by Mariia Ermilova and Tatiana Ilinich Every Russian knows the tall herb with elegant pink flowers and a reddish stem: Ivan-Chai (Epilobium angustifolium or Chamaenerion angustifolium). This plant is found throughout Russia, from Europe to the Far East. It usually appears on the outskirts of towns, one of the first species to appear when land

Text and photos by Vincenzo Di Giorgi Last fall I was sitting on a marble bench right next to the Cala, a U-shaped cove in the coast of Palermo, watching the boats nearby being rocked by the gentle wind, their masts swaying. I was focusing on the wall painting on the other side of the

A reflection by Carrie Ann Barton Science tells us that the sense of smell most strongly sparks our memories and emotions I smell stories I smell reunions I smell tradition I smell anticipation I smell family I smell Love . . Back to Vol. 7, Issue 2 | Read the Table of Contents | Like Our Stories? Please Donate!

by Sara Moncada and Maya Harjo We come here to listen. Under the beautiful Grandmother Oak grove that sits here along the tributaries of the Ignacio Creek watershed, we have come to listen to stories, to gather as community, to learn from one another and share good food. She is massive and very old, our

by Felipe Montoya-Greenheck Puriscal is a rural canton in the Province of San José, Costa Rica. It is located in the northern foothills of the Talamanca Mountain Range that divides the plains of the western Central Valley. Its capital, Santiago, was established in 1868. Before the colony, Puriscal and its surroundings were the territory of

Text and photos by Yolanda López-Maldonado . “This is the account of how all was in suspense, all calm, in silence; all motionless, still, and the expanse of the sky was empty. . . . There was nothing standing, only the calm water, the placid sea, alone and tranquil. Nothing existed.” — Popol Vuh . . It’s rainy season in

by Ilarion (Larry) Merculieff and Libby Roderick Contrary to most people in modern societies who see words simply as vehicles for conveying information or expressing thoughts and feelings, people in traditional Indigenous societies view words as entities that carry great power; therefore, they must be chosen and used with utmost care. Most non-Indigenous people don’t

Text by Zubair Torwali Photos by Aftab Ahmad When I still used to lend a hand in the fields to my father, now 78, he would refer to a certain guy, Bahadar |bahadər|, for his oral traditions about the right weather for sowing and harvesting. At that time, I was in college and was familiar

Text by Francesca Price Photographs by Clare Benson . We Feed the World is an international photographic initiative hosted by the Gaia Foundation. For the last thirty years, Gaia has worked with Indigenous communities to preserve local knowledge and enhance community ecological governance in order to revive biocultural diversity, regenerate healthy ecosystems and food systems,

by Andrea Lyall Tsa̱g̱a̱ł (thimbleberry). Photo: Andrea Lyall, 2016. Kwak̓wala is the Indigenous language of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw on the mid-coast of present-day British Columbia. It expresses a connection to the land through words, stories, and ceremonies, which describe the patterns of the seasons, traditional use, important places, and cultural and spiritual values. When I was young,