The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience

by Wangari Maathai

It was not until 1974 that I began to focus on issues of forestation and reforestation.

I assumed that all people working in public service loved the people they served, were accountable and transparent, and had integrity.

I was following my conscience and doing the right thing.

Unfortunately, I had not understood that most politicians necessarily ran their campaigns by taking advantage of voters, especially because the voters also tried hard to tak...

My concerns, energies and successes had nothing to do with my womanhood, marital status or community of affiliation. It was truly coincidental that I was a woman and a Kikuyu from Nyeri.

Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way that poor people can make themselves too much of a burden for one to assist them.

the government uses various forums to promote this and other economic sectors, both locally and internationally One such forum is the International Show, an annual event held in various parts of the country to achieve a variety of aims, including the creation of a forum where public awareness on agricultural and other issues can be raised. A few weeks before the 1975 International Show in Nairobi, it was decided that Envirocare would participate...

We concluded that a lot of people wanted to plant trees, based on the interesting conversations we engaged in regarding tree species and their utility and availability.

obtain seedlings cheaply,

many people expected the City Council, and not themselves, to plant trees in urban centers. This observation proved helpful, especially when the tree-plant...

While in Vancouver I met people who, like myself, were eager to work for improved societal living conditions.

People everywhere were calling for better cities-especially for more trees and green vegetation. I

Without alternative space for my creative spirit, the Envirocare initiative would have ceased. However, the idea of planting trees with the people found another forum through the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK). In the midst of frustrated energies, I received an invitation from the Chairman of the NCWK,

This was in 1977.

I felt a deep sense of commitment to them that greatly influenced my future work in NCWK.

The NCWK is an organization that provides a common forum of action for scores of national women's organizations and groups, both rural and urban. It was conceived and founded in 1964,

When I joined the Standing Committee on Environment and Habitat, I participated in discussions on various issues, including the identification of potential conservation activities that the organization could engage in. The idea of tree planting was still very much alive in me, and so were the inspirations I had gained at the HABITAT I conference in Vancouver. However, I did not see the Standing Committee as an opportunity to revive Envirocare

This responsibility required that I provide direction and facilitate discussions during the meeting. It was during one such gathering that I highlighted tree planting as a potential activity for NCWK. I proposed it as a project that would especially help our members in the rural areas to inexpensively meet many of th...

farmers had increased cash-crop farming at the expense of subsistence farming

because of severe mismanagement in government parastatals, cooperatives and the local management committees, some farmers went unpaid while those who received some income were underpaid, at irregular intervals!

Secondly, farmers with moderate incomes tended to ignore the traditional unprocessed foods such as sweet potatoes, yams and cassava, as well as indigenous green vegetables. Instead, they changed their diets so as to match those of the affluent, many of whom were living in the urban areas. However, because of the high costs of such foods, some farmers were unable to regularly provide them for their families. Therefore, they ended up with diets rich in certai...