A few weeks back, I sat down with Dougald Hine and Vandana Shiva in Stockholm, Sweden, to interview and film them for the second installment of The Chelsea Green Foundation’s series of discussions, reviews, and articles that we’re calling “Conversations on Resilience & Resistance.”
Watch this interview at: Conversations on Resilience & Resistance
I first met Dr. Shiva several years ago during her brief summer residency at Sterling College in Vermont where I was then serving as President. I found the clarity of her convictions, her insightful analysis of the complex problems we face, and the continuity of her message and the freshness with which it was articulated inspiring. Our conversation in Stockholm, like those I’d enjoyed earlier over the dinner table or on walks around the College’s farm, drew upon her lifetime of campaigning. As Vandana celebrates her 70th birthday, her life’s work can now be appreciated through the lens of a new film produced and directed by Camilla and Jim Becket, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva, and in the pages of her recent book with Chelsea Green, Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements.
Joining me for my conversation with Dr. Shiva was author Dougald Hine, co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project with fellow Substack author Paul Kingsnorth. It was a privilege to serve as Dougald’s editor for his newly published book, At Work in the Ruins: Finding Our Place in the Time of Science, Climate Change, Pandemics and All the Other Emergencies. As was recently observed by Amitav Ghosh, Dougald’s new book is “one of the most perceptive and thought-provoking books yet written about the multiple intersecting crises that are now upending our once-familiar world.” A more apt or timely title for his book and launching point for our conversation with Vandana about the end of modernity and building our capacity for humility couldn't be found.
In addition to this interview with Vandana and Dougald, later this week the Foundation will share two additional snippets of our Stockholm conversation focused on what each of them is reading, what they hope others would write, and a reflection on their respective roles in founding and sustaining Navdanya and A School Called HOME.
Matthew Derr, Editor & Executive Director, The Chelsea Green Foundation