Supported by Earthlore Foundation
Earthlore do not consider the work as a pilot, but part of their long-term vision. The work on landscape have emerged from work we have been doing for a long time.
In Bikita, dialogues have been used for many years as a methodology to revive memory of culture, sacred sites, agriculture and seed practices.
Now, the communities are shifting to include the whole landscape.
At first the elders had dialogues on their own as they did not want to share their sacred knowledge with outsiders.
By going at the community’s pace in dialoguing their situation, all the landscape issues are coming up one by one.
The communities realised that they need to include everyone in order to bring back the memory and as the different groups have different responsibilities and roles in the practices that enhance their landscape.
We have realised that we need a special time with elders prior to the community dialogue to make sure we understand well their knowledge before it is shared for reviving a situation. This has brought the elders on board, has built up their confidence and made them feel that they are included in the journey.