Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya to encourage rural women and farmers to plant trees to protect the environment and promote sustainable development. Maathai won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts. She speaks of the conditions which led her native Kenya into environment degradation and the impact on women. When farmers plant cash crops they remove vegetation resulting in soil erosion. The soil is carried away to the river and there is no clean water. Women bear the brunt because they are responsible for getting the water for their families.
On the surface Green Belt Movement is about providing incentives to farmers to plant trees and educating them on managing their resources. At a deeper level it is about encouraging women to inform themselves on the impact of bad or lacking government policies.
More information can be found at www.greenbeltmovement.org.