Wangari Maathai is a steward of the earth in the truest sense. Her work blurs the roles of environmentalist, activist and peacemaker into a new type of political and social action that transcends simple definition. Her relationship to the earth began early. Maathai’s upbringing among the streams and vast greenness of rural Kenya triggered an enduring appreciation of the unspoiled beauty of the natural world that would inform the way she approached her social activism. Her curiosity and sharp intelligence eventually lead her to the United States where she received both bachelors and masters degrees before obtaining a Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi in 1971.

For the last 35+ years Maathai has dedicated herself to nonviolent action aimed at empowering Kenyan women and promoting economic self-sufficiency among all Africans. Her methods stem from a conception of peace that uses a traditional African stool as a metaphor for a stable, just society. One of the legs represents the equitable distribution of natural resources; the second leg represents a democratic government that respects the dignity and humanity of its citizens; and the third leg symbolizes peace and harmony.

Maathai has put this philosophy to use by establishing a variety of initiatives aimed at reversing a political and social landscape in Kenya plagued by resource mismanagement and misguided deforestation schemes. In 1977 Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots tree planting program that has been effective as both a method for combating deforestation and as a tactic for economic self-sufficiency. The tree planting initiative, lead mostly by Kenyan women, has helped restore vast tracts of Kenyan farmland whose soil had eroded after vegetation clearing projects rendered it unusable. The tree cover not only helps restore the soil, it also provides a valuable source of wood fuel for rural communities. To date, over 20 million trees have been planted as a result of the initiative.



Green Belt participants also learn ways of organizing themselves for future civic engagement and giving them the chance to become empowered community leaders themselves. Maathai sees this individual and community empowerment as a way of recognizing the beauty of Kenyan culture and allowing societies to see that their wellbeing is not reliant on foreign intervention.

In this way, Maathai’s Green Belt action hopes to eliminate the economic and social conditions that foster the unease that so often leads to conflict, a realization not lost on the Nobel Peace Prize selection committee who awarded her the prize in 2004. Maathai’s work is environmental justice of the most empowering sort and deserves to be celebrated for its nuance and cherished for its simplicity. She is quite literally sowing the seeds for a more equitable, sustainable and peaceful future as she tells Simran Sethi in this podcast.

By Vince Meserko