Maathai moved into a small home she had purchased years before,
and focused on the NCWK while she searched for employment.
In the course of her work through the NCWK,
she was approached by Wilhelm Elsrud, executive director of the Norwegian Forestry Society.
He wished to partner with the Green Belt Movement
and offered her the position of coordinator.
Employed again, Maathai poured her efforts into the Green Belt Movement.
Along with the partnership for the Norwegian Forestry Society,
the movement had also received "seed money"
from the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Women.
These funds allowed for the expansion of the movement,
for hiring additional employees to oversee the operations,
and for continuing to pay a small stipend to the women
who planted seedlings throughout the country.
It also allowed her to refine the operations of the movement,
paying a small stipend to the women's husbands and sons
who were literate and able to keep accurate records of seedlings planted.
In 1985, the UN held the third global women's conference in Nairobi.
During the conference, Maathai arranged seminars and presentations
to describe the work the Green Belt Movement was doing in Kenya.
She escorted delegates to see nurseries and plant trees.
The conference helped to expand funding
for the Green Belt Movement and led to the movement's
establishing itself outside of Kenya.
In 1986, the movement expanded throughout Africa and led to the foundation
of the Pan-African Green Belt Network.
Forty-five representatives from fifteen African countries travelled to Kenya
over the next three years to learn
how to set up similar programs in their own countries to combat desertification, deforestation, water crises, and rural hunger.
The attention the movement received in the media led to Maathai's being honoured
with numerous awards.
The government of Kenya, however,
demanded that the Green Belt Movement separate from the NCWK,
believing the latter should focus solely on women's issues,
not the environment. Therefore, in 1987,
Maathai stepped down as chairman of the NCWK and focused her attention
on the newly separate non-governmental organization.