What we doCapacity Building / Awareness Development
Lem Ethiopia believes that changing the attitude, behavior and practices of our people in the area of natural resources management is key to reduce poverty and improve the livelihood security of our people. Because more than 85% of our populationís livelihoods depend on natural resources and the complex socio-economic problems are interlinked to natural resources utilization.
Soil and water conservation
Lem Ethiopia has involved in soil and water conservation almost in all its intervention areas through community and school based tree nursery establishment and plantation in collaboration with target communities and local governments. Since its establishment, Lem Ethiopia has produced more 12 million different species of tree seedlings and more than 5,000 clumps of vetiver grass using community and government tree nursery sites and planted at homestead and communal lands
Urban Waste Management
One of Lem Ethiopiaís concerns in relation to environment is urban pollution caused by improper urban waste management of households, service giving institutions and production processing industries. Accordingly Lem Ethiopia carried out Clean up Addis Project in 1994/95 that incorporate short term, mid-term and long term alternatives strategies and registered significant achievements that helped the city administration to improve urban waste management of the city.
Promotion of Appropriate Technologies
To attain sustainable development in the Ethiopian context Lem Ethiopia believes that the promotion and dissemination of appropriate technologies that boost production, improve the health situation of women and children, reduce the pressure on natural resources/land and enhance efficiency that address livelihood security is critical. Thus, it has been involved in the promotion of mud technology (construction of modern mud-houses, mud-beehives and energy saving mud stoves), promotion of the biogas from human excreta and organic household waste for energy supply for different purposes, promotion of solar modules, etc.
Research
Lem Ethiopia has involved in comprehensive studies and researches in relation to environment and its interrelationship and interdependence with different socio economic scenarios and resource basis. Among the popular studies are; the study made on Addis Ababa urban waste management through Clean UP Addis Project, and the study on Jimma town urban waste management master plan source document development. Among the researches are ëThe Link between Resource Base Carrying Capacity, Climate Change Variability and Population Growthí and Coffee Pulp; Compost Values and Potential Uses to Reduce Water Body Pollution in Wonago Woreda.
Advocacy and lobbying
Lem Ethiopia has been involved in a number lobbying and policy advocacy in relation to environment and sustainable development since its establishment. It has been actively involved in a number of policy advisory committees at different levels through its founding members. Of course it didnít do its best to the level expected due to internal and external constraints.
Membership, partnership and networking
Lem Ethiopiaís lofty ideas are accepted almost by all sorts of people in the country and beyond. Before 2010, more than 3000 individuals and 300 institutions (private and public) mainly schools through their school environmental education clubs were its members. As per the new Ethiopian Charities and Associationís Law, institutional membership is not applicable.
Promoting grass-roots sustainability
The capacity building initiative is complemented with demonstrative efforts on community based soil and water conservation, alternative livelihood options, alternative technologies in the areas of energy, construction and agricultural productivity and urban waste management. The following are what we focus under this component;
