Lerato Julia Lesoetsa

Lerato Lesoetsa has four years’ experience in community building, focused mainly on poverty reduction. Lerato is a co-founder of Friends of the Environment, based in Maseru, Lesotho, where she focuses on linking climate-change and poverty-reduction targets by adopting the use of appropriate and ecologically viable technologies. She has worked as an advisor for local smallholder farmers in the production of high-value crops through conservation agriculture. She is also a volunteer for the United Nations Development Program, assisting local authorities to manage a donor grant in order to implement development projects in various sectors. Lerato holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences from the National University of Lesotho. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Lerato plans to continue her work in environmental protection, particularly involving more young scientists in the development of natural products to be used in agriculture. She also plans to establish environmental awareness programs in her community.