Real-life Climate Stewards, Don Fernando and María Luz

Climate Stewards began as an A Rocha climate initiative that enabled people to offset their emissions. Today it has grown into an independent NGO belonging to the network of A Rocha organizations. Offsetting your carbon footprint with Climate Stewards funds carbon reduction projects (tree planting, cookstoves and water filters) in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Mexico.

Meet two of our farmers in Mexico: Don Fernando López and his wife María Luz García, who live in the town of Yalumá, in the Municipality of Comitán, Chiapas. They work with the Scolel’Te project, Climate Stewards partners since the beginning of 2015. Don Fernando was one of the first participants in the Scolel’Te project, but is now also a regional coordinator and provides training for new participants. Maria is a housewife who is highly skilled in herbal medicine. She collects medicinal plants and offers help with common illnesses. On their plot of land they have planted and care for cypress, oak, pine and lime trees. The lime (or linden) trees produce flowers that can be sold for use in tea infusions to treat insomnia and headaches. A kilogram of flowers retails for about $2.80. So their one hectare plot, which produces about 50 kg of flowers annually, provides a significant contribution to the household’s income

Meanwhile in Uganda, a new partnership between Climate Stewards and A Rocha Uganda is supporting the construction of bio-sand water filters through carbon finance. This month they are carrying out surveys of existing filter use and doing baseline surveys before installing more later this year.

Ever wondered how your travel and home energy usage is impacting your carbon footprint? Climate Stewards has produced a calculator to help. Reduce what you can, then offset the rest!

Photo courtesy of AMBIO and the Scolel’Te project.