TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER

Above: The Baker River in Patagonia, Chile; photo by Jorge Uzón, courtesy of International Rivers

There’s nothing like refreshing and purifying clean water. Water is life that gives our bodies nourishment, helps our food grow, and keeps us alive. Many people in this world don’t have access to this vital life essential. To us, this is unacceptable and the very reason why we team up with so many incredible organizations that make clean water a priority.

Since 1999, we’ve worked with Global Greengrants Fund, an international nonprofit that gives grants to local leaders protecting and restoring the health of people and our planet. In 2007, the organization became our global partner and beneficiary of the Aveda Earth Month candle funds. Throughout this partnership, we’ve banded together with smaller organizations in 78 countries to protect pristine rivers and ensure that people have pure, fresh water to drink.

There’s been a wide scope of successes and in the coming months we will be sharing the stories of the people, communities, and projects touched by this partnership. To get things started, below is a peek at victories that happened in five important water hot spots in the world; expect more in-depth stories to come here on Living Aveda.

1. CHILE: Keeping Rivers Healthy

Activists at the Baker River; photo by Kate Ross, courtesy of International Rivers

Environmentalists in southern Chile’s rugged Patagonia region recently celebrated a hard-fought victory when the government rejected an $8 billion dam project, safeguarding the wild Baker and Pascua rivers, protected lands and ranches, and pristine fish and wildlife habitat from development.

2. INDIA: Protecting Water Safety

A child in India drinks clean water; photo courtesy of Global Greengrants

Clean water advocates in Varanasi successfully stopped a bottling plant that could put local people’s drinking water at risk. They exposed evidence the plant was already over tapping the county’s water supply and that enlarging the plant would reduce the availability for clean water for the local community, thus threatening their health.

3. KENYA: Harvesting Rain Water

Maasai women in Loldia; Photo by Rucha Chitnis, courtesy of Global Greengrants

Maasai people in drought-prone Loldia village built a reservoir to capture rainwater so they can irrigate their fields and keep their animals healthy during the dry season. The storage tank is also close to the village, so women no longer have to walk for hours every day to collect water for their families.

4. THAILAND: Standing Up For Threatened Ways Of Life

Vendor on the Mekong River; photo courtesy of Global Greengrants

Young people, farmers, and fishers in eight provinces along the Mekong River participated in boat floats and other activities for Global Day of Action for Rivers. The event generated publicity about all the ways damming the region’s lifeblood would affect the health and livelihoods of people who depend on the river.

5. RUSSIA: Safeguarding Biodiversity

River photo by Joshua Lissner, courtesy of Global Greengrants

Wildlife activists are installing a video camera at important salmon-spawning grounds on the Bol’shaya River in Siberia. By training local people to monitor the 24-hour feed, wildlife and river advocates hope to put a stop to poaching, and to increase the area’s severely depleted fish population.

Stay tuned to Living Aveda for stories on our clean water initiatives in partnership with Global Greengrants.

Tell us, how are you making a change in your community?

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