The Roots of Peace have been planted on the rich soils of Afghanistan, as our MINES TO VINES™ vision to transform minefields into bountiful agricultural fields has been accomplished in 2006. Over 100,000 landmines and UXO’s have been removed since September 11, 2001—turning seeds of terror into seeds of hope! Over 10,000 Afghan farmers are now growing high quality fruits and nuts as a result of agricultural training by Roots of Peace (ROP) staff. The net result of this “harvest of hope” will double the income for farmers and has facilitated the historic exports of grapes and raisins to India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Germany and Russia.
The royal torch lit a decade ago by the late Princess Diana to raise landmine awareness shines on!
I was honored to be invited to a private reception by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi before her swearing-in ceremony as Speaker of the House. President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan invited us to The Palace in Kabul where we presented pomegranates and fresh grapes harvested from the battlefields of his homeland in Kandahar. President Stepan Mesic of Croatia joined Croatian-born vintner Mike Grgich to plant a grapevine in the heart of the Napa Valley honoring our efforts to restore the wine industry in six Croatian villages. First Lady Ana Paula Dos Santos of Angola joined us in New York City to celebrate the first annual United Nations International Landmine Awareness Day.
Cancer is a landmine, and landmines are a cancer to the earth. Yet, there is a cure — removal. As a cancer survivor, I ask that you join me in this global quest for landmine removal. The eradication of poverty begins only when soils are free of terror.
Your generous gift of time, talent and treasure will help us realize this goal!
Heidi Kühn
Founder and CEO |
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Heidi Kuhn is the 2006 recipient of the Rotary International “Service Above Self" Award, the highest Rotary award for an individual, with 150 given worldwide. |
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Heidi Kuhn, and Shamim Jawad, Penny Campaign International Chairwoman and wife of the Afghan Ambassador to the U.S., present pomegranates and grapes from Roots of Peace fields to Afghan President, Hamid Karzai (right), at the Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. October 2006.
Heidi Kuhn, Austin Hills of Grigch Hills Cellars, President Stepan Mesic of Croatia, with Mike Grgich plant a grapevine in Rutherford, California. April 2006.
The First Lady of Angola, Ana Paula Dos Santos, laid flowers and planted a Porcelain Rose, the national flower of Angola, in the RoP Garden at the Isaiah Wall at the United Nations with Heidi and Christian Kuhn and Nane Annan, wife of the past Secretary-General to the UN. April 2006. |
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Heidi Kuhn attending Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s private reception in the Library of Congress Jefferson Room prior to her swearing-in ceremony as Speaker of the House. Pelosi helped launch Roots of Peace in 1998 at the World Trade Center in San Francisco, California, January 2007.
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Roots of Peace has expanded its replanting programs in Afghanistan to include new crops — cherries, apricots, plum, citrus, walnut to complement our existing programs for grapes, raisins and almonds — and Provinces. RoP will soon be working in all major agricultural areas of Afghanistan, working directly with over 10,000 fruit and nut farmers, traders and processors. We |
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A Roots of Peace farmer shows off a bunch of his grapes from his 2005 harvest in Kandahar. November 2005. |
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created the trader website afghangrown.org to connect traders and worldwide buyers with crops and current prices. Fruit and nut crops offer the hope of a prosperous living that exceeds the return of illicit crops, like opium.
RoP programs include gender programs to work with single mothers who are farming fruit and nut trees.
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“Millions of mines have been destroyed, and many wonderful partnerships have flourished, such as the one between the United Nations family and Roots of Peace. … I urge everyone to do their utmost to contribute to this important mission.”
— Kofi Annan, Past UN Secretary-General |
Roots of Peace is funding the reconstruction of a school located directly on the Poli Sofian battle line north of Kabul, near RoP’s fresh fruit processing center.
With funds from the student-led Penny Campaign, the first phase of reconstruction began before winter set in. The students named the school after the Penny Campaign’s co-founder, Kyleigh Kuhn. Students, church groups, and local Marin County businesses helped raise enough money to fund the construction of six classrooms and two bathrooms.
RoP will fund further landmine clearance activity in the surrounding area to provide a safe buffer zone for the students. The kids in this area now walk on confined paths to and from school. Landmines and remnants of war are scattered off the paths around this area. |
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Afghan women learn new almond pruning techniques from RoP extension workers. There are over 1,400 female farmers participating in RoP’s nut production and marketing program. March 2006.
A test field in the Shomali Plains displaying the differences in traditional methods of grape growing along the ground (left side) and trellising (right side), The method taught by RoP extension workers in Afghanistan which will double the yield of the harvest in the fields completed. August 2006.
Shamim Jawad, Heidi Kuhn, and a local Afghan official at the sight of the new Kyleigh Kuhn Roots of Peace School in Mir Bocha Kot, north of Kabul. October 2006.
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The 7th and 8th grade students at Thornton Junior High in Fremont, California, led by teacher Megan Barrington and the students of WEB (Where Everybody Belongs), raised $2937.68 during their fall semester for the Roots of Peace Penny Campaign. Their donation helped to build the Kyleigh Kuhn Roots of Peace School north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The students of Thornton Junior High are planning to continue the campaign into 2007! RoP salutes these students’ leadership and initiative.
Launching the campaign was California State Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell, Shamim Jawad, wife of the Afghan Ambassador to the US and International Penny Campaign Chairwoman, and Cheryl Jennings, Anchor KGO/ABC 7 News and Co-Founder of the Penny Campaign speaking along with Heidi and Kyleigh Kuhn.
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“We salute the efforts of Heidi Kuhn and her work in planting the roots of peace.”
The HALO Trust, escorts of the late Princess Diana through Angola minefields |
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Kyleigh, Christian and Tucker Kuhn with Shamim Jawad show money collected by students of Thornton Junior High School with members of the WEB leadership team. September 2006.
Penny Campaign Co-founder and KGO/ABC 7 News Anchor Cheryl Jennings earned an award from the American Women in Radio and Television in 2006. The Award was accompanied by $5,000, which she donated to the Penny Campaign.
Cheryl accompanied Heidi and Kyleigh Kuhn to Afghanistan in 2005 with photographer Mike Clark. She reported and produced a five-part series on the trip, which aired several times over the past year. View the series at rootsofpeace.org. |
Roots of Peace is pleased to announce the launch of its programs in Angola, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
Angola’s economy is in disarray after a 30 year civil war. Despite riches in natural resources, Angola faces serious challenges in food security, transportation infrastructure, and high unemployment. Producing only 50% of its food, Angola urgently needs to increase agricultural production to revive an economy shattered by conflict.
ROP will bring its proven Demine~Replant~Rebuild™ program to the impoverished Central Highlands of Angola to promote development of market-oriented agriculture in high value annual- and perennial-based crops, as well as inland aquaculture.
ROP will also implement an “Elephant Pathways to Peace” program in partnership with Conservation International to demine a corridor through historic elephant range land in southeastern Angola. The largest African elephant herd will be able to move out of Botswana, where they are endangered by living close to humans.
Join Roots of Peace, Cunard Cruise Lines, and You & Leisure Travel aboard the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship on the First Annual Transatlantic Cruise for Peace from New York City to London, England, April 30 to May 5, 2007.
For reservations and information, contact You & Leisure Travel at 877-258-8880, 415-295-0555.
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“The Mines to Vines™ initiative is restoring the war-ravaged Shomali plains into beautiful and productive vineyards. Roots of Peace is helping to restore one of Afghanistan’s richest and most historic cultural legacies, namely our 7000 year tradition of growing some of the region’s finest grapes.”
— Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghan Ambassador to the United States |
California Magazine features Roots of Peace, January 2007
Roots of Peace, a 501(c)(3) organization, is a humanitarian organization dedicated to the eradication of landmines and to replanting local crops in communities throughout the world.
An Invitation to Donate
We invite you to join us to remove landmines from communities, farmlands, and schools, and to help us expand to other war-torn regions of the world. Roots of Peace welcomes donations in money and stock, as well as in-kind donations for events.
Phone: 415-455-8008 • Fax: 415-455-8096
Email: info@rootsofpeace.org
1299 4th Street, Suite 200
San Rafael , CA 94901, USA
www.rootsofpeace.org
Roots of Peace extends a warm thank you to its volunteers and supporters.
