Two women restoring forest in Brazil and Nepal tell Kim Chakanetsa about working with local communities to plant thousands of trees and restore the natural environment.

Francy Forero Sánchez is a Colombian primate researcher who volunteers with the environmental organisation Copaiba. It works with the community to restore parts of the Atlantic Forest in south eastern Brazil - one of the most endangered and biodiverse in the world. Run mainly by women the project produces native tree seedlings, plants trees and runs environmental education programmes.

Rachhya Kayastha fell in love with the natural world around her as a child in Nepal and would gather school friends to plant flowers in her neighbourhood. She's now National Director in Nepal for the US charity, Eden Reforestation Projects. The organisation sets up seed collection stations, develops plant nurseries and reforestation schemes giving work to local people, mostly women.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

IMAGE DETAILS
Francy Forero Sánchez (courtesy Francy Forero Sánchez)
Rachhya Kayastha (courtesy Eden Reforestation Projects)