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Reimagined Futures
Stories of community resilience and transformation in the face of the climate crisis
Join us for Reimagined Futures, a seven-part podcast series produced by the Sydney Environment Institute, navigating the critical questions and myths surrounding life under a climate-changed future.
This podcast series will be exploring how some of the most impacted communities in the world are engaging in collective action to reimagine a just and sustainable future for all.
Knowing the causes of the climate crisis is only part of the challenge. Understanding the barriers to creating change and learning about the actions and solutions communities can implement is the next step. There are various barriers to communities taking action, including how they imagine what the future can look like. Dominant ways of imagining the future, like ‘business as usual’, ‘technology will fix everything’ or ‘we are doomed’ leave communities feeling that action is meaningless. How can we inspire communities to imagine the future differently? What will it take for our future to be reimagined as a positive one where all life could flourish?
With a team of dedicated partners and researchers, the Sydney Environment Institute has been following five communities in India and Australia that are currently facing extreme impacts of climate change. We have been trying to better understand just this - how they are taking collective action to create real and sustainable futures and more positive imaginaries, even in the face of huge challenges.
This podcast series is produced by Sydney Environment Institute in partnership with the and the . This series is part of the Grounded Imaginaries project funded by Available on your favourite podcast streaming app.
Episode 1: What are climate imaginaries?
How can we so clearly understand the gravity of the climate crisis and what needs to be done and yet still not be acting fast enough? What gets in the way of all of us being part of making the change, or pushing for the changes that need to be made? In the opening episode of the Reimagined Futures series, Professor Danielle Celermajer reveals the barriers that are halting systemic change and the possibilities for transformative collective action.
Show notes
Narrated by:ÌýDanielle CelermajerÌýis a Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney, and Deputy Director – Academic of the Sydney Environment Institute. She is the research lead on theÌýGrounded Imaginaries projectÌýand Director of theÌýMultispecies Justice Project.
Written by:ÌýDanielle Celermajer
Edited by:ÌýAston Brown, Genevieve Wright
Featuring:
- Aadya SinghÌý(India and Bharat Together)
- David SchlosbergÌý(Sydney Environment Institute)
- Pragnya KhannaÌý(Social Entrepreneurship Association)
- ABC News 2019,Ìý, 31 December.
- BBC News 2022,Ìý, 27 August.
- United Nations 2021,Ìý, 27 October.
- Guardian News 2022,Ìý, 19 July.
- Storyful News & Weather 2017,Ìý, 9 February.
- Chevron 2022,Ìý, 9 May.
- The Amazon World 2018,Ìý, 28 August.
- InterstellarÌý2014, motion picture, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy, Lynda Obst Productions, California, US. Produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Lynda Obst; directed by Christopher Nolan.
- The RoadÌý2009, motion picture, 2929 Entertainment, California, US. Produced by Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz; directed by John Hillcoat.
- The Day After TomorrowÌý2004, motion picture, Centropolis Entertainment, Lionsgate Films, The Mark Gordon Company, California, US. Produced by Mark Gordon, Roland Emmerich; directed by Roland Emmerich.
Music:
- AboutÌýa DreamÌýby Symphonic Collective
- Moons of MercuryÌýby Evergreen
- Mind GameÌýby LATG Music
- Blank SpaceÌýby Vesper Tapes
- Creative AwakeningÌýby Evocativ
Article: ‘’, by Danielle Celermajer, published by Griffith Review, 2021.
Episode 2: Auroville
On the south-east coast of India in the Tamil Nadu region, we visit a living laboratory for human evolution, called . We’ll learn from their community about the power of integral yoga and integral ecology to deepen people’s understanding of their place and belonging within the larger ecological worlds.
Special thanks to Gopal, Lakshmi, Bernard and Deepika for sharing their journey with us, and to the rest of Auroville’s green workers whose work we hold in deep-rooted regard. With gratitude to the young forests of Auroville and all its creatures, who inspire us through their sights, sounds, textures, ways of being and resilience.
Show notes
Narrated by:ÌýDeepthi Indukuri is a Research Fellow on SEA’s project team and is a biomedical researcher turned sports photographer turned sports physiologist. Deepthi lives and volunteers in Auroville and is intrigued by the sacred relationships between beings and their natural spaces.
Written by:ÌýPragnya Khanna, Deepthi Indukuri, Gijs Spoor
Edited by:ÌýAston Brown, Genevieve Wright
Sound engineer: Justin Flynn
Featuring:
- Gopal is co-steward of Darkali Forest Park and is one of the earliest members of the Auroville community. He arrived in Auroville at the age of 4 in the early 1970s.
- Deepika & Bernard are stewards of , an eco-restoration and seed saving initiative.
- Lakshmi is the founder and vision holder for and a resident of one of Auroville’s green belt communities.
Music:
- About a Dream by Symphonic Collective
- Eternal Star by Kevin Maison
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Breaking and Entering by Cosmo Lawson
- Mind Game by LATG Music
Film: by Christoph Pohl, 56 minutes, 2020.
Article: by Laura and Mathieu, published by D’Humain & D’Humus, 20 April 2018.
Article: by Ashish Kothari, published by Vikalp Sangam, 24 January 2019.
Video: by Auronevi Darkali, 16 March 2017.
Website: - an initiative that provides spaces for inner reflection and inquiry, collaborative research, and facilitated explorations that lead to personal and societal transformation in regards to our relationship with the Earth.
Website: – a collection of items pertaining to research done in Auroville and research done by Aurovilians, managed by the , a group that facilitates research collaboration and research communication activities in Auroville.
Website: – a database of local forest types in Auroville with a map of sites and specific details about species and their distribution.
Website: – an interactive digital map that connects Auroville with other international nature-based projects.
Episode 3: Uttarakhand
Moving to northern India, we gain altitude as we venture through the foothills of the Himalayas up to the mid-elevations of Uttarakhand. People here are facing the twin devastations of altered extreme seasonality and forms of so-called development that are overwhelming traditional lifestyles. Yet, in the face of these rapid change, two villages in this region are experimenting with regenerative farming practices that are also creating leadership opportunities for women in the community. Through their experiences, we'll learn how climate crises and people's survival are deeply interwoven.
Special thanks to all who featured in this episode and to the people of Sarmoli and Kewar who contributed to the Grounded Imaginaries project. Without their insights this project wouldn't have taken the shape that it has taken. Finally, we are indebted to the Himalayas which for centuries has nurtured, preserved and cultivated the Himalayan civilisation (mountain people) and provided vital resources like water to the people down across the plains of Northern India.
Show notes
Narrated by:ÌýIshika Ramakrishna is a researcher, writer, podcaster and dancer. She is currently a Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Wildlife Studies researching human—nonhuman primate interactions.Ìý As part of her doctoral research, she has been focusing on the nuances of people's interactions with the hoolock gibbon in Barekuri, Assam, throughÌýanthropological andÌýecological lenses. Outside of her love for all-things-monkey, she is also passionate about science communication and nature education for all ages.
Written by:ÌýIshika Ramakrishna, Mayank Shah, VPJ Sambhavi
Edited by:ÌýIshika Ramakrishna, Genevieve Wright
Sound engineer: Michael Irwin
Featuring:
- Malika Virdi Sarpanch is from Sarmoli-Jainti Van Panchayat and is a member of the women’s collective . She is also a subsistence farmer and founder of Himalayan Ark.
- Siddharth Negi is Director of and is working on providing food security and reviving the traditional regenerative agricultural practices along with focussing on nature-based nutritive farming using natural farming techniques.
Music:
- About a Dream by Symphonic Collective
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Blank Space by Vesper Tapes
- A Sense of Wonder by High Street Music
- Divine Breath by Evergreen
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Mind Game by LATG Music
Sarmoli, Munsiyari
Article: by Archana Singh, published in Mongabay, 21 June 2021.
Article: by Archana Singh, published in The Hindu Business Line, 16 March 2021.
Article: by Prashant Jha, published in The Times of India, 22 May 2019.
Essay: by Ian Christian Macek, published by University of Washington, 2012.
Kewar, Chamoli
Article series: published by Mongabay.
Article: by IUCN, published by IUCN, 13 March 2018.
Article: by Archana Singh, published by Counter Currents, 31 December 2017.
Article: by Rana Ashish Singh, Siddartha Negi and Vidya Bhooshan Singh, published by Youth Ki Awaaz, 2018.
Article: Ìýby Kasturi Das, published by The Third Pole, 17 May 2021.
Article: by Down to Earth, published by Down to Earth, 18 November 2016.
Report: by The Energy and Resources Institute, published by The Energy and Resources Institute, 27 February 2018.
Report: by BAIF Development Research Foundation.
Report: by Alexandre Chausson, Alison Smith and Nathalie Seddon, published by WWF-UK & RSPB, 2020.
Episode 4: Moruya
Flying across the Indian Ocean to Australia, we arrive in the small town of Moruya on the southern coast of New South Wales. We’ll discover how a not-for-profit community group called formed, and about their dream to develop a strong community-based food system. We will also follow them through the fires and floods and hear how these climactic disasters forced them to re-evaluate their relationship to the land.
Show notes
Narrated by:
- Maria Paula Cardoso Nunez is a Research Fellow on SEI’s project team and has a background in law and sociocultural studies with an interest in community action and social justice. She has previously contributed to developing evidence-based policy in Indigenous and youth education (Colombia) and domestic violence (Australia).
- Josh Gowers is a Community Fellow on SEI’s project team and a landscape architect working and growing on brinja ba walbunja ngura, koori guradwaraga ya ngadjuwaraga, muryan duraya (Brinja and Walbunja Country, koori lands and waters, Deua River). He currently researches the colonial Food Landscapes of Sydney, in addition to mappingÌýthe impact of Australian diets on food landscapes, now and beyond 2050.
Written by:ÌýMaria Paula Cardoso Nunez, Josh Gowers
Edited by:ÌýAston Brown, Genevieve Wright
Featuring:
- Stuart Whitelaw is an architect, artist and the co-founder of . In 2008, Stuart’s enthusiasm for reclaiming a place in the food system for small scale and localised food production saw the creation of the not-for-profit SAGE Project. In 2013, the SAGE Farmers Market began.
- Kathryn Maxwell is President of the . Kathryn is passionate about achieving a resilient Eurobodalla in which the community generates more of their electricity and food and keeps the money local.
- Fraser Bayley is a highly experienced small-scale grower and educator. Fraser is one part of alongside Kirsti, Pats and the family. Growing since 2006, they've provided reliable, good food through severe drought, fires and a pandemic and their farm has become a haven for biodiversity through tough climatic conditions.
- NSWRFS 2020, , 31 March.
Music:
- About a Dream by Symphonic Collective
- Untitled song by Amelie Vanderstock
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Crying Out by Firefly Music
- Creative Awakening by Evocativ
- Mind Game by LATG Music
Article: by Neal Hughes and Peter Gooday, published by Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 20 May 2022.
Article: by Andrew Wait and Kieron Meagher, published by The Conversation, 6 September 2021.
Report: in the Special Report on Climate Change and Land by Cheikh Mbow and Cynthia Rosenzweig, published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019.
Podcast: by From the Embers: Stories from the Australian Bushfire Crisis, published by Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, 20 June 2022.
Podcast: , 1 April 2017.
Website: – a not-for-profit urban farming social enterprise model connecting landowners and local young people who are passionate about growing food.
Episode 5: Ladakh
Being a cold desert even higher up in the Himalayas, the Ladakhi landscape is rugged and harsh for people and nature alike. Their survival is under threat because of untimely glacial melts, altered river systems and mismanaged interventions by local governing bodies. We'll discover how this ecosystem has been altered over the last two decades, and what its youth are doing today to mitigate their intensifying water crises.
Special thanks to all who featured in this episode and to the people of Pishu who not only opened their homes to us but also their heart all throughout this project. Thank you to the city of Zanskar, which makes us realise how a region as remote as it, can become an example of how to live in this ever-changing global era thanks to people’s determination to live producing local interventions and indigeneity.
Listen to of this conversation on the podcast channel The Thing About Wildlife.
Show notes
Narrated by:ÌýIshika Ramakrishna is a researcher, writer, podcaster and dancer. She is currently a Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Wildlife Studies researching human—nonhuman primate interactions.Ìý As part of her doctoral research, she has been focusing on the nuances of people's interactions with the hoolock gibbon in Barekuri, Assam, throughÌýanthropological andÌýecological lenses. Outside of her love for all-things-monkey, she is also passionate about science communication and nature education for all ages.
Written by:ÌýIshika Ramakrishna, Mayank Shah, VPJ Sambhavi
Edited by:ÌýIshika Ramakrishna, Genevieve Wright
Sound engineer: Justin Flynn
Featuring:
- Lobzang Wangtak is the co-founder of Navikarana Trust and Zanskar Conservancy Movement. Lobzang and his colleagues at Navikarana Trust have worked tirelessly to provide water to the people of Zanskar by lifting the water from the nearby spring in a sustainable way through solar water pumping. In 2021, the Pishu Village finally got water lifted to their village through Lobzang’s intervention and community collaboration and now more than 20 villages are in need of his help. Without any institutional support Lobzang’s work relies on public funding or NGOs support. To support the incredible work Lobzang and his team are doing, contact him .
- Dawa Dolma is a Tibetan and independent journalist from Leh. Dawa was a Youth Fellow on the Western Himalayan team. Dawa writes on earth stories from Ladakh in local journals, NGO newsletters and digital media.
Music:
- About a Dream by Symphonic Collective
- Eternal Star by Kevin Maison
- Blank Space by Vesper Tapes
- Creative Awakening by Evocativ
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Crying Out by Firefly Music
- Mind Game by LATG Music
Article: by Lobzang Wangtak and Charlie Ashbaugh, published by Think Global Health, 10 November 2021.
Article: by Athar Parvaiz, published by The Third Pole, 1 August 2018.
Article: by Rama Dwivedi, published by Mongabay, 13 September 2019.
Article: by Dinakar Peri, published by The Hindu, 29 November 2015.
Article: by Saumya Ancheri, published by Condé Nast Traveller, 17 November 2021.
Video: by Navikarana Trust, 23 March 2021.
Video: by Neha Sharma and Aamir Peerzada, published by BBC News, 11 November 2021.
Episode 6: Perumbakkam
We conclude the series in Perumbakkam, a community of resettlement sites in the southern Indian city of Chennai, one of the cities in South Asia most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As a result of the government’s response to flood mitigation, marginalised communities are displaced to the outskirts of the city. In this episode, we hear from the community members involved in the housing rights organisation, . They’ll discuss how the community now feels empowered with their issues and ideas being represented by IRCDUC in government decision-making. They’ll illustrate the importance of centring social justice and community engagement in responding to the effects of climate change. Imagining a different future is particularly difficult in Perumbakkam but be inspired as we hear from the community members envisioning ways to transform sites of exclusion into homes.
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to this episode with their voices and insights. Special thanks to Grounded Imaginaries Fellow Joel Shelton (Program Manager, IRCDUC) for supporting us with everything that transpired in Perumbakkam throughout the project. Thank you to the community fellows Mercy, Mahalakshmi, Santhiya and Kowsalya for allowing us to tell their inspiring story.
Show notes
Narrated by:ÌýRohit Nair is a Research Fellow on SEA’s project team. He has a background in social science and is interested in questions of urban geography and political ecology. He is currently working on creating spaces and tools for environmental education through a non-profit called .
Written by:ÌýRohit Nair
Edited by:ÌýAston Brown, Genevieve Wright
Sound engineer: Justin Flynn, Michael Irwin
Featuring:
- Vanessa Peter is the Founder of the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities and a policy researcher ad social activist.
- Mercy M and Mahalaxmi are Community Fellows from the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities.
- Karen Coelho is an Associate Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies. Karen’s research interest include urban anthropology including critical examinations of urban collective action, urban infrastructure including housing, shelter policies and resettlement schemes.
- Natasha Thomas (English translations)
Music:
- About a Dream by Symphonic Collective
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Crying Out by Firefly Music
- Eternal Star by Kevin Maison
- Mind Game by LATG Music
Report: by Dr. Nundiyny A D, Joel Shelton Terrance F, and Vanessa Peter, published by Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities, 2022.
Report: by Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities, January 2023.
Article: by Rohit Nair, published by Citizen Matters, 1 August 2022.
Article: by Karen Coelho and Nithya V Raman, published by Economic and Political Weekly, 22 May 2010.
Article: by Sindhuja Janakiraman, published by SintexTank.
Episode 7: How will you imagine our climate futures?
You’ve journeyed with us through the valleys of the Himalayas, to the humid expanses of southern India, and across the ocean to the windswept eastern coast of Australia. Despite climate change undermining their vital life support systems, the communities we’ve met are acting collectively and creatively to reimagine their future and tackle the climate crisis head on. In doing so, they are creating new imaginaries. However, we can’t escape the fact that their courageous action is set against the harsh reality of the broader economic, social and political systems that remain addicted to extraction and development.
The final episode of Reimagined Futures reflects on what we can learn from these communities. What inspires grounded imaginaries, and what gets in the way? How are communities keeping hope alive in the face of national and global systems that block transformation at every turn? And how can you become involved in driving change locally as part of a global movement towards a more just and sustainable world?
Update regarding Auroville:
Since recording this podcast, there have been devastating developments in Auroville involving the destruction of the Darkali Forest which was profiled in the episode. To learn more about the struggle of the Auroville residents againstÌýauthoritarian forces here is a people's archive of events as they keep unfolding:Ìý
Follow the Auroville grassroots resistance on Instagram:Ìý
And support the call by Auroville residents to end the take-over of their social experiment by centralised authorities:ÌýÌý
Show notes
Narrated by:ÌýDanielle Celermajer is a Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney, and Deputy Director – Academic of the Sydney Environment Institute. She is the research lead on the Grounded Imaginaries project and Director of the Multispecies Justice Project.
Written by:ÌýDanielle Celermajer
Edited by:ÌýGenevieve Wright
Music:
- About a Dream by Symphonic Collective
- Moons of Mercury by Evergreen
- Crying Out by Firefly Music
- Eternal Star by Kevin Maison
- Mind Game by LATG Music