The Greenbelt Movement

Wangari Matthai has improved the environment of her native Kenya by persuading the women of Kenya to plant trees. In doing so, she has launched the greenbelt environmental movement. The planting of trees has reduced erosion, rejuvenated the environment, provided firewood for families, and allowed for sustainable crops. Her efforts to improve the environment and make women's lives better won her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. On Tuesday afternoon, she spoke to a packed crowd at Hendrick's Chapel. I asked the 601 class to attend the lecture after class if they could, and I got to listen in for about 30 minutes before rushing off to pick up Autumn. Micere Mugo from African American Studies gave a beautiful introduction and taught the audience to clap three times in unison to greet Matthai in the traditional Kenyan way.

What struck me about Matthai's speech was how integrated her perspective is. She spoke of understanding the "linkages" between the environment and human choices. Cutting down the forests to grow cash crops of coffee and tea resulted in a monocultural environment. Growing lumber for harvesting resulted in "dead forests" devoid of insect and animal life. She noticed erosion in the rainy season when she was out in the field "picking ticks" for her research on diseases in cattle. She saw how interconnected the environmental problems were to human choices. She saw, as she put it, "the "linkages." She hatched a plan and began to organize and connect women, building solidarity. I'd like to learn more about how she made arguments and mobilized people.

Hearing about the greenbelt movement reminded me of Chipko, the movement of women in India who literally hugged trees to protect them from being bulldozed for timber. The expression "tree-hugger" derives from that organization. Vandana Shiva (my all-time heroine) was one of the women involved in this movement before she went on to become involved in organizing Indian farmers to resist biopiracy and the genetic engineering of food. More on her in a later post.