africa

Beaded Rhino Sculptures Sold to Help Endangered Black Rhinos

October 9, 2011

Photos: Bundu Designs

There are only somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 black rhinos alive today, and 16 have been killed by poachers this year alone.

But there’s some good news for the 400 odd black rhinos in Zimbabwe. Canadian group Bundu Designs …

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Climate Change Threatens Kenya’s Rainmakers

October 3, 2011

Image: DFID via flickr

We hear a lot about the impact of climate change on agriculture, especially smallholder farmers, but there’s a group of people who advise those farmers who are also affected: rainmakers.

This may sound like a joke to people w…

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Planet Getting Too Hot for Chocolate? Study Finds Climate Change Could Threaten Cocoa Farmers

September 29, 2011

Image: Siona Watson via flickr

The world’s cocoa supply could be in danger from climate change, according to a new study from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), which says that prices are likely to skyrocket if preventative mea…

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Apple Bans Phone Story App, Game That Shows the "Dark Side" of Smartphones

September 28, 2011

Image: Screenshot via PhoneStory.org

A game called Phone Story, released this week, is designed to allow players to see the dark sides of the technologies we use everyday—from coltan mining in central Africa to high

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Remembering Wangari Maathai: People Should Be "Active Participants" in Environmental Restoration

September 28, 2011

Image: Mainichi Corporation via The Green Belt Movement

When I interviewed Wangari Maathai in July 2004, I had no idea she would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just a few months later. By the time the award was announced, I had booked tickets from …

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Bringing 5 Million Rocket Stoves To Women Worldwide: The Paradigm Project

September 28, 2011

Image: The Paradigm Project

It may sound unbelievable but it’s true: smoke inhalation from cooking over an open fire kills 1.6 million adults and children yearly. Not only that, in Africa, for example, women walk up to 15 miles each trip to find wood …

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Pay-As-You-Go Makes Solar Accessible to Emerging Markets

September 28, 2011

Image credit: Eight19

We already know that solar lighting can be a lifesaver in Africa, and that clean energy can transform school performance too. So it was exciting to learn that solar is now cheaper than kerosene in many remote, rural communities….

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From Nautical to Domestic: Old African Boats Recycled Into Bold Furniture

September 26, 2011

Photos: Artlantique

Fishing is a traditional way of life and sustenance for many people around the world, including the west coast of Africa. The distinctively colourful wooden fishing boats are a visual mainstay along the coast, each one of a kind an…

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New Tax on International Fishing Operations Will Deter African Overfishing

September 24, 2011

Photo: mattk1979

Coastal African countries have long been at a disadvantage when it comes to regional fishing because their smaller boats can’t go out far enough out to reach fish stocks caught instead by larger international fishing operations. This…

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Trading Charcoal for Sustainably Farmed Biofuel in Africa (Video)

September 23, 2011

Photo: Novozymes

In developing nations around the world, millions of families use charcoal for cooking every day. And they often cook in poorly ventilated homes, exposing everyone inside to dangerous indoor air pollution. Furthermore, farmers often e…

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