In 1974 The Farm founded Plenty International, a relief and development nonprofit that would enable the community to do outreach to those in need.
in 1976, a devastating earthquake struck the country of Guatemala, killing 25,000 people overnight.
A volunteer was sent down to determine if there were any way the community might provide assistance.
Working with the local people, Farm construction crews built over 1200 houses as well as numerous schools and municipal buildings. This building in Solola, Guatemala serves as a meeting place for Mayan elders and is a focal point for the weekly market.
Plenty volunteers installed many public water systems, bringing clean drinking water to Mayan villages throughout the region. The largest project served three villages and over 10,000 homes.
To combat malnutrition, Plenty volunteers introduced soy foods to the indigenous people of Guatemala.
A soy dairy was constructed to produce soy milk, soy ice cream, and other soy products.
Today some 25 years later, the soy dairy continues as a village cottage industry, distributing its products to markets and restaurants in many parts of the country.
In 1980 Plenty discovered a portion of the Third World here in the US: the South Bronx.
Plenty volunteers took over an abandoned building and established expanded a free ambulance service in an area that was not served by the city.
Plenty trained local residents to become EMT’s, who then found employment with the city emergency response teams.
After 5 years, government ambulance service in the Bronx had significantly improved and Plenty’s assistance was no longer needed.
Today, Plenty International continues its work with projects both in the US and around the world.