Climate Folklore

It is no longer a secret that Mother Earth has changed. Hearing tales from various traditions around the world on how good weather patterns influenced bumper harvests depicts the severity of climate change. The past sounds abundantly fascinating with multiple plants, fruits, proteins from small animals and insects, fresh waters and predictable weather patterns. Flipping the scene to now, however, scarcity is the only word out looming with extinction, pollution, poor soil and water quality to feed the inhabitants. The Irish ‘Cailleach’ would find it difficult to keep up with winter, spring and summer with the current unpredictable weather patterns, albeit always having good weather on St Brigid's Day! In Irish native tradition folklore, it is said that the ‘Cailleach’ was the goddess of winter responsible for how harsh the weather should be. She would turn beautiful to bring the worst  weather in winter and old and in summer. I wonder how her beauty would have been defined now with unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change? Perhaps she would have remained the beautiful ever eco-feminist! After all the Irish long-lived rains could be considered as winter season in most regions of the earth!

Aside from folklore, various climate scientists' and experts' commentary points to adaptation and mitigation as sustainable ways to combat world climate change. Two grassroots actions discussed at COP 28 focused on people, lives and livelihoods and underpinning everything with full inclusivity. They recognise the impact of climate change on these key areas and women’s susceptibility. Due to social-cultural inequalities, women from lower-income contexts are more vulnerable to immense climate change impacts, bearing the largest burden of effects worldwide on their health and nutrition. What then do the inhabitants of the Earth do with this information and lessen the impacts of climate change?  Certainly, these actions provide a to-do list that includes the gender aspects and women's economic empowerment to participate in implementing sustainable climate solutions.

World Vision Ireland takes a share of this list through our five-year climate change resilience and adaptation program - Nature-based Opportunities Underpinning Resilient and Sustainable Households (NOURISH). Funded by Irish Aid, NOURISH is being implemented in Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritania, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It aims to reduce poverty and hunger in target communities. It will do so by improving livelihoods; food security; nutrition; disaster management strategies and women's empowerment through the lens of climate change. To further explore the nexus of climate change and health in the NOURISH program, World Vision partnered with the Irish Research Council in the postgraduate enterprise scheme to support research at University College Dublin. I am undertaking the PhD study titled ‘Linkages of Community-Based Mechanisms for Resilient Nutrition-Sensitive Climate-Smart Approaches for Women’ in the Solomon Islands and Uganda. The research sets to explore how Nutrition-Sensitive Climate Smart Approaches are being implemented in community platforms and address the interconnected, multi-sectoral challenges of climate change and nutrition at the grassroots level for women.

My past experience working with in Sub Saharan African contexts on Health, Nutrition, Humanitarian action, WASH and behaviour change propels my drive to change lives of poor communities.  My interests are focused on approaches for global health, climate change and women. I am excited to get to hear the views of grassroot men and women and other stakeholders involved in community platforms in the provinces of Makira Ulawa , the Solomon Islands  and Karamoja, Uganda. The study results will contribute to shaping implementation strategies of nutrition-sensitive climate-smart approaches in community-based spaces.

Through the NOURISH programme, we hope that the future oral stories on the earth world view in Ireland and beyond will portray the brave sustainable approaches the inhabitants employed to mitigate and adapt to the climate change challenges they faced and how they protected the plight of women who will always hold a special place for heroes in Irish folklore!

Written by Lilian Kamowa, a PhD studentworking with World Vision Ireland under our NOURISH Programme.