AIR was founded by Political Science Professor Anne M. Hallum in 1992 at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, shortly after her first trip to Guatemala where she was conducting research on religion and politics. After witnessing the devastating loss of trees and the rural hunger in Guatemala, she felt called to work on those issues. With help from several friends in Florida and Atlanta, she formed a US Board of Directors for fundraising and oversight. Over the years, Anne returned to Central America many times and hired a staff of dedicated experts in Guatemala and Nicaragua, one by one.
After preliminary projects in reforestation, AIR’s small staff in Guatemala (led by Chris Wunderlich, from 1993-1998) discovered the basic model that has been so successful for feeding the rural poor and for reforestation: Five-year training programs in agro-forestry—for farmers and their children—in conjunction with community tree nurseries and fuel-efficient stove-building. Local participants are the key decision-makers in every phase of the programs.
AIR’s Mission is to implement educational programs and agro-forestry methods in Central America in order to protect water sources, prevent mudslides, reduce erosion, and provide more nutritious crops, while protecting the Earth.
All salaried staff for AIR are natives of Central America, trained in agro-forestry and dedicated to improving the lives of the rural poor. AIR works in Guatemala and Nicaragua, but the US Administration is located in Atlanta, GA where Anne is a full-time volunteer for AIR.
Our supporters have spoken, and AIR has earned a spot on the 2012 Top-Rated List! Less than 1% of eligible nonprofits won a place on the 2012 Top-Rated List. Thanks to everyone who wrote accolades~
AIR’s professional technicians work simultaneously in several communities, visiting with them weekly over a five-year period. After five years, the group members proudly receive a “graduation certificate” for their success in sustainable farming and reforestation. Unlike other organizations that fail at hasty reforestation efforts, AIR has a model that works for the long term! In June, when we return with volunteers, those little trees will be big enough to transplant to the mountain slopes—we can’t wait!
Everything we do is funded by generous donors like you.
Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR)
4514 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. - Unit #496
Atlanta, GA 30338
(386) 956-4321
AIR's mission is to implement educational programs and agro-forestry methods in Central America in order to protect water sources, prevent mudslides, and provide more nutritious crops, while protecting the Earth. All paid staff for AIR are natives of Central America, trained in agro-forestry and dedicated to improving the lives of the rural poor. The US Headquarters for AIR is in Atlanta, GA, staffed by volunteers.
Since 1993, AIR has trained over 2,000 farmers, constructed over 750 fuel-efficient stoves, provided 18 high school scholarships to rural teenagers, established hundreds of tree nurseries and planted over 3.7 million trees!
