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Floresta was founded in 1984 by Tom Woodard, who saw that much of the human misery in the tropics was rooted in deforestation and environmental degradation. In turn, much of the deforestation stemmed from a lack of economic options. Woodard and his colleagues had been working in the Dominican Republic as volunteers with a Christian relief agency. They began to realize that the problems which required food aid were not being solved, and were even worsening. Research indicated that deforestation and the resultant loss of soil fertility were primary causes. Motivated by the Christian call to help the poor, they developed Floresta to meet the environmental, economic and spiritual needs of the rural people of the Dominican Republic. Floresta was founded as two independent and complementary institutions, one Dominican and one American, each with its own national board of directors. The Floresta Dominican Republic board of directors includes former cabinet ministers and a majority of them hold advanced degrees. One of Floresta's first projects was to found Los Arbolitos, a for-profit Dominican tree nursery, which could provide a high quality source of tree seedlings and jobs for the Dominican Republic. In 1987 Floresta began the Agroforestry Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF) to provide loans, training, and marketing services for poor farmers who wished to start tree-related agroforestry businesses. Over 350 families have since participated in the ARLF and the Dominican Government and national agricultural bank have used it as a model for a nation-wide program. Floresta has expanded its program to include community development, the creation of secondary industries and more intentional sharing of the Gospel with the communities involved in the program. In 1995 Floresta began searching for other countries which might be interested in participating in its proven program. Mexico and Haiti were chosen as the first countries for expansion. Floresta's program officially began in Mexico in April of 1996 and in Haiti in May of 1997. In Mexico, Floresta is partnering with the Mexican organization Misíon Integral and in Haiti with the Episcopal priest of St. Matthias Parish. In 2004 Floresta opened it's fourth program in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. Floresta has a goal of working in at least two additional countries and is currently researching opportunities for work in Asia. We hope to be providing economic opportunities, discipleship and environmental healing to many more communities in the near future.