarious.
During Trees, Water & People’s (TWP) 27 years, we’ve seen people thrive in spite of unbelievably challenging circumstances. Every person we work with overcomes
incredible odds to just put food on the table, let alone work for a better future for themselves and their communities. But they do so anyway.
They see the future they want, and we help them build toward it.
TWP invests in their tenacity, because we know that the resources, guidance, and solidarity we bring to their struggles helps accomplish amazing things. And we ensure local people are at the forefront from the beginning, because they know the needs, the pathways, and the stakes of not taking the next step.
We hope these stories inspire you to take the next step toward the future you want to see, because it’s yours to create with us.
Thank you, for supporting Trees, Water & People,
Sebastian Africano
Executive Director
RESPONDING TO THE MOMENT IN MESOAMERICA
Gustavo Sánchez Valle, President of the Board of Directors of Red MOCAF, México
It’s no coincidence that the countries in which our Mesoamerica program works are also those facing the greatest impacts of deportations.
México, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are amongst the most impoverished, violent and climate-vulnerable countries in Latin America. Hundreds of thousands of their citizens have immigrated to the U.S. in search of liveable conditions for their families, and today, many are being forced to return without due process.
While deportation rates are still lower than this time last year, public spending on detention and deportations has increased massively, and Temporary Protected Status is likely to end for many immigrants who’ve lived in the U.S. for decades, including an estimated 51,000 Hondurans.
Many of our partners are already seeing increased pressures on already-vulnerable communities and organizations.
“In some regions, we are seeing a greater presence (of people) who were working in the United States and who have been deported, or who have decided to return to their communities due to the hostile environment in the United States. This has a serious effect on the income of their families, because remittances are a very important source of income, and many people struggle to find work in their own regions, in their communities.” - Gustavo Sánchez Valle, Red MOCAF, México
Our partners in Guatemala are seeing similar impacts, with deportations dividing families and threatening the economic stability of many communities.
“There is a fear among migrants of being in the United States, because they are persecuted. But that fear is not only felt by them, but also by their families, because they are frightened by all the news we hear. That is what you hear in the communities: ‘sooner or later they are going to deport my son, my daughter, my husband’.” - Pedro Camajá Botón, FUNDEBASE, Guatemala
Many migrants return to scarce opportunities for employment, leading to high demand on local groups and services already stretched thin. Organizations who support migrants lost significant funding amidst USAID-closures, leaving the region largely unprepared to support their arrival.
Our partners are under immense pressure. But we also know this mountain of challenges can be a moment to rebuild, if we keep investing in opportunities that help local communities stay rooted.
Our work – and your support – is more important than ever.
Empowering indigenous women of the Artesanías San Andrés el Alto group in San Andres De Alto, Oaxaca Mexico
Elevating Indigenous Governance in Natural Resource Management
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.
In mid-July, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous foresters convened in Tesuque Pueblo, NM, to lay the foundation for development of a Tribal reforestation guide. Tailored specifically to the needs of Southwest Tribes, this guide will address the region’s unique ecological challenges while centering traditional knowledge systems.
More recently, on-site at TWP’s Sante Fe office, nearly 30 participants came together for a strategic planning session focused on the restoration of Capulin Canyon. Participants in the session – including leaders from several Pueblo nations, U.S. Forest Service, key partners from Ecotone Landscaping and High Water Mark, and TWP staff – collectively make up the East Jemez Regeneration Core Team leading restoration efforts in the area.
Capulin Canyon holds deep cultural and ecological importance for the Tribal communities surrounding it. A key watershed of the Rio Grande, Capulin is essential to the local water supply and landscape, but repeated wildfires have devastated native vegetation, caused severe flooding, and threatened cultural sites and practices. Alongside Tribal partners, TWP’s efforts will focus on diverse, landscape-scale restoration efforts over the next 5 years including reforestation, native plant recovery, watershed restabilization, and wildfire mitigation.
The recent planning session focused on defining project boundaries and priorities and outlining restoration phases under the guidance of Tribal leaders and representatives. This collaboration will continue throughout all stages of the project, helping to ensure restoration efforts respect Tribal sovereignty, center Indigenous knowledges, and reflect Pueblos’ long-term stewardship priorities.
Tribes should be the leaders in decisions that affect their landscapes and communities, and we see these convenings as key steps. Natural resources management must move beyond moments of Tribal input, and towards foundations of Tribal leadership, governance, and sovereignty.
The world’s Indigenous Peoples have sustained their lands for generations.
These communities are no strangers to complex challenges and unjust leaders. But they’ve never stopped fighting for their rights, for their sovereignty, and for the wellbeing of the planet we all share.
We won’t let the struggles of centuries be halted by a single administration.
Now, we’re asking you to help build sustained resistance through sustained investments. For as little as $5 per month, you can help us keep landscapes and communities resilient amidst one of the most challenging moments of our time.
In the work of generations, perseverance must be our gift.
FROM THE PEOPLE, TO THE PLANET.
The future we know is possible rests on the consistent commitments we make today. Becoming a monthly donor at any amount, can help us keep our programs steady and our community partners stable.
PEOPLE OVER PROJECTS:
Paul and Marilyn Thayer
More than 25 years ago, Paul and Marilyn Thayer received a postcard from Trees, Water & People seeking donations for our clean cookstoves program. What started, in their words, as a “modest contribution” has grown into decades of close relationship and avid support.
Marilyn, as the director of the CSU Academic Advancement Center, and Paul, as the Associate Vice President Emeritus at CSU, both spent their personal and professional lives supporting students of underrepresented backgrounds and saw TWP as one way to continue serving communities.
Paul: We honestly loved our work. It was time to leave after 50 years, but it was hard to leave too. Work gives you fulfillment and purpose, if you're lucky. And we've been very lucky. But TWP restored an additional sense of real purpose. It helped us feel that we could make some contribution and be part of something bigger than ourselves.
Marilyn: When we retired, we looked at it as an opportunity to do the things that are really meaningful in our lives. We wanted to still be a part of what TWP stands for, the work they do, their commitment to the earth, their commitment to working with other communities. It's not just reforestation, the trees. It's just not water. It's not just people. It's the integration of all three that makes it so compatible with our own philosophy in truly making a difference.
Paul and Marilyn both served on the TWP board for more than 10 years, invested in TWP as monthly donors, and built personal relationships with our partner communities over more than 8 trips with TWP tours.
Marilyn: One of the things that I really enjoy and value when we're in communities is that you get in a circle and you introduce yourself, and oftentimes you tell your story. Every person in that circle is acknowledged, their voices are heard. We are all together in this circle. We have common values, common goals. Sometimes the circle is really big and it goes on and on. But you take the time to find out who each person is….
Paul: …And that’s consistent with the way TWP operates. What that represents to me is everybody needs to be known. How can you really talk with people if you don't know who they are?
Values of compassion, equity, and care have woven through Paul and Marilyn’s lives and continue to shape the ways they show up for our communities, our staff, and our organization.
Paul and Marilyn – we’re so grateful to have you as part of the TWP family.
A LEGACY WORTH LEAVING
In June of this year my 13 year old son Emilio and I traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras together for the first time. This city is both where I began my career with Trees, Water & People (TWP) and also where I met my wife Claudia 19 years ago.
I was blessed to also host the three adult children of TWP founders Stuart Conway and Jenny Bramhall. These are the folks who planted the seeds that became TWP, and who opened the door for me to become who I am today.
Showing the next generation TWP’s origins aligns so well with who we are as an organization. We met people and visited places that mark distinct moments in TWP’s history, and I was able to share stories of my early days in the country with Stuart. Walking the paths and driving the roads that I first traveled with him was an enriching experience for myself, my son and his kids.
Highlights for me included:
Visiting my old apartment and my wife’s house with my son Emilio, so he could see how we lived when we first met.
Meeting and sharing stories with founding members of COEAS, who knew Stuart before he founded TWP.
Having several meals and gatherings at the home Doña Justa Nuñez, the namesake of our flagship cookstove - the Justa stove
Dedicating a conference room at AHDESA to Stuart’s Legacy, with classic photos of TWP’s early days in the country after hurricane Mitch.
As I shared the beauty of the country and its people with my son and our founders’ children, in the back of my mind I also wondered what the future holds for Central America. What will happen when economic pressures peak, or when the next major hurricane comes ashore and wipes out livelihoods for millions?
These are not abstract questions. Life is harder and more expensive than ever, and the gap between the rich and poor grows wider daily. If it was difficult for organizations like TWP to drive change in normal times, the future has our work cut out for us.
All we can do is buckle up, and show the next generation that indifference is not an option. People are people, and if we can help more of the world's poor build dignified lives in the face of these odds, we’ve done something worthwhile.
So in this spirit, and in these difficult times, I thank you for supporting Trees, Water & People.
The work you help us do is important and that’s a legacy worth leaving.
Heal the Planet Beyond Your Lifetime
Join The Canopy — A Planned Giving Program
The problems that we work on at Trees, Water & People (TWP) are centuries in the making and will likely outlive all of us.
We design our programs with future generations in mind. If the problems will outlive us, the solutions must as well.
The Canopy helps you commit some of the assets you’ve built over time to TWP’s mission of improving lives for those who will care for the earth after us.
We’ve built something special together over decades, and we’ve got decades more work to do.
Scan this QR code to schedule time with Sebastian to talk about your vision for people and the planet through TWP’s Canopy.
Donor-advised funds can support communities through the hard times.
Those times are now.
A grant from your DAF will make a bigger difference than ever, sustaining our momentum towards stable communities and healthy landscapes.
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.