Hello Everyone!!

I put a collage together of pictures that really capture the beauty and spirit of Kenya! I hope you enjoy :) Thank you!!



Saving the Environment One Fence at a Time

3-19-12

Hello Everyone!

Today I'd like to take time to elaborate on a story that I found very inspirational and necessary in these times. A topic that gets attention all over the world on a day to day basis is recycling. We are constantly opening our eyes to new ways to reduce pollution, wipe out waste, and ensure that our environment is cared for. Many steps are taken in all types of facilities to utilize the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle. I am pleased to discover that Kenya is taking a major role in the preservation of our environment and resources as well. Lorna Rutto from Kenya was recognized by the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards for her business idea to use plastic waste to make fence posts.

Lorna Rutto was always interested in preserving the environment and decided to take her own steps to improve the care and recycling nature of our resources. She established EcoPost which constructs eco-friendly fence posts out of recycled plastics. These fence posts are durable and allow us to reuse our products rather than wasting them. "Nairobi, Kenya alone generates more than 2,800 tons of waste every day, of which 20% is plastic" (Hartigh).  In this one area alone, a tremendous amount of waste is produced on a daily basis. That is over 1 million tons of waste in Nairobi alone in one year! This waste is unacceptable and Rutto has taken steps to reduce the amount of waste and use it towards improving the environment of Kenya.

Not only is this improvement good for the environment but it is good for the economy as well. Rather than wasting products, the people of Kenya can reuse this plastic and use it for other necessities. Also, this project has created many job opportunities for the unemployed. Many youth and women have been able to make a living through this project and support their families. This recycling helps the environment by conserving our resources and saving our trees and benefiting the unemployed of Kenya. It is definitely a huge step in the right direction and there is talk of expanding the business to promote recycling of many products and to create more jobs. I am hopeful that this project will continue to allow Kenya to advance and save their resources in order to help their economy and environment.

To read more about this topic, please visit:

http://www.africagoodnews.com/business/innovation/2859-transforming-waste-to-wealth-in-kenya.html

Thank you!

(The picture below is actually Lorna at work producing one of the EcoPosts!)

Adapting by Phone

3-12-12

Hey everyone!

I hope that you enjoyed reading the last post! I came across an article that really opened my eyes to the advancements that are being made in Kenya. While we take things like phones and computers for granted on a daily basis, some people are unable to utilize these types of tools and I find it promising that they are able to begin experimenting and using them to their advantage. Recently in Kenya, there has been a wonderful addition to the farming community that allows farmers to adapt to climate changes in an easier fashion. These climate changes make it very hard to farmers to care for their cattle because they have to consistently adapt to the changes and alter the factors that their cattle need. The temperature changes can be hard on the cattle and the farmers and they can lead to drought which is incredibly devastating for farmers who rely on their land. Therefore, the promising new addition to the farming community is a blessing and will make it easier for the farmers of Kenya. The new addition is a solar-powered Internet facility that allows the residents to be aware in advance of the climate changes and take the necessary precautions in order to deal with them.

Being able to understand how the climate will be changing is very helpful for farmers. If there is a prospective rise in temperature that could possibly lead to a drought, the farmers in Kenya can make sure that they take precautions to ensure that their cattle will be in a safe place in a neutral climate with plenty of water. Without this advance in technology, farmers would be burdened at the last minute and would have a hard time caring for the very animals and land that provide income and sustenance for them and their families. I believe that this advancement is incredibly promising and benefits the society as a whole because it allows farmers to take better care of their possessions. Their products will be able to sell at a higher price and this will benefit their families and the economy. The solar-powered Internet facility will give farmers an advantage in caring for their crops. This advancement in technology is promising and very beneficial to the farming community as well as everyone who depends on them.

To read more on this topic, please visit:

http://www.africagoodnews.com/infrastructure/ict/2817-farming-by-phone-in-kenya.html

Thank You!

Preserving Biodiversity

2-27-12

Hello Everyone!

I hope that you found the last post as insightful as I did. As I was perusing different articles about Kenya on-line, I was pleasantly surprised to find one that had to do with preserving animal life. Animals are very important to me and to our environment and ensuring the preservation of different species allows us to continue developing and interacting in a way that allows our environment to flourish. In this day and age, the populations of Rhinos in Africa have been on a decline due to harsh conditions and poaching. These innocent animals are used as tools for profit and are killed for resources. Many people use the horns of these animals as a source of income by selling them to areas that use them for medicinal and decorational purposes. This is upsetting and affects the populations of other animals in the environment as well.

Kenya Wildlife Services and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) teamed up to relocate a number of black rhinos in Kenya from a privately owned ranch to Ruma National Park. This move will allow rhinos to receive the special care and assistance that they need and it will also protect them from poachers and other predators. Along with these advantages comes another, important aspect about the safety of the National Park in comparison to a privately owned ranch. The National Park is free of a specific kind of fly that transmits diseases to its prey. It is called the tsetse fly and it is a transmitter of diseases such as sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in animals. Some of the diseases that they transfer can be fatal and providing a home for these rhinos that is free of the flies is vital in preserving their populations.

Ensuring that our environments continue to be diverse in order to interact and sustain our wildlife is one of the many reasons that we strive to protect the species that inhabit our wildlife areas. The steps that have been taken in Kenya to save these black rhinos are extraordinary and will prove to be a beneficial factor in the advancement of the people. Not only does this preservation benefit the animal species and diversity of Kenya but it also benefits the economy as well. The steps that have been taken encourage tourism in Kenya. Many people enjoy witnessing the wonders of wildlife and seeing rhinos and other animals in person and this attracts people to Kenya. When the rhino population was decreasing, many people were dissatisfied with the tours and game drives that they were taking part in and now that the rhinos are being taken care of, more people can witness their magnificence. This is definitely a step forward in Kenya and I am glad that the wildlife services have discovered how important it is to preserve the species in Kenya and I am hopeful that this will lead to many advancements in the environments.

I hope you enjoyed this post! To read more about the New Home for Black Rhinos in Kenya, please visit:

 http://www.africagoodnews.com/development/environment/2873-new-home-for-black-rhinos-in-kenya.html