Skip to main content

Zero Waste @ The Forest

For plastic free July, I was interviewed by WWoW, an Indian upcycling project about the work of Sadhana Forest and its zero waste practices. How to live sustainably in harmony with the forest?

The Zero Waste hut at Sadhana Forest

You can find our conversation here.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

AI: Slimme Technologie die ons dom zal maken?

  Zal Artificiële Intelligentie ons afnemen wat ons menselijk maakt? Moet er nog zand zijn? Artificiële intelligentie overheerst het publieke debat. De wildste speculaties doen de rond over de toekomstige rol ervan in onze samenleving. Ik zou graag stilstaan bij de diepere impact van AI op onze menselijke psyche. Welke gevolgen kan AI voor ons hebben als mens, als sociaal en cultureel wezen? AI wordt ons verkocht als het technische wondermiddel dat alles sneller en efficiënter zal maken. Dat kan goed zijn, maar de vraag is: tegen welke prijs? Op het eerste zicht helpen de grote taalmodellen ons zeker om sneller teksten te schrijven, filmpjes te maken en antwoorden te vinden op onze vragen. Op termijn zullen we dus minder zelf schrijven, en ook minder zelf denken. Dit houdt een risico in. Elke menselijke vaardigheid vraagt oefening om te ontwikkelen en te onderhouden, zo niet gaat ze verloren. Na de industriële revolutie verdwenen vele ambachten, aangezien ze overg...

What's the matter with foreign aid? (3) Towards collaborative aid

In the first part of the essay, we sketched the economical and political historic background of the current aid system. In the second part, we looked at things in the current NGO-based aid system that are not quite optimal. In the final part, I will start addressing solutions, based on my own experience. What does impactful, effective NGO work look like? We should focus on a paradigm of collaborative, community-based aid, rather than aid delivery. How to create good conditions for people? An impactful paradigm is grassroots and not top-down. Local people should be co-creators, who, with the support of aid agencies, move towards becoming more independent and self-sustaining. Aid oughtn't be ‘pushed’ on local people. The Listening Project talks about a ‘collaborative aid system’.(1) You could also call it a community-based approach, where you strengthen local communities by building strong ties with them and giving them the support that really need. You achieve this by taking your ...

Humanity 2.0 - 10 Principles for a Compassionate Society

Great news! I co-authored a book, and it finally got published! It is called Humanity 2.0 - 10 Principles for a Compassionate Society . I wrote it together with Aviram, the founder of Sadhana Forest , the community in India where i lived for 7 years. In a nutshell, it is a book about the vision and values behind Sadhana Forest. It offers an in-depth discussion of the ideals of Aviram and his family, on which he built Sadhana Forest and which he has been putting into practice for over 20 years. So it is not a book about Sadhana Forest as such, but about how to create an inclusive and compassionate life and community, in terms of parenting, education, health, economics, community etc. Quite broad and ambitious! The book is based on Aviram's experience, combined with a lot of research.  What was my role in the birthing of this book? When i came to Sadhana Forest, i always felt so inspired to hear Aviram talk, and i wanted everyone to be able to receive his wisdom. I approached Av...