November Muses - Monthly Tips from our Sisterhood
Written by Sanna Ohm - 17th November 2022
In this month’s theme of Sacred Activism, we cast light on the different layers and embodiments of collective and individual action to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to activate our powers for something larger than ourselves.
This week we want to share with you a selection of voices that have inspired our Zazi team throughout the last month - each of them embodying activism in their own unique and powerful way.
OPENING OUR HEARTS FOR NEW STORIES
With COP27 behind us, we reflect on a week of heavy reporting, inspiring talks, and promising but also disappointing news regarding the greatest ecological crisis we are facing, which may have left our hearts feeling a range of different emotions and our minds contemplating on big questions.
Our founder Jeanne De Kroon who spent her last week at the COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt reflects:
“I am coming back from COP27 with a full heart after spending a full week listening to the real climate leaders of our collective future - my muses, the different voices, the grassroots initiatives, and the little invisible threads that are being woven throughout youth, indigenous representatives and female leaders.
It’s been a very interesting week to observe what’s happening in the global debate around our flawed systems and watch people come together from all walks of life.
Will we come together in time and truly listen? Do we have to price nature and her guardians within our economic system through carbon and biodiversity credits before we see her inherent value? Can we decolonize in time and remember what it means to come together as humans and children of this planet?”
I definitely don’t have the answers but listening to the absolute gems of humanity speaking from their hearts, gave me hope. From native elders, spiritual leaders, indigenous youth, I feel the only shot we have is by listening and supporting those who are creating solutions from the earth up.”
In times that may feel overwhelming to the heart and mind it is nurturing to open ourselves up to connect and get inspired by different perspectives and new narratives that dare to make sense of it all. We at Zazi have made it to our main mission to connect worlds and stories and we would love to share a selection of inspirational voices that tell beautiful stories of culture, ecology, and the divine feminine that have inspired, guided, and activated our team throughout the last month.
We hope you get as inspired as we are!
Our Muses
Willow Defebaugh
Willow Defebaugh is the Cofounder and Editor-in-Chief of Atmos. She writes a weekly newsletter called The Overview which offers a holistic look at life on Earth through the lens of deep ecology. Atmos is an exploration of climate and culture, a nonprofit biannual magazine and digital platform curated by a global ecosystem of artists, activists, and writers devoted to ecological and social justice, creative storytelling, and re-enchantment with the natural world.
Image credits to Atmos magazine
Alice Aedy
Alice Aedy is a documentary photographer, film-maker and campaigner focused on telling human stories of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis, refugee crisis and the fight for women’s rights. Alice is the co-founder of Earthrise studio, a creative studio with the goal to humanize the impacts of the climate crisis by sharing the diverse experiences of those living on the frontlines of climate change and the activists who have devoted their lives to tackling it.
Image credits to aliceaedy.com
Lily Cole
Lily Cole is an activist, creator, writer, model, entrepreneur, podcast host and so much more. But this month we would like to highlight Lily's book and accompanying podcast, Who Cares Wins, which explores a thousand different environmental solutions from tech utopia to indigenous wisdom.
Image by Jackie Nickerson
Nat Kelly
Nat Kelly is an indigenous wisdom keeper and actress who uses her platform and voice to advocate for indigenous peoples, regenerative agriculture, the soil, and the undervalued but invaluable role of fungi in our ecosystem. She is on the board of the kiss-the-ground foundation and the fungi foundation.
Image credits to @natkelley instagram
Leah Thomas
Leah Thomas is a celebrated environmentalist who uses her passion for writing and creativity to explore and advocate for the critical yet often overlooked relationship between social justice and environmentalism. With this intersection in mind, Leah founded and launched the non-profit Intersectional Environmentalist and wrote the book The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet.
Image credits to greengirlleah.com
Sophia Kianni
Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American environmentalist studying climate science and public policy at Stanford University. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with 8,000 volunteers in 40+ countries working to translate climate information into over 100 languages.
Credits to climatecardinals.org
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