Kenyan environment and climate activist
Kaluki Paul Mutuku (born March 4, 1993) is a Kenyan climate activist and environmentalist, working to improve youth participation in decision-making around climate justice.[1] He is the co-founder of Kenya Environmental Activists Network (KEAN); KEAN is a NGO that provides a platform that will bring together environmental activists.[2][3] His center of attention for Africa lies around environmental rejuvenation, afforestation, organic farming and youth leadership across boards.[1][4][5]
Biography
Kaluki Paul Mutuku grew up in a rural Kenyan community in a family of three brothers and a single mother.[6][7] During his childhood, he enjoyed going to the forest to get firewood, grazing cattle, and goats.[6] He spent his childhood in Machakos, Ukambani zone in Eastern Kenya, where he developed his love for nature.[7][8][9] He witnessed water becoming more scarce as he grew up, and the challenges his family faced due to changing climatic conditions led him to activism.[6][10] He is a graduate of the Environmental Conservation and Natural Resources Management program at the University of Nairobi.[6][11] He has great admiration for the climate activist Wangari Maathai.[8]
Activism and work
Mutuku has called for safe environmental practices and proper youth inclusion in Africa.[4][9] With forests occupying 10% of Kenya in 1963 and only 6% in 2009, Mutuku has great concerns about the decreasing forest resources in Kenya.[12][5] He is of the opinion that people should push for a safe and environmentally clean world by desisting and campaigning against all practices that degrade and pollute the environment.[9] He was a member of an environmental awareness club during his college days, and since 2015, he has been part of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change.[10]
Mutuku has previously worked as an environmental education officer at A Rocha Kenya, training students, farmers and communities about organic farming, biodiversity conservation, and the SDG goals.[1][11] He has worked as a communications lead at 350.org-Kenya team for the deCOALonize campaign and at AYICC-Kenya under the Education for sustainable Development (ESD) project.[6][9][11] The deCOALonize campaign pushed for the use of renewable alternatives rather than fossil fuel.[9] He is also the Coordinator-Environmental Advocacy/ Partnerships & Networking lead for Youth Coalition for Environmental Advocacy & Renewable Energy.[13]
Mutuku is currently the regional director for Africa at Youth4Nature, a global initiative calling for youth led nature-based solutions.[1][11] He is also an ambassador for the Global EverGreening Alliance.[8] In September 2018, he was part of a group of activists that signed a letter addressed to Secretary Ryan Keith Zinke opposing the lease of public land to oil and gas drilling in California.[14]
His organization, Green Treasures Farms is using organic farming, biodiversity conservation, tree growing, environmental education, and water harvesting to improve sustainable environment and income among rural Kenyan women & youth.[1][6][11][4] In 2016, the Green Treasures Farms initiative nearly died due to unavailability of land. In January 2017, the initiative's new approach of working with different families that owned land brought a turn to the project.[7]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he started using digital tools to engage in educational webinars relating to climate action and food security.[8]
