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The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience
Wangari Maathai
New York :Lantern Books, 2004
160 pp., $15.00, paperback
ISBN: 1-59056-040-X

You can plant a tree or you can plant an orchard. Or, if you are Wangari Maathai, you can be the reason why more than thirty million trees stand proudly in Kenya to date. Maathia's Green Belt Movement (GBM) emerged some forty years ago and consists of efforts to end Africa's desertification and provide jobs for local economies- all the while self-development of Kenyan women gains momentum. How can one woman achieve this you say? Well, for starters we aren't talking about just any woman, we are talking about a WOMAN. A woman with strong personal convictions, who in her feat to change society for the better, placed herself in harms way to carry out a vision of sustaining community and the lives of its members. If you think Lance Armstrong (6-time Tour de France winner) has superhuman abilities, allow me to introduce you to Wangari Maathai. She is a person with unlimited amounts of energy, the ability to transform a nation, and someone who embodies spirit in the greatest sense of the word. Her driving strength transcends actions of environmental justice. This can be witnessed by her life's work where she operates from a place inside herself that embraces anger as a result of existing environmental conditions. In addition, an incomparable will is used to improve upon conditions that is powered by love. Love of the earth, its inhabitants, and expressed in human vivacity that has literally moved a nation to its feet. Overall, Maathai has proven to be a leader and a pioneer whose goals are to redress environmental degradation by methods designed to improve the lives of women and girls alongside democratic capacity. Indeed Maathai's GBM conceptual approach is birthed out of basic human need. In Kenya, women are the gatherers of fuel and water. Given drought conditions and the need to collect wood for heating and cooking, women were traveling farther and farther into the forest in order to support basic activities such as bathing, washing clothes, and cooking. What started out as a green house project in Wangari's home, flowered into a full-scale tree planting and economic development scheme of the grandest kind. Wangari Maathai is the first African woman and the first environmental activist in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize to receive such an honor.

Produced by Lantern Books using 100 percent post-consumer waste, chlorine free paper, Maathai's The Green Belt Movement, revised edition, begins with the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize announcement, followed by a statement by Wangari. Next, is an introduction, history of the GBM, organizational structure, and funding respectively. The subsequent chapter describes achievements and is the heart of the book. This section deserves more attention. The condensed nature of the chapter could be greatly expanded upon and presents opportunities for another book altogether. Maathai, unfortunately is like so many other women in that she is guilty of scaling down her accomplishments that are in all actuality stunning. For those eager to get a little dirt under the fingernails, Maathai offers a ten-step, "How to run a tree planting campaign." This is an example of writing that so many other books about social action should include. Written in a succinct, to the point, and accessible style, The Green Belt Movement is a must for anyone interested in managing a tree nursery with a verve for social change. Having some experience planting trees myself for the National Forest Service, I know that in western mountain regions of the United States: a) Trees are clear-cut at an increased rate annually; b) Silva-culture can be greatly improved for seedling survival; and c) What appears to be a simple act of planting a tree takes more than a pulaski forestry axe and a skilled hand. Planting a tree requires the will and heart of an individual to ensures survival of a plant that will, under proper care, conditions, and nourishment, grow to provide shade, fruit, and improve soils for generations to come. Wangari Maathai's publication has wide appeal and can be used by youth, young adults, and adult audiences in the classroom and community. A luminary for women and girls in particular, Maathai inspires the mind and awakens the heart of humanity for the betterment of society throughout the world.

Wangari Maathai I hope your book reaches the hands of folks who see the beauty in your face (her photo appears on the cover of Green Belt Movement), a beauty that you invoke daily by your work.

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Lantern Books
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Herndon, VA 20172-0960
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