Roots of Peace Awarded $765,000

by Tad Whitaker, Marin Independent Journal

San Rafael's Roots of Peace won a $765,000 grant this week to expand operations and continue working in countries such as Afghanistan, Croatia and Cambodia.

Heidi Kuhn, founder of Roots of Peace, will fly to Oxford University in England on March 30 to accept the award at a ceremony featuring former vice president Al Gore and actor Robert Redford.

The Palo Alto-based Skoll Foundation awarded grants to 15 organizations out of more than 450 that applied.

"We're beyond humbled," Kuhn said.

The Skoll Foundation was established by former eBay executive Jeff Skoll to help entrepreneurs dedicated to large-scale problem solving.

Other recipients this year include an organization that makes electronic books available to people with disabilities, and another that offers low-cost business degrees to impoverished people in South Africa.

Skoll Foundation officials touted Kuhn's organization for turning minefields into vineyards, creating migration corridors for wildlife, and helping Afghanistan farmers switch from poppy crops to grapes.

Recent successes include harvesting more than 500 tons of raisins and grapes in former war-torn nations, and reaching the 100,000 mark in mines that have been taken out of the ground.

Kuhn said the money isn't earmarked for a specific program, but is offered as seed funding to expand operations in general. She said $765,000 is significant for an organization that has a $4 million annual budget.

Kuhn said she plans to hire more people in San Rafael and in places such as Afghanistan, where Roots of Peace already has 100 employees.

"We're really trying to create projects that change the world," she said.

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