The StoryMoss Podcast

Today we release the first in a new dialogue series with Pramod, exploring his fascinating 7-decade life journey – from his traditional village upbringing to his academic career in the United States – and his vision for a vibrant Himalayan future rooted in indigenous knowledge and emancipatory learning.

In this StoryWeaving conversation with Sarah Hendel-Blackford and Phil Tovey, both from the ASRA global network of risk thinkers and doers, we discover a ground-breaking initiative to map and explore risks through a multispecies lens in the River Tone catchment of southwest England.

The Congo River Basin is the last green lung of the planet, stretching 5,000 kilometers from the great Rwenzori Mountains, the "Rainmaker" of East Africa, to the coastal mangroves at the river mouth on the Atlantic. Xavier Rouget has been working with communities along the river basin to protect and restore the forests while developing food, water, energy and housing autonomy. Through a powerful "action for knowledge" approach, some 8 million trees have been planted and some of the world's most precious ecosystems protected by communities who at the same time claim their own sovereignty. 

The World Adaptation Forum in Budapest April 23-24 brought together historians, climate scientists, economists, systems thinkers, resilience researchers, risk experts, strategists and authors to look deeply, from many angles, into this strange moment of collapse and unraveling we face -- while at the same time whole-heartedly embracing the beauty, joy, connection, warm bonds and imaginative possibilities of our shared existence on this beautiful Earth.

Juan Garcia Martinez is research manager for ALLFED - the Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters. His job is to envision response to scenarios of food system collapse, from wars and pandemics to a massive volcanic eruption that blocks out the sun (this happened in 1815 - look it up!) In this fascinating conversation, Juan shares his thinking and research on how seaweed, single-celled organisms, open source technologies, education and diplomacy all can be solutions in keeping us fed in disasters.

George Tsakraklides is a scientist, researcher, activist and writer - a passionate biologist who turns an ecological lens on the human species to expose the pervasive, destructive human supremacy that drives us to the brink of collapse. George spoke to us from his home in Kavala, northern Greece, sharing his perspectives on how evolution and capitalism destined us to become "consumatrons" and how we might just escape the mental baggage of our cognitive biases.

We spoke with climate adaptation and systemic risk expert Sarah Hendel-Blackford for the World Adaptation Forum taking place in Budapest and online on April 23-24. In conversation, Sarah described her work to open conversations and inspire action in young people in local schools, restoring meadows and forests at home in southwestern France, and how the Accelerator for Systemic Risk Assessment (ASRA) where she works is bringing more than human voices and needs to the center of their work. Enjoy!

Short impressions from sacred places: Over the Easter weekend, Megan Lindow joined a reforestation festival to help restoration efforts in the Platbos Forest, Africa's southernmost indigenous forest, in the aftermath of the most catastrophic summer fire season in living memory. A short meditation on forest time and forest life, inspired from a walk with forest guardian and caretaker Francois Krige. 

Short impressions from sacred places: Aleki Russell shares an exquisite reflection from the bioregion of the Alps, as he catches the last of the winter snow, standing at the headwaters feeding eventually into the North Sea. Sending greetings in three languages and three directions, he meditates on the constant flows of rivers in the sky, on the land and underground. The complex human heritage and dormant biodiversity that waits to be reawakened on this sacred land.

This episode continues our spotlight on Kenyan families. We spoke with Wegesa Jane Fraser and her daughter Melody Edwards Wegesa, who are working with women and children in arid drylands and marginalized communities to grow food and build futures in the harshest of environments. Please forgive a few sound quality issues in this wonderful conversation!