No more than a dust bowl ten years ago, the Ansokia Valley has become an example of self-sustaining development in a country wracked by famine and drought. In a sprawling informal settlement near Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a young man earns income as part of a new community sanitation team that collects solid waste in carts built small enough to negotiate narrow roads and pathways. Supported by the nonprofit Cooperative Housing Foundation, the project is one of many that promotes environmentally sound jobs in urban informal settlements, which often lack clean water, solid waste collection and sewage facilities. In the Annapurna region of Nepal, subsistence farmers meet regularly to discuss various ways to protect forest and wildlife and regulate the daily collection of fodder and firewood. Supported in part by the World Wildlife Fund, these management committees reflect the determination of local grassroots organizations to involve local people in critical decision making.
Green jobs are successful only when workers feel they have control over their own resources.