Kisumu Connections - talk and discussion 15th April

• Come and hear about my recent visit to the Aniga Womens Initiative, one of our partner projects near Kisumu, Kenya.
• Meet other Gloucestershire people who have links  with projects and schools in the area.
• Join the discussion on the challenges the Kenyans face, and how we can work with them.
• Browse and buy cards and gifts from the area.

at FOOTSTEPS CAFÉ

269 High St, Cheltenham (corner of Henrietta St) Sunday 15th April 2012 7pm


Refreshments available. Free admission

Carbon and Climate Change

The carbon offsetting companies reckon that my flights will cause around 2 tonnes of carbon emissions, so I thought it would be interesting to compare that with other carbon emissions and savings that I am responsible for or contribute to.

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for our house says that our heating, lighting and water will cause 2.1 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. I did 6,220 miles in our low emissions diesel car last year, which equates to 1.14 tonnes of CO2. So clearly this flight makes a BIG impact on my carbon footprint.

Comparing it with carbon I am saving this year – our 8 solar panels are calculated to generate 1,447 kWh electricity per year. That equates to 0.785 tonnes CO2. Our solid wall insulation, according to the EPC, will save 1.2 tonnes CO2 per year, so the eco-work we did last year will almost  compensate for these flights!

I take some comfort from the work I do to encourage other carbon savings – trustee of FootSteps and helping with the major eco-refurbishment which has actually just started! Also trustee of Gloucestershire Community Energy Co-op  which has just installed a 45 kwp system which should generate 40,000 kWh electricity per year, saving 21.7 tonnes CO2. We have just heard that TransitionTown Cheltenham has won some Government funding to encourage energy savings in Cheltenham, so the work continues.

The Co-op are offsetting our carbon emissions with ClimateCare and I thought I would do the same for mine with Renewable World  Both these companies invest in renewable energy projects in poorer countries – which seems to me a more worthwhile and immediate way of offsetting carbon than planting trees. Having said that, planting trees in East Africa, where there are massive problems with deforestation, is a great, and appropriate thing to do in the circumstances. There are a number of excellent tree-planting charities. We Forest   sounds good – I’ll investigate when I return.

Communities and the Co-op

So how come I’m going Global Footstepping to Kisumu in Kenya? But firstly, how come the Midcounties Co-op “Green member of the year” is flying thousands of miles to help decorate a school in Tanzania? Decorating isn’t one of the skills in my CV (although I’m practising at home at the moment) and labour is cheap in Tanzania. In a nutshell, the Co-op thought it was a good prize for the 6 winners, and a PR opportunity in the International Year of Co-operatives. I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss, and a chance to stay on an extra week to visit Kisumu and hopefully make myself useful.

Here is a link to a similar, but longer, trip to the same school www.worldexpeditions.com/uk/index.php?section=trips&id=162354

I don’t want to appear ungrateful or hypocritical by listing all my questions and dilemmas, but they’re related to what is the best use of time, money and carbon. I think the dilemmas remain, without simple answers, but I’ve always liked the idea of paradoxes since I first learnt what the word meant. I read this in an old “Permaculture magazine”  recently: “Practice holding a seemingly unsolvable paradox in your awareness until awareness widens enough to dissolve the contradictions (instead of stepping into false compromise). New possibilities emerge at a higher level of complexity, they are not solved at the same level of complexity that created them (Einstein’s famous quote).” At the moment, that just makes my head hurt, but I think I have a glimpse of what the article means. Comments very welcome.

In any case, I am extremely grateful for this opportunity – hopefully for new and thought provoking experiences, good connections with people from different cultures, challenges and adventures, and not least to experience the magnificence of the planet, the landforms and wildlife. The Co-op will probably be making a blog, but I haven’t got a link to it yet.

Specifically in Kisumu, I hope, as a community activist, to make links with other community activists operating in more difficult circumstances, and to share ideas and encourage each other. I expect I’ll learn more about resilient communities. However, if nothing else, I will be doing a good job as a messenger/courier. I didn’t realise Cheltenham had so many links to the town, and I believe they all come down to Dennis Mitchell. I will be visiting Korowe primary school, taking books from Cat, Morgan’s daughter, who went there a few years ago. Carol and Simon, who have done so much for that school and Lela Secondary School over the years, have given me lots of helpful information, and I will be taking seeds and teaching materials from them for the teachers at Lela. The National Star College has good links with Joylands School, and I’ve got DVDs, CDs and gifts from the students for them. Hopefully I’m also going to meet Edwin, Dennis’s main contact, and Margaret from the Widow’s project, just to pass things over.

However, most of the time I will be staying with and working with Benter and the Aniga Women’s Initiative, and also meeting up with Steve from CADIF – thanks to Roz who visited Kisumu last year and has done all the arranging for me. All that, and sightseeing too, will keep me busy for a week.