My Nonprofit Reviews

I have worked and volunteer for Village Earth since the 1990's. Village Earth was one of the pioneers of the "Vision Workshops," a process where community members are empower to participate in the creation of a roadmap to their dreams. I have seen, first hand VE assist several Tyospayes-families at the Pine Indian Reservation in the creation of their buffalo cooperatives and community projects. Also, I have been a witness of the projects that Village Earth has supported in the Amazon jungle, where they have facilitated vision workshops and created videos to help indigenous communities with land and water issues.

Unlike most NGO's who work with Indigenous communities around the world, VE never tells communities what they should do, instead it facilitates a process in which "all" community members have a saying in creating a plan to attain their goals. VE does this because it acknowledges that the community are the experts of their own lives and are more than capable at finding creative solutions to their own problems. Doing so, it has proven most effective than most NGO's who come in as experts telling communities what they should do.

I support the work of Village Earth 100% because it has the right approach and because it works.

Raul O. Paz Pastrana
http://raulpazfilms.com