Green Belt Movement

Green Belt Movement

The Green Belt Movement is a grassroots NGO based in indigenous Nairobi, Kenya, which takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. Professor Wangari Maathai founded the organization in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya.

The Green Belt Movement to organize rural women in Kenya to plant trees, combating deforestation, restoring their main cooking fuel, income, and to stop soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and the only economic development of the Green Belt Movement.

Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, more than 40 million trees were planted. Over 30,000 women trained in forestry, food processing, beekeeping and other businesses that allow them to earn income while preserving their land and resources. Communities in Kenya (men and women) were both motivated and organized to prevent further environmental destruction and restore what was damaged.

In 2004, Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize - to become the first African woman to win Nobel Peace Prize - for his work with the Greenbelt Movement. His book, The Green Belt Movement, published by Lantern Books. Maathai is a leader in the ecofeminist movement.