Chomuzangari Women's Cooperative

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Climate Change

Impact of Climate Change

Underground water

Water held underground in soil or between rocks makes up the world’s largest source of freshwater and is relied on by many families in Africa. Increased temperatures under the changing climate cause increase in evaporation rate which leads to reduced surface flow and less water available for aquifer replenishment. For this reason, Chomuzangari women want to be at the forefront in planting trees that help the flow of water in the sky. Trees are fountains, sucking water out of the ground through their roots and releasing water vapor into the atmosphere through pores in foliage. In their billions, they create giant rivers of water in the air, rivers that form clouds and create rainfall hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Currently, there is a lot of cutting down of trees in Zimbabwe without replenishing them. A major project of tree planting is what rural Zimbabwe needs right now.
 

Food Security

According to FAO, climate change will affect all four dimensions of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and food systems stability. It will have an impact on human health, livelihood assets, food production and distribution channels, as well as changing purchasing power and market flows. Its impacts will be both short term, resulting from more frequent and more intense extreme weather events, and long term, caused by changing temperatures and precipitation patterns. (fao.org)
 

 

Help sought from the Welsh Government

Chomuzangari Women’s Co-operative has highlighted to an audience in Cardiff how women in Africa are fighting back against climate change. Lettie Chimbi spoke at a round table discussion with other Welsh organisations, organised by Hub Cymru Africa, discussing how the Welsh Government can best support women and girls in Africa.
The impacts of climate change are being felt most keenly by women and girls in African villages who have to walk over longer distances to fetch water from sometimes unsafe sources.
“Women empowerment is a journey, not a destination” said Lettie.
“We have to work with women, we have to listen to the issues and challenges, the ideas and solutions that women in Africa have. Thanks to Welsh Government funding, the women I work with now have access to water, the community allotment has become a safe space for women to meet, talk and share without fear. But our work is not done, women empowerment touches all aspects of our lives, from sanitation and food security to the girls and education to community cohesion.
“Providing safe spaces for women to gather and learn to organise for themselves is an important opportunity that should be provided through targeted funding and capacity building. This entails capacity building and access to capital for women to solve their social needs.”