The poorest countries of the world are being hit disproportionately hard by the extreme weather brought by climate change. Their people end up even poorer. It’s a very unjust situation.
Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust works at the local level to help people to be prepared and to adapt to what is happening. It means increasing their defenses against heavy rains and floods, distributing drought resistant seeds and training farmers in the best agricultural techniques. Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust also gives farmers energy efficient stoves to save on firewood and to reduce carbon emissions. It helps them build up and diversify their assets and to protect them in the face of more frequent crises.
Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust’s also advocates on behalf of those most affected by climate change, calling for poor countries to be given financial and technical help. Rwenguhyo Community Development Initiative lobbies at high-level international meetings for more investment in disaster preparedness and for proper protection to people forced to migrate because of climate change.
Agriculture: Most people in developing countries depend on agriculture for their very survival. Training them – especially in small-scale farming – is at the heart of Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust’s work to ensure that they can feed their families properly and stay healthy and conserve the environment.
Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust distributes drought resistant seeds provides wells to support sustainable irrigation systems and builds granaries and flood defenses. Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust also sets up community gardens, where women farmers are particularly encouraged to plant new and more varied crops. This helps them to adapt to our changing climate and to have a surplus to sell. Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust gives them help with equipment and credit.
Access to markets is a key Rwenzori community environmental conservation trust concern. This means helping farmers with transport, financial capital and the skills and knowledge to know where and when to sell their goods for the best price. It sounds easy. But it’s not for the very poorest farmers who may live in remote areas. So RWECO-TRUST Initiative helps them work in cooperatives to share their skills and knowledge and also to improve their yields.
Moving people beyond the uncertainty and poverty of subsistence agriculture – which in turn leaves them more vulnerable to extreme weather – is a major RWECO-TRUST goal.