Blog Number Tree

If you've known me for any time at all, you've heard me rave about the waddle of a duck, admire the way the sun glistens on water, or squeal when literally any animal ever passes by. I absolutely adore all things outdoors. Nature has always been my escape. The calm ruggedness of being surrounded by the vastness of the trees, billions of little creatures, and the multitude of sounds is like my own direct line to God. There's so much peace and open-mindedness just being in a place where God has created everything around you. No buildings, car horns, distracting road lights. No distractions. Just being.

Trees actually mean a great deal to me. They represent Earth- People, animals, homes: life. Trees have obvious benefits such as providing oxygen, firewood, building wood, shade, and homes for wildlife. However, they also provide safety, food and jobs.

To many this may not be a huge deal because we are so far removed from the need of firewood to stay alive in the winters and buildings are always around to seek shelter from a storm- I'm in that same boat. I've been so blessed to live where I do: Trees everywhere, jobs at every corner, an education so I can actually get those jobs, etc. Not everyone is as lucky though.

In 2017 I was blessed to visit Tanzania, Africa with my church. We visited many different remote villages and shared the Word of God with them. We also had the pleasure of experiencing their way of life and living situations. They were all so generous and welcoming. When we were miles from our camp and needed to use the restroom (squatty potty), locals would be so generous and let us use their personal holes. These were simply holes in the ground mainly surrounded by walls of hay (which held in the smell) or clay. There was one in particular that I went to use and gagged before I even stepped foot inside the hay walls. It was pitch black, the flies created a wall you had to walk through and the stench was so fowl that I actually waited 3 hours until we got back to our base to go. One family even told us “no” because they didn't think we could stand the smell of theirs. They were probably right, honestly. But, this is all the material they had. It was their normal.

Most of the houses were built with mud bricks and had a straw roof or no roof at all. We even visited a church that was praying for enough money to rebuild their walls and roof that a rain storm had washed away.

Well, I've been on the internet a lot more recently with all the job hunting I've been doing and I came across Madera Outdoor. I honestly thought it was just another company selling outdoor gear, but something caught my eye. They mentioned that they plant two trees for every purchase. This intrigued the nature lover in me so I continued reading. I found out that they partner with trees.org to not only plant trees in sub-saharan Africa, but they teach the local farmers how to become self sustaining with what they call the Forest Garden Program.

Forest Gardens consist of thousands of trees that provide families with sustainable food sources, livestock feed, products to sell, fuel wood and a 400% increase in their annual income in four years.

Here is a small documentary that explains the tree planting process. 




This entire idea immediately had my heart. I kind of wanted a hammock so I would have something to do in Indiana when I got up there, but this gave that want a purpose. I purchased that hammock so fast and had to stop myself from spending more money.

I've finally done it! I found my way to continue giving to Tanzania when I can't go over there as often as I would like. I also get to enjoy the outdoors in a new fun way! It's a win-win!

Now, I'm not naive. No one can or needs to continuously spend money on outdoor gear, including myself. You buy a hammock once and you're set for a while. I get it. BUT, I was offered a chance to help share their story in hopes that more people would learn about them and get the win-win experience as well!

So here's what I'm asking. Check out the website and read the mission. If you were thinking about buying a hammock, a sleeping bag, or anything else camping related, please consider buying it through Madera. If not, simply sharing the word or just this blog would be greatly appreciated!

If you're like my mother and say "Sierra, I don't spend enough time outdoors. How is a hammock going to benefit me??" - Which she literally told me the other day; You can skip the fun outdoorsy part and simply donate $5 here. That is enough to plant 5 trees! (mind blown)


**Also, if you're like me and love deals, they have this fun wheel of deals you can spin to get free things or discounts! It doesn't hurt to try! You can't miss it!

Thank you so much for reading about this passion of mine! Feel free to ask me any questions about Madera, Tanzania, or ducks. I also LOVE talking about ducks.

Happy Camping!