The story of a vegetable garden in rural South Africa shows how communities can drive climate action

A long-standing idea in environmental research is that people are more likely to care about the environment, and do something to prevent environmental damage, once they earn enough to stop worrying about paying their bills. But what happens in rural communities with high levels of poverty, where money is scarce and environmental changes directly affect people’s livelihoods? We are economists who wanted to find out what explained environmental action best: income levels, or the strength of…