The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an indigenous grassroots organization in Kenya that empowers women through the planting of trees. It is one of the most effective and well-known grassroots organisations addressing the problem of global deforestation. Professor Wangari Maathai established the organization in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK). GBM's successes in forest conservation, education, and women's economic empowerment have gained the organisation worldwide acclaim. It is also noted for its advocacy of human rights, democratisation of access to public lands, and environmental justice issues such as the role of women's traditional ecological knowledge in addressing environmental degradation and desertification.
According to their 2003 annual report, the mission of GBM is "to mobilize community consciousness for self-determination, justice, equity, reduction of poverty, and environmental conservation, using trees as the entry point." GBM is no longer directly linked to the NCWK and coordinates a national network of women's groups that plant trees and do environmental conservation and community development work. Their work combats deforestation, restores sources of cooking fuel, generates income, and stops soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and overall economic development into the Green Belt Movement.Michaelson, Marc. "Wangari Maathai and Kenya’s Green Belt Movement: Exploring the Evolution and Potentialities of Consensus Movement Mobilization." Social Problems 41, no. 4 (1994): 540–61. https://doi.org/10.2307/3096988.
Since Wangari Maathai started the movement in 1977, more than 51 million trees have been planted, and more than 30,000 women have been trained in forestry, food processing, bee-keeping, and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources. Communities in Kenya (both men and women) have been motivated and organized to both prevent further environmental destruction and restore that which has been damaged.
Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work with the Green Belt Movement.
Background Deforestation is a major contributor to environmental disasters, desertification, and climate change. The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is one of the most effective and visible grassroots organisations addressing these issues.
The Green Belt Movement was founded in 1977 by Wangari Maathai and the National Council of Women of Kenya, and subsequently grew into a grassroots movement for women's economic empowerment and land stewardship. A 2005 paper by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) stated that in Kenya, state expropriation of public lands for private use presents threats to the livelihoods and food security of peasants and the working poor, and that GBM is "deeply immersed" in the resulting struggles for control of public lands.
Maathai and the GBM connected the marginalisation of women and poverty to environmental degradation and promoted a grassroots approach to development by empowering women to control the environment. Their intention is to ensure that women have independent sources of income and also to conserve the environment through sustainable resource management.
History
Prior to the Green Belt Movement's founding, specifically during the 1970s, there was a restricted political opportunity structure within Kenya because the government at the time was very politically repressive. The Kenyan government was dominated by men and their patriarchal and repressive views, which created many issues for women. Many women throughout Kenya were struggling with feeding their families, getting access to natural resources (water, wood). Moreover, many Kenyan women didn't have any form of legal protection or say when it came to the politics in Kenya. Women were so repressed and treated so poorly that they weren't allowed to be in government or sit in on political meetings. Eventually changes within Kenya and its government occurred. The Green Belt Movement specifically played an essential role in changing the ways women were treated, excluded from, and used in Kenya. The framing of the Green Belt Movement as a non-threatening environmental conservation effort made an enormous impact on the government and communities during a time that many other forms of activism were seen as threats to the government. However, by encouraging women to question their place and challenge social and political institutions that keep women compliant the Green Belt Movement was eventually founded officially.
The Green Belt Movement began with Maathai founding the organization in 1977, but she founded the organization because of what she studied, taught, witnessed, learned, and wanted to change. She began with founding the movement, but prior to founding the movement she was involved she was a part of another environmental organization. Maathai served as chairwoman of the UNEP's Environment Liaison Center board, which today is called the Environment Liaison Center International. From serving as a chairwomen with the UNLEP, she later on in 1974, switched gears, and began focusing her time and energy on mitigating environmental issues. Maathai focused for efforts on battling deforestation issues, and how to fix various other forest-related issues in order to improve the overall quality of life for the women and children in Kenya.
Maathai began with introducing tree planting programs and regimes into local communities/ targeting communities with little access to basic natural resources such as water or rice. The first tree planting the GBH facilitate occurred on 5 June 1977, and involved seven ethnic tribes being honored through the planting of trees. It took place in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and trees were planted, marking the beginning of what would become an internationally influential movement that challenges the hegemonic structures of that oppress rural communities in Kenya. However, the tree planting programs and regimes took a significant amount of time for involvement to occur within communities. There were several trials done and eventually Maathai and the various employees of the GBM established successful programs. Maathai often told her coworkers in the GBM, "We are on a track that has not been explored before. We are on a trial-and error basis. If what we did yesterday did not produce good results, let's not repeat it today because it is a waste of time".
However, during the implementation of the tree planting program, the GBM also experienced many setbacks because of its lack of funding and support.The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai, 2006 This led to Wangari Maathai joining the National Council of Women of Kenya as a member of the executive committee. From Maathai joining the council the Green Belt Movement was able to get international attention and support from women and governments. The GBM also was able to gain much more help when it came to facilitating tree planting initiatives and educational programs. Maathai even was able to further the Green Belt's movement through expanding its public outreach (media networks/supporters), gain more funding towards tree planting projects/ climate change initiatives, and overall more support to ensure the success of the organization.
After joining the National Council of Women of Kenya, Maathai went on to educate communities and facilitate permanent outreach programs. Eventually the GBM implemented its tree planting program throughout Kenya. The Green Belt Movement planted thousands of tree seedlings in long rows to form green belts of trees, thus marking the beginning of the Green Belt Movement.The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai, 2006 "These "belts" had the advantages of providing shade and windbreaks, facilitating soil conservation, improving the aesthetic beauty of the landscape and providing habitats for birds and other small animals. During these local tree-planting ceremonies, community members usually turned out in large numbers. To conceptualize this fast-paced activity of creating belts of trees to adorn the naked land, the name "Green Belt Movement" was used."The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai, 2006 Because it gained support and funding from the National Council of Women of Kenya, the GBM was able to successfully continue its work and efforts throughout Kenya.
Through Maathai's attitude, persistence, and efforts, the movement gained a large amount of traction in Kenya and throughout the world. Eventually, the second tree planting occurred in 1979 and involved the planting of trees by hundreds of women on a rural farm in Kenya. After the second tree planting the GBM was able to continue to grow as an organization and they also were able to conduct a significant amount of research and studies on Kenya and its environmental problems. From the amount of research and activism the GBM continued to do, they were able to identify the need that rural communities and women especially needed. From their research, they started to consistently pass out seedlings to women and rural communities. The GBM also facilitated the implementation of income generating activities, and taught communities about environmentally sustainable practices.
After its second tree planting, and the establishment of several other projects and initiatives led to the GBM participating and facilitating a wide range of political activism. Specifically during the years of 1989–1994, the Green Belt Movement maintained its non-confrontational goals, while Wangari Maathai openly challenged the political arena. Maathai and the GBM partnered with organizations and community members throughout Kenya to advocate for environmentally sustainable practices, women's rights, and various other environmental problems. Moreover, throughout the Green Belt Movement, the organizers of the movement had been able to educate community members on non-violent resolution practices. Through educating the community on non-violent problem solving practices and on politics, the GBM in combination with international organizations and community members have been able to initiate changes within the Kenyan government, and social, political, and economic norms in Kenya. Moreover, women throughout Kenya have been able to participate regularly within Kenyan politics, which has forced changes in Kenya to occur.
Throughout the establishment of the Green Belt Movement, the movement faced a variety of problems and harassment. Specifically in the 1980s, the Green Belt Movement was being harassed significantly at the grassroots level within communities and at the central office. For example, the Green Belt Movement was evicted from the government-owned office they had worked in for 10 years. But nowadays, the Green Belt Movement highlights the focus on direct social and economic transformation of communities to ensure they are not identified as having a political agenda. By highlighting the lack of direct threat, this organization is able to function without alarming the decision-making elite who currently benefit from the inequities in Kenya. Moreover, the movement has made immense strides in helping local rural communities, restoring and improving natural resources and ecosystems, and educating/ empowering women throughout Kenya.
Gendered political context
"African women in general need to know that it's ok for them to be the way they are to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence." – Wangari Maathai