“We have seen a lot of conflict arising from one community to another because of sharing this water resource. The universe communicated to me when I saw how the soil reacts, because there’s not enough water, how plants are suffering—they’re withering. So, I took the initiative to work with the communities for finding enough clean water. How can we repair our relationship by sharing this resource?” –Philip Munyasia founder OTEPICWe welcome Ethan Hirsch-Tauber and Philip Munyasia for global and local conversation on how restoring relationships with water brings community healing, food security, and ecological health.Philip Munyasia founder OTEPIC (Organic Technology Extension and Promotion of Initiative Centre) is based in Kenya. He works with women, farmers, and youth on permaculture techniques for harvesting water for food security and promoting biodiversity. Phillip tells his inspiring story of organizing community around water in the face of adversity and government corruption. Ethan Hirsch-Tauber, founder of the The Water Folk, lives and works in Sonoma County, California. He shares his journey of visiting communities from around the world and witnessing the transformation of healing watersheds through water retention and climate adaptive techniques and bringing these techniques back to his local community.About Ethan Hirsch-TauberBefore founding The Water Folk, Ethan Hirsch-Tauber spent many years living in a range of communities around the world, working as a sustainability educator, and gaining a deep understanding of the connections between water and climate. He studied the Water Retention Landscapes of Tamera, Portugal, and later traveled with and was mentored by Waterman of India, Dr. Rajendra Singh. In 2018, he founded a US-based company, Worldwide Water Wizards, to start doing this climate-based watershed restoration work himself. Ethan is now passionately piloting The Water Folk to implement water catchment projects in Sonoma County and beyond.About Philip MunyasiaPhilip Odhiambo Munyasia, the founder of OTEPIC, grew up in Mitume in Kenya. He taught people in his neighborhood how to grow their own food and improve their situation. Eager to learn more, he did an internship on the permaculture farm “Ecology Action” in California. Later, he took part in the “Global Campus” training program in Tamera, Portugal where he became familiar with Sepp Holzer's permaculture. In 2008, he founded OTEPIC (Organic Technology Extension and Promotion of Initiative Centre) teaching subsistence farmers, women and youth groups in the “Trans-Nzoia County” in Western Kenya and its surrounding areas to use permaculture as an alternative way to gain food security and to conserve nature and biodiversity.Hosted by: Kate BunneyProduced & Edited by: Anne Carol MitchellIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter StraussIf you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here. https://walking-water.org/donate/For more info go to Walking Water website. https://walking-water.org/
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1:25:46
with Li An Phoa
“I saw when all the relationships in and along the river were healthy and in balance, the emergent property is drinkability for everyone, health for everyone, and beauty for us to admire and be immersed in.” –Li An Phoa We welcome Li An Phoa for a powerful conversation on following the call of water as a teacher and centering water for the health of our communities and world. Phoa, the author of Drinkable Rivers: How the River Became My Teacher, shares a poignant story of the first time she drank from the wild and healthy Rupert River in the Canadian subarctic. This “sip” was a catalyst for transforming her life. She realized through her relationship with this river, which later became polluted, that drinkable rivers are an indicator of a healthy society, benefiting human and more-than-human communities. Li An shares her work with the organization Drinkable Rivers in service of river health, organizing river walks around the world and mobilizing people to act for the healing and well-being of watersheds. About Li An PhoaLi An Phoa works towards a world with drinkable rivers and founded the charity Drinkable Rivers to raise awareness and to weave this with mobilising people for action. She organises river walks, citizen science and action communities, like Mayors for Drinkable Rivers. Li An walked over 18,500km for drinkable rivers and a documentary film has been made of her 1.000-kilometre walk along the Meuse River. The book Drinkable Rivers: How the River Became My Teacher was published in English in September 2023. Most recently, Li An completed the Thames walk, a 4-week journey from the source in the Cotswolds to the mouth in the North Sea and the walk along the Berkel, a Rhine/IJssel tributary. www.drinkablerivers.orgHosted by: Kate BunneyProduced & Edited by: Anne Carol MitchellIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter Strauss
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1:33:38
with Felicia Marcus and Liz Crosson
“What’s the cost of inaction, and how do we help people afford what we need to invest? How do we convey the preciousness and precariousness of water? How do we get folks to collaborate versus compete?” –Felicia Marcus, Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program“What can we control right now? We can ensure that we remain focussed on what we know is the most important thing…We all know what needs to be done to build a more resilient water supply, to ensure that our infrastructure is going to be ready for these types of extreme events that are going to happen again.” –Liz Crosson, Sustainability, Resilience and Innovation Officer, LA Metropolitan Water DistrictWe are excited to welcome Felicia Marcus, Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program, and Liz Crosson, Sustainability, Resilience and Innovation Officer, LA Metropolitan Water District.The guests share a conversation that spans decades of experience in environmental advocacy, water policy, nonprofit work, litigation, and public service in LA, California, and in the West. Marcus and Crosson share deeply thoughtful insights about water policy and climate adaptation in the face of extreme, unprecedented events, such as the recent LA fires. They talk about staying the course and remaining diligent to priorities and clear in purpose despite misinformation from the federal government about water management in California.The guests offer inspiring visions of restoring relationship to water, where water isn’t measured in acre feet or dollars but in the health of rivers, floodplains, and watersheds. Doing the work of collaborating across differences emerges as a guiding light. About the guests:Felicia Marcus is the William C. Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program, an attorney, consultant and member of the Water Policy Group. She most recently served as chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, implementing laws regarding drinking water and water quality and state’s water rights, hearing regional board water quality appeals, settling disputes and providing financial assistance to communities to upgrade water infrastructure.Liz Crosson is the chief sustainability, resilience and innovation officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). She is responsible for developing a district-wide sustainability and resiliency strategy that includes efforts to reduce MWD’s carbon footprint and adapt to immediate climate change impacts. Liz develops and pursues strategies, programs, and policies that address energy use, conservation, pollution, environmental justice, and climate resilience. She also drives initiatives to foster innovation.Hosted by: Kate BunneyProduced & Edited by: Anne Carol MitchellIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter StraussIf you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here. https://walking-water.org/donate/For more info go to Walking Water website. https://walking-water.org/
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1:24:26
with Konda Mason
“When will we become aware? What will it take? I believe the upside of the challenges we are facing right now is that it’s forcing us to say, ‘That is not the story.’ If ‘that’ is not the story, then what is? Who am I in the story, and who are we?” –Konda MasonWe are honored to have Konda Mason join us for the first Talking Water conversation of 2025. Konda Mason is a social entrepreneur, eco-spiritual thought leader, and justice advocate working at the intersection of social and financial justice and planetary healing. Konda offers a conversation full of insights into becoming conscious of our connections to the land and awakening to our true nature. Konda tells the story of finding home and her calling on a former cotton plantation in Louisiana. She shares how the plantation has become a place of transforming the wounds of slavery through regenerative agriculture and practices of reparative genealogy. The circle widens to include other community voices — sharing stories about farming in the South, offering first-hand accounts of transformational genealogy work, and deep bows of appreciation for Konda’s work that touches so many. About Konda Mason:Konda Mason is a social entrepreneur, eco-spiritual thought leader, and justice advocate working at the intersection of social and financial justice and planetary healing. She is passionate about reversing the harm the extractive economy has had on all living systems. She foresees a world that is environmentally regenerative, spiritually fulfilling, socially just, and economically equitable. Konda is the President/Founder of Jubilee Justice, working to bring climate-resilient farming and economic equity to Black farmers in the rural South. Along with Mark Watson, Konda is the Co-founder of Potlikker Capital, a social justice charitable loan fund designed to deploy “reparative” capital to farmers of color and she is the Strategic Director of RUNWAY, a financial innovation firm committed to dismantling systemic barriers and reimagining financial policies and practices—all in the name of Black Liberation. Konda is on the Spirit Rock teachers' council and teaches mindfulness retreats throughout the country. She sits on the Board of Directors of Krista Tippett’s The OnBeing Project, RSF Social Finance, Soul Fire Farm Institute, and Clayborn Temple in Memphis, TN. Konda lives in Louisiana along the banks of the bayou.Hosted by: Kate BunneyProduced & Edited by: Anne Carol MitchellIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter StraussIf you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here. https://walking-water.org/donate/For more info go to Walking Water website. https://walking-water.org/
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1:06:36
Water Learning Series: Los Angeles - Session Eleven with Tina Calderon, Teri Red Owl & Kyndall Noah
“I really believe that the more people that come together, that are thinking this way, and that are working on solutions, that's what it’s going to take to get us to reimagining what our future is going to be and what LA looks like in the future–they don’t have to rely on our water, on Colorado River water, on water in Northern California. We can look at meeting our needs locally.” –Teri Red Owl (Bishop Paiute Tribe Nüümü from Payahuunadü), Executive Director Owens Valley Indian Water CommissionWelcome to the Water Learning Series: Los Angeles. Throughout 2024, we have hosted conversations with organizations, community projects, tribal organizations, activists, organizers, and leaders from LA and places impacted by LA’s water story. Over the course of this year, our conversations have dove deeply into the complicated elements of the water story, breaking down the complexity to reveal a map of relationships. This is our last session in the series. In this session, we once again welcome Indigenous voices to the forefront, speaking to the future of LA’s water story. We are joined by Tina Calderon (Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash, and Yoeme), Teri Red Owl (Bishop Paiute Tribe Nüümü from Payahuunadü), and Kyndall Noah (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), who were also guests from Session One. We are grateful for completing this series with the insight and presence of these important voices. Session 11 focuses on the future of Los Angeles and water. The guests speak about what it would take for Los Angeles to be an example of water justice and equity, talking about the necessity for honoring and protecting water as a relative–a free-flowing force of life benefitting the people, lands, plants, and animals. At the heart of coming into right relationship with water and land is the restoration and respect for the sovereignty of tribes as the original stewards of the lands. The guests share the importance of Indigenous voices in creating a future of sustainability in water management. The guests also offer their experiences and thoughts about the power of building mutually beneficial coalitions. They reflect on how collaborators can support in ways that are reciprocal and cooperative, being committed to working for the benefit of all parties. The guests speak of the importance of not only having a seat at the table, but being at the center of it, as well as what it means to create their own table when necessary. The circle of conversation widens to include voices from the Walking Water community, inviting the guests to offer stories of courage and resilience. Other community voices from tribal organizing in Payahuunadü and sustainability and equity from the Los Angeles DWP join the discussion, bringing hope to LA’s water story. Thank you for joining us in this series. We invite you to be part of the ongoing work re-imagining LA’s water story. See the links below to learn more. Hosted by: Kate BunneyProduced & Edited by: Anne Carol MitchellIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter StraussIf you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here. https://walking-water.org/donate/For more info go to Walking Water website. https://walking-water.org/
Talking Water is an offering by Walking Water ...Walking Water, born from a vision received in Payahuunadü - "the place where the water flows" on the ancestral homelands of the Paiute-Shoshone people - is a project and a prayer that centers water as teacher, guide, and sacred source. We began as a three-year pilgrimage along the natural and human-made waterways between Mono Lake and Los Angeles, CA, partnering with local and global communities to collectively bear witness to the situation of water in our world. Following the path of water from source to end-user, we witnessed histories and current realities of destruction, violence, harm and extraction. Alongside the stories of grief, we celebrated those of beauty and resilience - possibilities for the healing and regeneration of waters, landscapes, and communities. We continue to listen to the guidance and orientation of water, for how Walking Water might serve as one tributary within a global and intergenerational movement to restore relations with waters, lands and peoples. We move with the question: what world is possible if human beings devote themselves - personally, politically, spiritually - to that which gives life? We understand how essential it is for us to recognize and honor the leadership of Indigenous peoples and communities of color who have been protecting the waters and the lands from extraction and exploitation for hundreds of years -whose life ways, languages and cultures offer profound teachings for how to grow into right relationship. A commitment to healing waters asks each of us to find our role in movements that struggle to dismantle oppressive systems that commodify waters, lands and peoples in pursuit of power and profit. And as we carry the dream of justice for waters and peoples alike, we strive to uplift and support those individuals and communities who are "acupuncture points" of healing and possibility, actively living towards that more beautiful and liberated world. For more info go to: https://walking-water.org To support the work of Walking Water go to: https://walking-water.org/donate/Walking Water is a fiscally sponsored project of Weaving EarthBanner photo by Teena Pugliese
Netherlands