Earth Overshoot Day: #MoveTheDate with girls’ education

1 August 2018 marked Earth Overshoot Day, the date when the human population used more from nature than our planet can renew in the entire year.

Together with our alumnae network, CAMA, CAMFED teamed up with the Global Footprint Network to highlight compelling evidence that girls’ education is one of the most effective ways of tackling resource constraints and climate change, helping the global community to #MoveTheDate.

Esnath comes from the rural district of Wedza in Zimbabwe, where her family, like many others, relied on agriculture to earn a living. After Esnath’s father lost his job on a commercial farm, CAMFED stepped in to cover the costs of her secondary education. She excelled academically, and later won a scholarship through the Mastercard Foundation to pursue a degree in Agricultural Science and Natural Resources Management at Earth University in Costa Rica.

In a new blog, Esnath shares her vision for achieving a sustainable future using climate smart agriculture, to benefit people and the planet. After her degree, she plans to establish a model farm in Zimbabwe where she will demonstrate new farming techniques she has learnt at university.

Empowering rural women to cope with resource limitations and achieve better crop yields will enable increased financial agency, and the chance to invest in their children’s education. This feeds into the ‘virtuous cycle’ which Esnath and her fellow CAMA members perpetuate, by supporting the next generation to go to school, succeed, and lead.

We know that an educated girl will:

• • marry later and have a smaller, healthier family
  • earn up to 25% more per year in secondary school

• reinvest 90% of her earnings in her family

Read Esnath’s blog – ‘How girls’ education will help my community become climate smart’

Find out more about how girls’ education tackles climate change