Past Events

11.17.09 | “Big Buzz” with Afghan Farmers

European Community & Roots of Peace almond partnership increases yields by 40%

10.18.09 | Harvest of Hope

Roots of Peace honors 2009 United Nations International Year of Reconciliation.

08.12.09 | Pennies from Little Kabul...

The U.S./Afghan business community is gathering in Fremont, California, to join forces with San Francisco Bay Area children.

08.04.09 | World Bank Contract

RoP Trains New Afghan Teams! Over 100 Afghan farmers hired this week to produce perennial crops in 9 provinces.

07.24.09 | Oxford University MBA Students

Nine centuries of worldwide education supports Roots of Peace model.

06.30.09 | Afghan Symposium, Wash., D.C.

Fatema Bayat, Executive Director, Bayat Foundation and Heidi Kühn, Co-Chair, Afghan Trusted Network.

04.07.09 | USDA Awards Roots of Peace Wheat Flour Program

USDA Awards $4 million from "Breadbasket" of America to Afghanistan...

02.03.09 | On the Frontline for Peace...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a congressional
delegation to Afghanistan where they met with
Roots of Peace.

02.03.09 | Mangia for Peace!

Roots of Peace has been selected as the
recipient charity for Pasta Pomodoro’s
state-wide restaurant
celebration benefiting Afghanistan.

12.03.08 | HARVEST OF HOPE GALA

The U.S. Department of State and Roots of Peace
host the 2nd Annual Harvest of Hope Gala.

11.02.08 | "FROM MINES TO MITTENS..."

Bringing "warmth" to the hands of Afghan children - one stitch at a time...

10.11.08 | "FROM KABUL TO ROME"

The Roots of Peace Afghan Girl's Soccer Team will travel from Kabul to Rome.

09.11.08 | "PLANTING A HARVEST OF HOPE - 2008"

Scenes from the 9/11 Tribute -

09.11.08 | "A JOURNEY OF HOPE"

San Francisco Bay Area Communities
Gather in Tribute to Plant the "Seeds of Hope".

Peacock Gap Golf Course, San Rafael, California.

Register now!

7.30.08 | ABC 7 News Extra Video - Interview with Ambassador Sichan Siv

7.30.08 | Roots of Peace hosts Sichan Siv, distinguished former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

6.13.08 | Mines to Vines™ Croatia

Ambassador and Mrs. Robert Bradtke and BARR Pharmaceutical host tribute to the 10th Anniversary of Roots of Peace – turning Mines to Vines™ in Croatia.

San Patrignano, Italy - Squisito! event provides a "TASTE OF PEACE" at largest European food festival.

The Roots of Peace Penny campaign has raised over 1 million pennies to help restore soccer fields on former minefields in Huambo, Angola.

Rotary Club of San Francisco and Roots of Peace Mines to Vines™ event hosted by actress Diane Baker of the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.

04.18.08| Mines to Vines™ - Roma, Italy

Over 400 guests gathered in Rome, Italy, for a special fundraiser organized by Ms. Flavia Taggiasco, Roots of Peace European Director, and Princess Homaira Wali, grandaughter of the late King Zahir, as a benefit raising euros to replace the scourge of landmines with schools and soccer fields in Afghanistan.

April 1, 2008 | Afghan New Years Ceremony

To celebrate New Years in Afghanistan, a planting ceremony was held recently near Kabul in the Parwan Province near Charikar. Roots of Peace was there to participate in the ceremony.

March 26-28, 2008 - 2008 Skoll World Forum

Heidi Kuhn, a 2006 recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, will attend the Skoll World Forum, an international event attracting about 750 delegates from more than 35 countries.

Skoll Foundation Website 

03.10.08 | Rachel's Network Annual Meeting

The 2008 Rachel’s Network Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. on March 10-13, 2008. Heidi Kuhn, CEO, has been invited to join this distinguished network of women conservation funders to be an instrumental voice for the environment.

02.19.08 | Organic Inc. redesigns Roots of Peace web site.

San Francisco Examiner - Each week, The Examiner showcases an advertising campaign by a local company. This week, Organic Inc. is highlighted regarding their work with local philanthropic organization Roots of Peace.

01.06.08 | Charlie Wilson's War Auction

Charlie Wilson's War Cast Signed Poster
by Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
100% of the final sale price will support Roots of Peace.
>Join the auction on eBay

December 2

Join us for a Harvest of Hope Black Tie Dinner and Fundraiser, chaired by Robert and Margrit Mondavi at COPIA, The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts in Napa Valley. See invitation for details.

October 13-17, 2007

Heidi Kuhn and ROP Board member, Diane Baker, visit project sites in Croatia where ROP has demined six villages. (see link to Croatian Mine Action news.)

War-damaged building in the town of Vukovar, Croatia, where ROP has demined nearby vineyards.

Croatian President Stipe Mesic recognizes Roots of Peace work. ROP Board member, Diane Baker, and Dijana Plestina (right) join Heidi in presenting a new donation for demining from Croatian-born, legendary Napa Valley vintner, Mike Grgich.

September 28 , 2007
Heidi Kuhn receives the "Spirit of Marin" award sponsored by Bank of Marin. The Spirit of Marin Award recognizes the achievements and volunteer spirit of local businesses and business people.

Heidi Kuhn receives the "Spirit of Marin" award given by Bank of Marin on September 28, 2007

September 28-30 , 2007
Roots of Peace takes part in Squisito! in the San Patrignano Community in Rimini, Italy, featuring agricultural products from the mine-affected countries of Afghanistan and Croatia in the cooking of Michelin starred chefs. See press release.

Homaira Wali, niece of the late Afghan King Zahir, and the Director of San Patrignano, Andrea Musscoli, join Heidi Kuhn in planting the San Giovese vine-the oldest rootstock in all of Italy at Squisito! September 30, 2007. (photo courtesy of Giorgio Salvatori)

Italian students launching the first ROP Penny Campaign in Italy, October 2007

September 11 , 2007
Two Communities Commemorate 9/11 with Roots of Peace Penny Campaign Event - San Rafael High School hosts a special student assembly (photos) and the community of St. Helena hosts a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony (photos).

August 16 , 2007
Wilfrid Wilkinson, President of Rotary International, joins John Hoch, President of the Rotary Club of San Francisco, and Heidi Kuhn for a call to action to “Give Us Your 2 Cents for Peace” at special luncheon. See photos and join in the Rotary Roots of Peace Penny Campaign .

Heidi Kuhn, Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson and Cheryl Jennings at the Rotary Roots of Peace Penny Campaign launch lead by the Rotary Club of San Francisco. August 16, 2007

June 5, 2007
Barrow, Alaska joins Roots of Peace Penny Campaign in tribute to UN World Environment Day 2007. The Barrow branch of Wells Fargo Bank lends support.

The community from the land of the midnight sun, Barrow, Alaska joins the Penny Campaign in recognition that landmines are an environmental concern. Photo courtesy of John Gleason

May 1, 2007
European Community awards Roots of Peace contract to establish a national Afghan almond industrial organization under their Perennial Horticulture Development Program.

April 30, 2007
Roots of Peace presents the first-ever Global Citizen Awards to Her Majesty Queen Noor and legendary Napa Valley vintner, Mike Grgich of Grgich Hills Estate, during a special "Bon Voyage" luncheon on board the Queen Mary 2, hosted by Cunard Lines. Grammy nominated singer, Judy Collins performed for the luncheon. (See luncheon photos.)

Heidi Kuhn presents Her Majesty Queen Noor with the "Global Citizen Award" during the Bon Voyage luncheon hosted by Cunard onboard the Queen Mary 2 on April 30th in New York

April 25, 2007
GIVE US YOUR 2 CENTS FOR PEACE! Roots of Peace announces 15 million pennies raised by American children for peace. REGISTER for the Penny Campaign. See ABC 7 News coverage.

2007 Program Announcements

FROM MINES TO VINES™:
Roots of Peace continues work assisting Afghan grape farmers and merchants grow higher value table
grape varieties that are marketable in foreign countries. Roots of Peace has been working in the Shomali where we have removed 100,000 landmines and UXO’s, trained 10,000 Afghan farmers, and exported over 100 metric tons of grapes to India, Pakistan, UAE, and other countries—doubling income for farmers. (More)

SPRING OFFENSIVE FOR PEACE: Roots of Peace announces new national orchard programs in Afghanistan to plant nearly 2 million cherries, apricots, prunes, plums, apples, walnuts, and almonds trees throughout the regions of Kandahar, Badakhshan, and Jalalabad. (More)

April 16 & 17, 2007
PLANTING PEACE IN THE VALLEY:
Roots of Peace hosted the Afghan Ambassador to the U.S., Said T. Jawad, to the Bay Area. Ambassador and Mrs. Jawad joined legendary vintners Mrs. Robert Mondavi and Mike Grgich in a vine planting ceremony at COPIA in Napa. Ambassador Jawad spoke at UC Berkeley on "Winning the Peace in Afghanistan, Challenges and Opportunities." (See UC Berkeley News Center and ABC 7 news coverage of his visit.)

March 19, 2007
Roots of Peace and UK non-profit MAG (Mines Advisory Group) have joined forces to organize global events that will raise funds to remove landmines and UXO from some of the world's poorest nations.

March 11, 2007
Bay Area Jefferson Award Winner: Heidi Kuhn is nominated for National Award

February 27, 2007
Roots of Peace celebrates 10 years of planting peace at the Afghan Embassy in Washington D.C. See the Afghan Embassy newsletter about the celebration.

February 5, 2007
Roots of Peace joined Cunard and You & Leisure Travel aboard Queen Mary 2  in San Francisco to announce “Cruise for Peace.”  See www.abc7news.com for news story.

January 2007
Roots of Peace publishes the "RoP Report 2007" highlighting recent programs and activities. see newsletter.

January 15, 2007
In conjunction with the city of San Rafael, local students and adult volunteers planted hundreds of flower bulbs on Roots of Peace Hill in San Rafael, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.