Story by Marie Michelle Hirwa, age 32, Rwanda I am Marie Michelle Hirwa, born on September 12, 1986. I was born into a family of seven children in the Kacyiru commune, now called Gasabo, in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Both my mum and dad passed away when I was 9 years old. Most of

Video and text by Laissa Malih (Kenyan Laikipian Maasai), age 25 The Ewaso Ng’iro Camel Caravan is a five-day annual journey for climate change adaptation and peaceful co-existence along the Ewaso Ng’iro River in Kenya. The purpose is to promote shared understanding of threats facing the river, along with the cooperation needed to lessen them. Camels are used

Story by Edna Kilusu (Tanzanian Maasai), age 19   “Do not come back after I lock the door,” my mother says, warning me not to be late returning tonight. While she milks the cows, I quickly build the fire and ensure that it is ready for making ugali, an everyday meal of corn flour and water

Mechtild Rössler, Akane Nakamura, and Roland Chih-Hung Lin On July 1, 2018, ancestral lands situated in the heart of Canada’s boreal forest were added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) World Heritage List for their outstanding cultural and natural value. The place is called Pimachiowin Aki, or “the Land that Gives Life,”

Lina A. Karolin I carefully cut the rice stalks in front of me. “Make sure you do not leave any stalk behind,” said Grandma Kader, my great-grandmother. “If you leave a sprig, the rice will cry and won’t come back again, which is why the next harvest will not be good,” she said with a serious

Sheetal Vaidya, Manju Maharjan, and Prakash Khadgi . Evolutionary studies of the human brain conclude that intelligence is directly linked to meat consumption  —  not because of its nutritional qualities but because of the cognitive abilities that are needed for the strategic sharing of meat within groups. The intellectual capacity needed for such sharing is believed

by Kanna K. Siripurapu and Sabyasachi Das . . A few months ago, I received a document written by my colleague Uday Kalyanapu about the success of a backyard poultry project in the tribal-dominated areas of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The project was started by WASSAN (Watershed Support Services and Activities Network), the

by Flor Rivera López . This is the story of a project aiming to promote native maize biodiversity conservation in Mexico. It started when I was having a conversation with native maize farmers there about transgenic corn and its potential effects. An elderly farmer told me, “You are concerned about what kind of seed we will

Text, videos, and photos by Viveca Mellegård Last year I traveled to Gambella, a province of southwestern Ethiopia, with my colleague, Dr. Million Belay. His research centers around the country’s food system, from seed to plate and all the steps in between. It was my first time there and understanding how food is produced gave me

by Aruna Tirkey . I want to share with you the story of a journey I have begun. I am not on my way to a physical destination; rather, I am moving toward a goal: to revive local and Indigenous food as a means to strengthen my own Indigenous culture. To get there, I’m not counting on