--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think of Wangari Mathai in Kenya. If…" description: "\"I think of Wangari Mathai in Kenya. If she started out saying she wanted to plant 20 million trees, she would have been laughed at. In fact, the forest..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/frances-moore-lapp-4271_facts_i-think-of-wangari-mathai-in-kenya-if-sh_3232827.png" --- # I think of Wangari Mathai in Kenya. If she started out… ![“I think of Wangari Mathai in Kenya. If she started out saying she wanted to plant 20 million trees, she would have been laughed at. In fact, the foresters and the government did laugh at her. They said, "Villagers? Un-schooled villagers? Planting trees? No, no, no, it takes foresters." So she…” quote by Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/frances-moore-lapp-4271_facts_i-think-of-wangari-mathai-in-kenya-if-sh_3232827.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/frances-moore-lapp-4271_facts_i-think-of-wangari-mathai-in-kenya-if-sh_3232827.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/frances-moore-lapp-4271_facts_i-think-of-wangari-mathai-in-kenya-if-sh_3232827.png) > “I think of Wangari Mathai in Kenya. If she started out saying she wanted to plant 20 million trees, she would have been laughed at. In fact, the foresters and the government did laugh at her. They said, "Villagers? Un-schooled villagers? Planting trees? No, no, no, it takes foresters." So she planted trees anyway.” [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A visionary environmentalist faced skepticism because her goals seemed unrealistic, yet she persisted and succeeded despite criticism. **In simple terms:** She succeeded despite doubts and planted trees. Key Takeaway Believe in big goals despite doubt. Themes environmentalism perseverance leadership Mood determined inspired Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - community projects - reforestation - policy advocacy Key Concepts sustainability grassroots activism resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you support bold ideas in your community? - What doubts do you face when aiming high? A Different Perspective Critics may underestimate impact of non‑experts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Kenya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kenya/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Planting Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planting-trees/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [“Our people think: I , Wangari, a Kenyan by birth - how can I be a vagrant in my own country as if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngugi-wa-thiong-o/our-people-think-i-wangari-a-kenyan-by-birth-how-can-i-be-a-vagrant/) [Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngugi-wa-thiong-o/) > [We need to make it safe to cycle across London. Why not pedestrianise parts of London like Oxford Street and Parliament Square? I intend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/we-need-to-make-it-safe-to-cycle-across-london-why-not-pedestrianise/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [You have to be open to change. I never stop making sure that what I say is the best of what could be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/you-have-to-be-open-to-change-i-never-stop-making-sure-that-what-i/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [No one can reap the fruit before planting the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/no-one-can-reap-the-fruit-before-planting-the-trees/) [Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/) > [Schoolchildren and older people like the idea of planting trees. For children, it's interesting that an acorn will grow into an oak, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-anderson/schoolchildren-and-older-people-like-the-idea-of-planting-trees-for/) [Clive Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-anderson/) > [“What happened? It took Gibbon six volumes to describe the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, so I shan’t embark on that. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/what-happened-it-took-gibbon-six-volumes-to-describe-the-decline-and/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [I've been busy for years, buying land, often under pseudonyms, and planting trees on it. 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Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam insist on the necessity of trees. Especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek/we-are-not-insisting-on-planting-trees-just-because-of-global-warming/) [Vivek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek/) > [When I first started, it was really an innocent response to the needs of women in rural areas. When we started planting trees to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/when-i-first-started-it-was-really-an-innocent-response-to-the-needs/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Sometimes leadership is planting trees under whose shade you'll never sit. It may not happen fully till after I'm gone. But I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/sometimes-leadership-is-planting-trees-under-whose-shade-you-ll-never/) [Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/) > [“Planting trees, I myself thought for a long time, was a feel-good thing, a nice but feeble response to our litany of modern-day environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robbins/planting-trees-i-myself-thought-for-a-long-time-was-a-feel-good-thing/) Jim Robbins ## More by Frances Moore Lappé > [Hunger is a people-made phenomenon, so the central issue is power: the power of those who make the decisions about what is grown and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/hunger-is-a-people-made-phenomenon-so-the-central-issue-is-power-the/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Beauty exists irrespective of financial circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/beauty-exists-irrespective-of-financial-circumstances/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [What is different and exciting is how much we have learned. 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If she started out saying she wanted to plant 20 million trees, she would have been laughed at. In fact, the foresters and the government did laugh at her. They said, \"Villagers? Un-schooled villagers? Planting trees? 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