Peru’s clean energy entrepreneurs
“My life has changed. Before this training, I used to be afraid that only men could do that type of work, and that women could not do it. I was afraid of working with this kind of equipment, of working with machines. That fear is gone. I now believe we can do so many things.”
Nelly Arias is one of the 290 women in Peru who enrolled in e-Mujer, the Energy School for Women. …
On Earth Day, a young climate activist shares what inspires her
Meet Paloma Costa. This Brazilian climate activist, lawyer, and member of the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change is gently shaking the world with her passion for climate justice.
In the last few years, young people around the world have changed the conversation on climate. They have elevated the urgency of the issue to a global emergency and spoken up to protect present and future generations.
I had the pleasure of meeting Paloma first in 2018 in preparation for the UN Climate Action Summit. She spoke at the launch of the Climate Promise, UNDP’s commitment to support countries…
On a typically hot and bright afternoon in Aweil town, north-western South Sudan, Nafisa takes her seat in a small patch of shade under some trees. She joins 14 other members in a recently-established peace committee set up to defuse any tensions or other problems that may be arising among tribal communities.
Nafisa is more invested in the committee’s success than most. Her son, Nuer, is married to a Dinka woman, two groups historically often in conflict with each other. She hopes her work can prevent the tensions that have plagued much of South Sudan in previous years.
“Our people…
A new way for Bosnia and Herzegovinians to avoid land mines
Carefree is not a word Dea would associate with her childhood. Nor was that the feeling of other local residents of Ljubljenica village in Bosnia and Herzegovina — some fled the area after the war that left mines across the country, others faced challenges in using their fields to graze livestock or to cut and gather woods from the local forests.
Now 20, Dea is a computer science student in Mostar. …
For a local community in Thailand, their wetland forest is a foundation of livelihood and culture.
“World Water Day makes us realize that water is vital for life and is inextricably linked to our way of life and to the wetland forests we depend on. This is why the water is important to us.” — Boon Rueang Wetland Forest Conservation Group.
Downstream from the Doi Yao mountain range in Northern Thailand lies the Ing River, home of Thailand’s largest wetland forest and a biodiversity hotspot. Situated on the plain between the mountains and river is the Boon Rueang community. Water touches all parts of life for the people and habitats in this 483-hectare forest. It supports…
Nueva vida a las plantaciones de café y cacao en México
“Diariamente en la oficina tomamos café Kajwel Tøjk ”, comenta María de la Organización de Productores Orgánicos Indígenas Zoques A. C., en Ocotepec, Chiapas. Ella y su esposo, son la imagen del producto cuya etiqueta incluye el lema de la organización “Respeto a la naturaleza y al hombre que la trabaja”.
¿Cómo podemos relacionar el café con la naturaleza y la biodiversidad? Artemio Cruz, presidente de la Organización de Productores Orgánicos Indígenas Zoques A. C. lo explica mostrando el vivero, donde no solo se encuentran las plantas de café…
COVID-19 has made what was already the world’s worst humanitarian and development crisis in Yemen even more deadly. Time after time, Yemenis must overcome economic, social, and political hurdles just to survive.
Today, more than 16 million Yemenis do not know where their next meal will come from, but it’s not because food is not available. It is, but it’s very expensive.
Many Yemenis have been forced to flee their homes, and leave their jobs behind, and begin heavily relying on humanitarian and development aid. …
Rihana Bibi collects and segregates waste in Cuttack, in the Indian state of Odisha.
Every day she travels three kilometres to reach the Swachhta Kendra, facilities where waste is collected and separated before it’s sent for recycling.
She’s one of India’s four million Safai Saathis, who form the backbone of the country’s waste management system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought extra difficulties for her. At first she couldn’t earn any money at all because as an informal worker, she didn’t have a valid identity card. When she did go back to work there was the extra danger to contend with.
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In 2020, South Sudan grappled with historic floods, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, economic fluctuations, and recurrent local conflicts. Many found their families newly displaced or affected by these compounding challenges.
While coping with unpredictable events and movements, the most vulnerable people in South Sudan have less access to life-saving information. Recognizing this vast unmet need in communities, a network of young innovators in South Sudan founded Voice Post as a social enterprise under the slogan “Information is Aid”.
“We believe information is a human right and therefore not affording a radio should not be a barrier to getting…
Reviving the coffee and cocoa plantations of Mexico
“Every day at the office we drink Kajwel Tøjk coffee,” says María from the Indigenous Organic Producers Zoques AC, in Ocotepec, Chiapas, Mexico. She and her husband are the models for the product whose label includes the organization’s motto “Respect for nature and the hands that work it.”
How can we ensure coffee growing promotes biodiversity? Artemio Cruz, president of the cooperative explains it by showing the nursery, where not only are coffee plants, but also a variety of trees. The coffee is shade-grown, which means it’s not only high quality, but beneficial for the environment.
“We work with the…
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