Sophia Kiarie Of Kenya

Sophia Kiarie moved from Kenya’s forested highlands to the arid community of Ruiru, about 20kms north of Nairobi where she was shocked by the lack of greenery. The parched fields provided little food or firewood for her family of 11 children.

She decided to learn all she could about the life cycles of different trees, talking with foresters and making her own careful observations. She now says, “I have a degree in understanding the problems of my area”, even though she never took a class in forestry or botany.

Finally, Sophia became a field officer for the Bellerive Foundation that focuses on environmental issues. In this job, she learnt more and more about land degradation and so opened a tree nursery which has distributed more than half a million seedlings to schools, hospitals and farmers. This is part of a wider campaign to establish ‘green islands’ around government institutions.

Sophia also began to promote energy-efficient, low-cost stoves in order to save trees. These stoves burn much less wood than traditional stone-bordered fires. More than 2000 Kenyan families and 600 institutions now use them.

Sophia believes that women are the key to a sustainable future and hopes to get many more involved in her reforestation projects. “Women know how to nurse”, she says, gently tucking a tiny sprout into the earth. “They have caring hands.”

Source: Adapted from Newsweek, 9 March, 1992.