Every month, your impact grows.

More and more

individual(s) will be trained and equipped to grow
highly nutritious and healthy foods because of you.

Vineyard Churches Project

Last month, we shared with you that 5 new partnerships are using Thrive’s bio-intensive gardening methodology. Over the next few months, we will share more details about each one.

The partnership with Vineyard Churches began while Thrive founder, Dale Bolton, was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro last year. During that time he was introduced to David Owen, the senior team leader at Arusha Vineyard Church. Relationships quickly formed as they shared stories of transformation. Soon after, strategic plans were created and ready to be implemented.

Thrive’s trainer, Deus, was sent to Tanzania to kick off the project. Over the next 12 months, he aims to train and certify 12 growing health champions within various Vineyard churches. Deus’ target is to establish at least 7 community gardens that will on average produce $10,000 worth of food each year.

This month, Deus moved onto a new church in Lolo community, Morogoro, Tanzania. Community members attended a 5-day workshop where they learned how to double dig a garden bed and create compost piles. While training community members there, Deus was connected to a primary school and shared the following:

“This is the private school that has a total of one hundred and fifty three students (153).

I had the opportunity to talk to the Head Teacher about his school. First I asked him, why he decided to start a school in that village. And said, that was one of his dreams and the dream was motivated by the school distance.

The students had to walk a long way to get to school, that act did not please him. Then he decided to start a school in that village, so that, the children can get education services nearby and ensure that, they have enough food to eat. "Remember this is a boarding school" he said.

Then I came up with the idea of a Life Garden, which provides not only food but disease-fighting food and generates income and he agreed to partner.

So, far we have a total of twenty three beds. The goal is to ensure both the community church and school learn how to grow diseases-fighting food.”

To date, Deus has started 3 Life Garden projects that contain a total of 102 garden beds, helping 178 people in need.

Thank you for providing the knowledge and simple tools to grow health. The impact you are creating is enormous, rippling out to dramatically improve child development, mortality, and economic security — creating brighter futures.