Fatima Jibrell, Photo Courtesy of Goldman Prize
By DAWNer Solome Lemma
Born into a nomadic, pastoral family and motivate by love for the fragile, semi-arid landscape and the pastoral way of life, Fatima Jibrell of Somalia has dedicated her life to the preservation of the natural environment in Somalia.
1n 1993, Fatima founded Horn Relief, a non-profit organization, to mobilize local and international resources for protection of the fragile pastoral environment in Somalia. In the late 1990s, Fatima organized and advocated against unrestricted use of charcoal in Puntland.
Through Fatima's powerful advocacy, the Puntland regional government of northeast Somalia was persuaded to prohibit export of charcoal through the port of Bosasso in 2002. This has reduced charcoal exports by 80 percent. In 2004, Fatima established Sun Fire Cooking to promote solar alternatives to charcoal cooking. Bender Bayla in Somalia is the first solar cooking village in the world. By 2007, Sun Fire had distributed over 1,000 solar cookers to villages.
I nominated Fatima for the National Geographic Conservation Award, which she received in 2008. When we met then, she told me she had just completed a first-hand assessment of the environmental degradation along the Somali coastline. She walked the coastline-a journey of about 100 miles, I believe-for days for this assessment. She was 60 or so at the time!
In an era when Somalia's public image has been reduced to conflict and piracy, Somalis need and deserve recognition of someone that represents their very best efforts in working for peace and restoring their ravaged natural, social, and political environments.
Fatima Jibrell has shown through her life and work that she represents the best aspects of Somali pastoralist culture, peace building, love for the natural environment, and belief in Islam as a religion of caring and commitment. A true African heroine!
Born into a nomadic, pastoral family and motivate by love for the fragile, semi-arid landscape and the pastoral way of life, Fatima Jibrell of Somalia has dedicated her life to the preservation of the natural environment in Somalia.
1n 1993, Fatima founded Horn Relief, a non-profit organization, to mobilize local and international resources for protection of the fragile pastoral environment in Somalia. In the late 1990s, Fatima organized and advocated against unrestricted use of charcoal in Puntland.
Through Fatima's powerful advocacy, the Puntland regional government of northeast Somalia was persuaded to prohibit export of charcoal through the port of Bosasso in 2002. This has reduced charcoal exports by 80 percent. In 2004, Fatima established Sun Fire Cooking to promote solar alternatives to charcoal cooking. Bender Bayla in Somalia is the first solar cooking village in the world. By 2007, Sun Fire had distributed over 1,000 solar cookers to villages.
I nominated Fatima for the National Geographic Conservation Award, which she received in 2008. When we met then, she told me she had just completed a first-hand assessment of the environmental degradation along the Somali coastline. She walked the coastline-a journey of about 100 miles, I believe-for days for this assessment. She was 60 or so at the time!
In an era when Somalia's public image has been reduced to conflict and piracy, Somalis need and deserve recognition of someone that represents their very best efforts in working for peace and restoring their ravaged natural, social, and political environments.
Fatima Jibrell has shown through her life and work that she represents the best aspects of Somali pastoralist culture, peace building, love for the natural environment, and belief in Islam as a religion of caring and commitment. A true African heroine!
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