In our experience, Community Dialogues begin with a small group of knowledgeable Elders and young people who are deeply concerned about the disorder and suffering they see in their community and territory. As the dialogues continue, more people are drawn in because deep knowledge has a power to attract. This creates the space and the time for reflection and analysis of the traditional ancestral order of the past. The question then arises - what created the present disorder and what can be done to bring back a new order?

The world... changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what's possible. When separate, local efforts connect with each other as networks, then strengthen as communities of practice, suddenly and surprisingly a new system emerges at a greater level of scale.Margaret Wheatley

Going back to Roots has been an important path of learning for young leaders in order for them to be trusted by the Elders and to accompany the community dialogues. This programme has supported young leaders from the African Biodiversity Network to spend time with the Elders in their own family and clan and to participate in the necessary ceremonies to become recognised leaders. This process reaffirms the authority of those within the community with traditional and ecological knowledge and experience. The Elders have witnessed the changes over the last decades and are more likely to have a clear perspective on the root causes of the problems the communities now face. Out of this, community understanding and clarity about the way forward begins to emerge.

"Going back to my roots has enabled me to begin to free myself from prejudices and fears instilled in us all by the colonial industrial process, and to regain perspective. To connect with our ancestral heritage links us to all species on the planet and our responsibility towards them. It has fired my personal motivation and passion. We learn to respect different ways of seeing and to become confident and humble enough to allow processes to unfold rather than to control them." - Gathuru Mburu, Institute for Culture and Ecology, Kenya

Our Work

Through the Botswana and Colombian experiences organised with some of our partners, African leaders have been inspired to go back to their communities and rebuild their relationship with their Elders to re-define their own identity. This evolved with Community Dialogues which laid the foundations for communities to analyse their situation openly and build the confidence to take back control of their lives. This is a vital turning point. Once communities are strong enough to say no to negative and divisive influences, and to decide their own destiny, they are able to hold power to account.

Now in seven countries in Africa, local organisations are working with communities to regenerate their ecosystems and their traditional knowledge and practices which enable them to do so. As a result of these dialogues, the traditional Community Ecological Governance systems are re-emerging and adapting to deal with external forces to protect the integrity and resilience of their community and their territories.