The Restoration Initiative (TRI) has been at the forefront of environmental restoration efforts for many years, with projects spanning far and wide across the world. TRI strives to overcome existing barriers to sustainable restoration and works to rejuvenate some of the globe’s degraded landscapes, largely through empowering local communities with a particular focus on indigenous women. Women empowerment plays an integral role in community based sustainable development, with the ability to enhance community resilience and promote gender equality. TRI’s various projects have uplifted women across the globe, recognizing the critical link between gender empowerment and environmental restoration.
Three Kalash women in traditional clothing of Indigenous Peoples of Pakistan’s Chitral region © FAO/ Faizul Bari
Tanzania: Empowering Women in Sustainable Farming
In Ilalasimba village, Tanzania, women engage primarily in subsistence farming to sustain their livelihoods. In recent years, various challenges like deteriorating soil and poor farming practices have resulted in low yields, subsequently taking a toll on the local community. Without adequate crops or cattle numbers, women have had to rely more heavily on forest resources to meet family needs.
Some of the women in Ilalasimba were also part of the community groups, such as the Village Natural Resources Committee, that make them part of the group of decision makers and drivers of restoration activities. Through this, they identified milk production as a key area of necessary support and this ensured support for the local women’s group in farming and livestock keeping as alternative and sustainable income-generating activities. To support the women’s community in Ilalasimba, TRI alongside the community groups has introduced improved cattle breeds to the village and advised subsistence farmers on how to care for and raise the livestock more effectively. Furthermore, TRI established climate-smart agriculture practices, allowing women to embrace sustainable practices and improve the utility of their land. This initiative has led to a huge increase in milk yields, with an increase from 1-2 liters to 10 liters per cow daily!
“TRI is a miracle. We are so proud of what they have done and are planning to do in the future. Our lives are forever changed. Our livelihoods are saved.” Amina Mtuya, 54, from Ilalasimba
Guinea-Bissau: Women Lead New Income-Generating Activities
In the coastal villages of Guinea-Bissau, local communities are facing years worth of land degradation that is threatening their income and way of life. Their history of mangrove rice cultivation is at risk due to the changing climate and rising sea levels. TRI has focused on a multi-faceted approach to uplift and enhance the prosperity of these coastal communities. Supporting Guinea-Bissau in mangrove restoration and rice field rehabilitation is a major aspect, but an important emphasis has also been placed on women-led alternative sources of income. TRI has introduced horticulture, oyster farming, and solar salt production to the women in Guinea-Bissau, providing equipment and training to improve the livelihood of local communities, reduce the pressure on natural resources, and create a more sustainable path forward.
The Democratic Republic of Congo: Women as Agents of Change
The Democratic Republic of Congo faces rapid population growth and rising demands for the natural land and resources of their country, resulting in large-scale forest degradation. TRI focuses on balancing critical restoration efforts with the livelihoods of the local Congolese Pygmies, and women are at the forefront of these changes. Local community groups have been essential in the decision making process, not only working closely with the TRI team to build nurseries and grow seedlings, but to identify suitable locations and select various plant species.
“Our goal is to reforest the bare hills to combat erosion, fertilise our fields, and produce wood for our own needs.” Mwamirize Angeline, Member of Club Dimitra.
These initiatives allow women to take control of the challenges that face their communities and create lasting, sustainable livelihoods.
Nursery establishment with local communities in South Kivu © FAO/Benjamin DeRidder
Why Women’s Empowerment is Key to Environmental Restoration
Providing women with the ability to engage and assist in local restoration projects and sustainable practices is vital to the health of the land and the equality of its people. Bestowing teachings of sustainable land use, generating new forms of income and growing valuable skill sets amongst the women of local communities is profoundly empowering and enables these individuals to bring about long-lasting impact. This increased recognition of the importance of gender empowerment is critical in the process of activating sustainable development, improving the general well-being of local communities and their surrounding environments.
A Kalash woman poses for a photo displaying a beautiful headpiece specific to Kalash culture © FAO/Christophe Besacier
Empowering women through hands-on restoration efforts shows the incredibly transformative influence of gender equity. The Restoration Initiative’s efforts to uplift women across Africa and Asia have not only helped restore valuable ecosystems, but have also built stronger, more resilient local communities. As the numerous country projects continue to evolve and come to a close, they serve as a testament to the critical role women play in achieving sustainable environmental and social improvements.