Our shared nature 🌿

houses made from rice waste

Dear activists,

Change is everywhere. Collaboration is in our nature. Let’s harness that intuition to keep changing paradigms together.

🗞️ In Climate News

• 🌡️ Punishing heatwave grips Pacific north-west as wildfires rage in western Canada.

• 🌀 Deadly cyclone Mocha batters Bangladesh and Myanmar, leaves thousands displaced.

• 🇧🇷 Lula recognizes six new indigenous lands in Brazil.

• ⛽ Italian oil firm, ENI, sued for lobbying and greenwashing

• 🌡️ Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand set new all-time national heat records.

• 🧫 Microbes discovered that can digest plastic at low temperatures.

• 🇸🇪 Sweden plans the world’s first electric charging road.

• 💶 Unprecedented €2.2bn drought response plan approved in Spain.

• 🐦 Intensive farming is biggest cause of bird decline in Europe, study says

📈 Cool Trends

• 🍚 Houses made from rice waste

• 💻 Tech upcycling

♾️ eco-musings

Our shared nature

This week I was fortunate to attend a meeting between three Ashaninka leaders - Benki, Raine and Piyãko Piyãko - and employees of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Benki spoke of his community’s social, cultural, political and spiritual initiatives in the face of the constant threats they have experienced since the arrival of colonial forces in their territory. He also spoke of the development of Yorenka Atame and Yorenka Tasorentsi and the environmental regeneration that both initiatives have achieved. In response, UNDP offered to explore avenues to adequately support Ashaninka initiatives through its many programs that aim to support indigenous communities and youth.

It’s inspiring to witness respectful encounters between institutions and communities, which display the power of intercultural collaborations to create and foster social and environmental change. While it’s within the UNDP’s provision to engage with initiatives like the Ashaninka’s, witnessing this interaction creates hope that other organisations, institutions and individuals with economic and political power may soon follow the UN’s lead. At the very least, this meeting strengthens our purpose at eco-nnect to support and encourage projects and organisations focused on ecological and cultural regeneration. It also strengthens our belief that the environmental change we seek is within our nature.

🌏 The Culture Club

📺 What we’re watching: Killing the Truth

📸 Profile of the week @farmersfootprint

farmersfootprint

A post shared by Farmer’s Footprint (@farmersfootprint)

📚 What we’re reading: The Overstory by Richard Powers
🤯 Scary fact we learnt this week: About 25% of the world’s land has been degraded.