Flicker of Hope

About

Location: Kenya
Key(s): Economic Empowerment, Access to Food and Water

Flicker of Hope is a community based organization located in Nyamira County, Kenya. Their goal is to organize and empower vulnerable rural populations in drought prone areas, with an emphasis on women and children, by helping them to build sustainable livelihoods and to empower the communities to become self-reliant. Their projects combine aspects of environmental stewardship, efficient use of local resources, and empowering women to build lasting sources of income that also benefit the environment and the community.

Nyamira County is an area with very few options for earning a living. The area is prone to crop failure and drought. One of the only consistent resources in the area has been wood from the forests, which are used for fires and building materials. However, the prevalence of deforestation has caused the few watersheds in the area to dry up. Due to a lack of resources, the forest is being destroyed, water is being depleted and the air is becoming polluted from all of the smoke. Flicker of Hope wants to turn this around by creating innovative solutions to utilizing natural resources while restoring watersheds and providing sources of income to rural communities.

Flicker of Hope is partnering with Rockflower to bring smokeless bio-briquettes and cookstoves to rural communities. This project will reduce deforestation, utilize untapped resources, increase public health, and provide income to rural women who will produce the bio-briquettes. The briquettes are made primarily from brush and bushes, which until now have not been utilized as a resource and also inhibit forest growth.

The organization looks forward to partnering with Rockflower to promote the effective utilization of resources, conservation and preservation of the environment, improved opportunities for child education, adoption of healthy & hygienic lifestyles, financial inclusion, skills development, entrepreneurship & women empowerment.