We are for Humanity, we are for the world

Bangladesh is one of the four most vulnerable country to climate change. Even if the causes of the problems that Bangladesh will suffer from as a result of global warming are to be found in the industrialized countries, there is an increasingly broad middle class in Bangladesh that follows the bad example of the “developed” countries in its lifestyle and consumption patterns without reflection, thus contributing to a further intensification of the problem.

Working together to combat global warming: MATI initiated it’s “Breath for the Planet” project since 2009. Through this project, we started planting trees together with the Mati women in summer to help the green lungs of Bangladesh breathe. Each Mati member will receive a tree seedling of their choice (fruit, medicine, or timber trees), which they will plant in the area of their hut. In this way, not only the climate benefits but also the family who can harvest the fruits of the trees.

With this project, Mati’s educational work this time does not primarily address the poor, but the “rich”. For example, we have designed a traveling exhibition that provides information about the causes and effects of climate change worldwide. At schools and universities in the Mymensingh area, and with a mobile open-air cinema, we show the film “HOME”, and then discuss with the viewers what the responsibility of each individual is, and with what small steps in everyday life everyone can contribute to reducing climate-damaging behavior. There is a great interest in the topic from the public, and so the “Mati-Climate Team” is often invited to events with the request to show the film and the exhibition.