Lambi Fund Announces Partnership with Green Belt Movement
Lambi Fund of Haiti is partnering with the Green Belt Movement, founded by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, to help expand the Lambi Fund grassroots reforestation program in Haiti.
In an agricultural economy such as Haiti, deforestation can have a critical impact on food security. Deforestation in Haiti — described by one recent U.N. report as "one of the most degraded countries in the world" — threatens its farmland. The highly publicized floods from Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 that destroyed a key agricultural region were a result of soil erosion and deforestation.
The Green Belt Movement (GBM) works through networks of rural women and has planted over thirty million tress across Kenya since 1977. Lambi Fund is learning from peer to peer exchanges, training, and technical assistance from Green Belt Movement leaders in order to expand our reforestation program.
Grassroots Reforestation Program Objectives:
- Plant 1 million trees in Haiti.
- Training and technical assistance by GBM and Lambi Fund agronomists.
- Peer led exchange and solidarity between Kenya and Haiti to share best practices, including recognition and awareness of advocacy by peasant women.
- "Train the trainer" workshops for grassroots leaders in Haiti.
- Pilot demonstrations and scale-up of grassroots reforestation program.
- Regional conferences and public education to strengthen reforestation movement building.
- Documentation and evaluation of project.
Professor Maathai said in recent conversations with Lambi Fund that she has always wanted to work with Haitians to reforest the land and is excited about the opportunity to partner with grassroots organizations to plant trees for a greener Haiti.
The partnership began in 2007 when GBM Leaders visited Lambi Fund in Haiti to start the peer exchange. GBM looks forward to hosting a group of women from Haiti in 2008 and partnering with Lambi Fund as part of a long-term partnership and mutual exchange program to inspire tree-planting in Haiti. We are in conversation with several international funders to support the reforestation movement and need matching funds to help make it happen. If you are interested in supporting this pioneering effort, you can mail donations to:
Donate on-line. for more information.Lambi Fund
PO Box 18955
Washington DC 20036
Make a difference by helping Plant Trees for Haiti!
