Katherine Kiriungi
Farmer and member of The Green Belt Movement, Kiangong Village on the eastern slope of Mt. Kenya, Kenya
Interviewed: July 2008
On the slopes of Mount Kenya, the second tallest mountain in Africa, Katherine Kiriungi (60), a farmer and member of Kiangong Environmental Network and The Green Belt Movement, carefully picked up a seedling of a native tree. “I witnessed how losing the forest could devastate both our environment and our livelihood. I thought we had to do something.” In the 1990s, when the Kenyan government declared equal rights for women, they gained new access to the forest. “We, women, started a native plant nursery, planting trees to protect our forest.” Katherine’s village received support from the Green Belt Movement, an organization committed to empowering women through environmental conservation. Despite persisting illiteracy, many women now know how to restore the forest. Since 2000, they have planted more than a million trees. “The Green Belt Movement empowered both men and women.” This cross-gender collaboration is a true success story in the field of environmental conservation.
Katherine’s impact on Miho
Until Katherine mentioned how important it is for women to gain economic power, I hadn’t thought about how my education has allowed me to be financially independent. The privilege of having access to education and employment is rare for many women throughout the world. Katherine’s story inspired me to give micro-loans to women’s education and entrepreneurship funds that benefit both community and the environment. Additionally, for the next leg of my journey, I determined to focus on women who had developed entrepreneurial skills to both increase their own economic power and improve the environment.
