A Rocha – 30 years caring for creation

It all began 30 years ago: a Christian field study centre in the south of Portugal and one small team with a big vision! Today, A Rocha has grown into an international organization coordinating conservation work in 19 countries, always with this same passion for creation care in a cross-cultural, community context. What a lot we have to be thankful for! 

To celebrate just how far we’ve come and to say ‘thank you’ to all who have journeyed with us, we'll have events taking place throughout the year for you to get involved with – so stay tuned! And as food so often plays such an important part in A Rocha communities, we thought it only appropriate to share a special flavour of our national projects with a range of A Rocha recipes.

Events A number of events are being planned all over the world and you can join the celebrations! Could you star in the new video? Act NOW to feature in our 30th birthday video: write a message on your hands or take a close-up shot of people using their hands in caring for creation or enjoying nature – get the children involved! Read more Celebrate your birthday with A Rocha! Do you find you get more presents than you really need for your birthday?  If so, why not ask your friends and family to make a donation to A Rocha instead of, or as well as, buying you a gift? Read more to find out how to get started. 30 Wonder-ful Walks! On Sunday 30 June 2013, A Rocha will be resourcing 30 churches (or maybe more!) to host Wonder-ful Walks in their surrounding areas.  With our free toolkit, including posters, sign-up sheets and activities, you'll have all you need for your Sunday afternoon saunter. Find out more Get Fit for Forests 2013! Why not get fit and plan to explore some of the UK’s most stunning scenery this year? If you live in the UK, we’re inviting you to participate in one of our sporting challenges, between April and September, to help raise essential funds for our global forest conservation projects. Visit arocha.org/challenges to find out more and book your place. Renovation and celebration This year our first field study centre, Cruzinha, in the south of Portugal, will have been open non-stop for an impressive 27 years! With the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have passed through the doors, it’s inevitable that the need for renovations is beginning to show. Read more to find out how you can help! You are here A Rocha USA is inviting YOU to actively engage in caring for God’s wondrous yet beleaguered creation right in your own community – in small, easy to take steps. To help, the team is sharing an excerpt from the forthcoming book, You Are Here: following Jesus, all the way down to the dirt, along with some tips on how to do that where you are. Please visit arocha-usa.org/you-are-here to get the excerpt.

Recipes Persimmon jam The trees at A Rocha France's centre, Les Tourades, are laden with persimmons (kakis) in summer. But what to do with the fruit? Here's one delicious solution ... Contributed by Martine Charlemagne, France Rhubarb jam Jam making has become a tradition at A Rocha UK. Here's one of the favourites! Contributed by Maria Masih, UK Grasscutter and palm nut soup A nourishing soup made from one of the most popular delicacies of southern Ghana. Contributed by Jacqueline Kumadoh, Ghana More recipes… Do you have fond memories of a food-related A Rocha experience and a nice recipe to go with it? Please let us know so that we can share it!