Here you can find interviews with our partners from across the globe. Don't forget that there are also a number of video interviews available on our youtube channel and podcasts featuring our partners, available to download in our galleries section. If you'd like us to put specific questions to partners in the future please do drop us a line with your suggestions and we'll see what we can do.

An Interview with Mphatheleni Makaulule, South Africa

Mphatheleni Makaulule (Mphathe) was brought up in the VhaVenda tribe of northern South Africa. She has a deep passion for the culture and traditions of her people, the Venda. She has watched the fast attrition of her culture as westernisation and modernisation have engulfed her community. The corresponding erosion of the social fabric as well as the local natural environment is evident.

Mphathe founded the work of The Mupo Foundation and is the Programme Coordinator (Pangami) of Mupo's Venda Programme. For the past decade she has been working alongside the Venda community to protect and revive their cultural heritage and to defend their territory. Read the interview.

An Interview with Chabari Zaverio, Kenya

As RIDEP's Programme Officer, Chabari Zaverio has been working with the communities of Tharaka and Tigania for over 6 years. In 2008 he witnessed the breakout of violence in the region as communities turned against one another following the national general elections. Here he talks to ABN about the unrest and how RIDEP was able to reunite the communities, and resolve the conflict by holding dialogues with community Elders and recognising the power and beauty of cultural diversity. Read the interview.

An Interview with Chester Chituwu, Zimbabwe

Chester Chituwu, the Director of The Chikukwa Ecological Land Use Management Trust (CELUCT) talks to Gaia about his work with communities of the remote mountainous Chimanimani district of Zimbabwe. Some twenty years ago, they established a community Training Centre in the heart of the village. The Training Centre offers a space in which the community come first - it's their centre and it's run by them - and it's now a celebrated hub of activity far and wide. Read the interview.

An Interview with Tetu Maingi, Kenya

In 2005, Tetu Maingi left his home country of Kenya to travel almost 8000 miles to the heart of the Colombian Amazon. He was joined by African Biodiversity Network peers Mphatheleni Maukalule, Fassil Gebeyehu and Gathuru Mburu, and accompanied by The Gaia Foundation. Now, six years after this exchange experience, Tetu Maingi talks to Gaia about how this immersion into the Colombian Amazon has impacted upon his work with the PORINI Association and the African Biodiversity Network. Read the interview.

An Interview with Fassil Gebeyehu, Ethiopia

Fassil Gebeyehu has been working with communities in Ethiopia for over a decade. He has taken part in a number of experiential processes coordinated by Gaia and the African Biodiversity Network as a means of redefining Africa's post-colonial identity and re-asserting Africa's traditional culture. One such process is held annually in Botswana and offers a space for reflection, solitude in wilderness, and open discussion. It has had profound impacts upon those who have taken part. Here Fassil talks about his experiences and how they played a part in his own personal and professional journey thereafter. Read the interview.

Interviews will be added to these pages so do visit again!