The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...
My heartfelt gratitude to you for investing in our footsteps for peace, as next year marks the 25th Anniversary of Roots of Peace—a vision of turning MINES TO VINES—replacing the scourge of landmines with bountiful vineyards and orchards worldwide. Through your generous donations, we have taken strides to heal the wound of war in the minefields of Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. And, we have gone one step further by planting sustainable peace through agriculture—literally turning ‘swords into plowshares.’
It has been a daunting task for the past quarter of a century, as we still live in a world where there are an estimated 60 million landmines lurking beneath the soil in over 60 countries. These explosive remnants of war hold the land hostage long after the guns of war have silenced, and render farmland unusable. Roots of Peace has pioneered the economics of peace and our work has become a business model in war-torn countries.
Let me trace my footsteps, so that you may clearly see how YOUR donations empowered us to ‘walk the talk’...
In September 1997, following the tragic death of the late Princess Diana, I was deeply inspired to carry the forth the torch by bringing light to the issue of landmines. A visionary toast was made in the living room of our Kuhn family home—May the World go from Mines to Vines. This concept inspired California vintners Robert Mondavi, Tor Kenwward/Beringer and Eric Wente to accompany me to Canada to witness the Ottawa Treaty to Ban Landmines. Armed with only a vision and no pennies, we set forth on a quest to turn MINES TO VINES—respecting the plight of farmers across the world who reap a lethal harvest of landmines.
In January 2000the first month of the new millennium--I began my footsteps in the minefields of Croatia to witness firsthand the perils of landmines in war-torn communities. My commitment for fostering peace became a driving force in my life, and my entire Kuhn family strongly supported me.
Shortly after The Balkan War, there were an estimated 1.2 million landmines riddling the ancient vineyards between the Danube River and the Dalmatian Coast. Croatian born Napa Valley vintner Miljenko Grigich accompanied me to his beloved homeland to restore the grape industry, and we hosted multiple fundraisers to remove the landmines. Today, Croatia is now a top tourist destination in the world!
Following the September 11th attacks, I turned my focus on Afghanistan—the most heavily mined country in the world with an estimated 10 million landmines. Conversely, it was also a country 80% dependent upon agriculture for jobs. There are 70 varietals of grapes which are indigenous to Afghanistan--harvested as fresh grapes and raisins, never wine.
Through a generous donation made by Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, and owner of Silverado Vineyards, we removed over 100,000 landmines/UXO in the Shomali Plains located north of Kabul. Roots of Peace trained the Afghan farmers with pilot programs to grow grapes on trellis posts to improve yields. With funding from USAID, USDA, DOD, EU, ADB, INL, and The World Bank, we greatly expanded this program and planted over six million fruit trees in all 34 provinces impacting over 1 million farmers and families.
Afghanistan was once dubbed the ‘Garden of Central Asia’ and Roots of Peace has restored this legacy by planting pomegranates, melons, apples apricots, almonds. cherries and saffron for export and trade.
Working with our partners, we increased agricultural exports from $250 million in 2014 to over $1.4 million in 2020. This is our sustainable legacy in Afghanistan following America’s longest war.
Now, more than ever, we need your generous donations to support planting the Roots of Peace!
Afghanistan is facing the worst humanitarian disaster we’ve ever seen. Some 23 million people are in desperate need for food. The $20 billion economy could shrink by $4 billion and 97% of the 38 million population are at risk of sinking into poverty. With millions facing starvation, nearly the entire population is on the brink of poverty. We need your immediate financial support to continue our vital work during the harsh winter months ahead to empower farmers with greenhouses, poultry farms, cold storage and other agricultural innovations.
Our Roots of Peace business model for peace also continues in Quang Tri, Vietnam, where we have trained over 10,000 farmers to grow black pepper on former minefields.
And, we are expanding our business model to Guatemala to address the ‘root cause’ of out-migration at the U.S. border. Amidst the beautiful landscapes, active volcanoes, and diverse indigenous population, Guatemala suffers from malnutrition and hunger. Many factors such as climate threats, poverty and lack of education has led young people in the Western Highlands to seek jobs outside of the fertile lands in their own country.
Instead of building ‘higher walls’, we seek to build ‘longer tables’ so that families may stay home and break bread with their children—providing dignity and jobs through farming and export of high value agricultural crops.
Please join us by generously donating to sponsor our footsteps, as we plant the Roots of Peace on Earth...
Happy Holidays to your Families!
Onward in Peace,
Heidi Kuhn, Founder/CEO, Roots of Peace