To Make Hope Possible - Transition and Vandana Shiva interview

"To be truly radical is to make hope possible
rather than despair convincing
Raymond Henry Williams, Welsh political scientist

Hello everyone,

I hope that the Williams' comment gives you something positive that stays with you as your day goes along. It sure picked me up the other day when I ran across it.

"...to make hope possible ..." This is an active word, and I'll choose to colour it green today.

Where is hope?

Some of it is with the re-skilling and active, positive attitude of the Transition movement. Get yourself a copy of the new Transition Companion: making your community more resilient in uncertain times, by Rob Hopkins. It's stories from worldwide ... things people are doing to make their communities more aware, more active, more capable. It is also a guidebook for how to develop and maintain an enthusiastic organization or network of people.

Another hope, is Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya, seed activist, women's educator. Shiva was in Canada recently. There are two super interviews with her, where she is talking about hope. She was interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulos on International Women's Day. She talked more about her family and background than I'd heard before and cites some of the many small projects that keep her hopeful and active. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q3d9k23UyQQ

Vandana Shiva was also interviewed recently on The Current (CBC radio show). This is a long interview, with Shiva citing the real and immediate problems there are with our agricultural system and also emphasizing her attitude of hope that keeps her active and inspired.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/03/16/vandana-shiva-feature-interview/

Maybe start with her interview with George ... you get pictures, and Shiva is looking great!

Best regards to all of you.

In HOPE,

Why's Woman


Transition London Ontario: www.transitionlondon.ning.com
Transition Network: www.transitionculture.org will link you up with lots of resources, and also Rob Hoskins' blog.

Vandana Shiva wins Sydney Peace Prize

Good morning everyone,

Just to show that there's nothing like a snow day for doing things one doesn't usually get 'round to, here's another blog entry!

On November 3/10 Dr. Vandana Shiva delivered a lecture titled Give Mother Earth a Chance, as the winner of the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize. Feel free to skip my words and go directly to the 45 minute long video of her acceptance speech: http://www.vandanashiva.org/ or http://www.vandanashiva.org/?cat=25

If you are concerned about sustainable agriculture, corporate control of agriculture, citizens’ rights to save and breed seeds by traditional methods, patenting of life and genetic modification, women’s role in agriculture, global economics or peace please settle in and listen.

If you don’t think you can sit at your computer and just listen for 45 minutes, try ironing or using hand weights or lying on the floor for the time it takes you to listen to her.

I think Vandana Shiva is brilliant. She speaks for the earth, for women, for farmers of small acreages, for sustainability, for saved seeds. I think her organization, Navdanya, is brilliant. From its website:

‘Navdanya is a network of seed keepers and organic producers spread across 16 states in India. Navdanya has helped set up 54 community seed banks across the country, trained over 500,000 farmers in seed sovereignty, food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture over the past two decades, and helped setup the largest direct marketing, fair trade organic network in the country. Navdanya has also set up a learning center, Bija Vidyapeeth (School of the Seed) on its biodiversity conservation and organic farm in Doon Valley, Uttranchal, north India. Nav Navdanya is actively involved in the rejuvenation of indigenous knowledge and culture. It has created awareness on the hazards of genetic engineering, defended people's knowledge from biopiracy and food rights in the face of globalisation and climate change. Navdanya is a women centred movement for the protection of biological and cultural diversity.’

The Sydney Peace Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation begun in 1998 as a partnership between business, media, public service, community and academic groups. It promotes peace with justice – an important pairing – which it says ‘relates to a way of thinking and acting which promotes non-violent solutions to every day problems and contributes to the development of civil societies.’ [www.sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/index.shtml]

I think it is brilliant that Sydney Australia has a Peace Foundation, brilliant that it is endorsed by that City’s government, brilliant that the Foundation sees the direct relationships between peace and people’s ability to provide food for their families and communities.

Right now the sun is shining brilliantly on the snow and ice in my back yard. It is sparkling.

I hope you all have a brilliant day.

Why's Woman

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Much information is available about Vandana Shiva and Navdanya at www.vandanashiva.org or her organization website www.navdanya.org