The RegenNarration

This is an excerpt from episode 90 featuring the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, Marieke van Doorninck, on how the City is working to become the world’s first ‘doughnut economy’. We pick up our conversation with 20 minutes or so to go, starting with how people are engaging with the City’s doughnut economy strategy. We go on to talk about a few ways the work is being done, including some projects and initiatives under way, or being talked about. Marieke brings depth to the notion of a circular economy – beyond just the technical changes – and talks of some of the system changes we need, and how we might achieve them. And as even the Biden administration looks into Doughnut Economics, how can we ensure it maintains its integrity and doesn’t become another target for greenwashing?Title slide: from the cover picture of City of Amsterdam documentation on their engaging with Doughnut Economics (supplied).Music:Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:You can hear the rest of our conversation in the main episode, ‘Becoming the World’s First Doughnut Economy, with Amsterdam Deputy Mayor Marieke van Doorninck’.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Marieke van Doorninck is Deputy Mayor of the City of Amsterdam, the first city to formally adopt Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics as their compass for human progress. At this podcast's beginning, Kate Raworth talked with me about her best-selling book Doughnut Economics, proposing an economic model fit for the 21st century - one that meets the needs of all within the means of the planet. She calls the doughnut a playfully serious approach to framing that challenge. And it has inspired the imagination of people everywhere.Pope Francis calls Doughnut Economics “our species’ compass for the journey” to a sustainable future. A chapter of David Attenborough’s latest book is dedicated to it. And certainly, Kate Raworth’s episodes have been among this podcast’s most listened to. Due to the overwhelming response to her book, she’s created the DEAL (the Doughnut Economics Action Lab). It helps cities, communities, states, provinces, countries and institutions everywhere adopt Doughnut Economics as a reality, scaled and tailored to their circumstances. In the wake of COVID-19, Amsterdam was the first city to formally adopt the Doughnut last year.In many ways, that seems fitting too. A Time Magazine article earlier this year started with this: ‘In 1602, in a house on a narrow alley, a merchant began selling shares in the nascent Dutch East India Company. In doing so, he paved the way for the creation of the first stock exchange—and the capitalist global economy that has transformed life on earth.” It then quoted a 30 year old woman coordinating the community movement called the Amsterdam Doughnut Coalition: “Now I think we’re one of the first cities in a while to start questioning this system. Is it actually making us healthy and happy? What do we want? Is it really just economic growth?”’This is a whole city deciding to do something different. And a government responding.This chat was recorded online with Marieke in her office on Thursday 19 July 2021.With a brief message from me on some new podcast developments.Title slide: Marieke van Doorninck (supplied).Music:Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:Marieke van Doorninck The City of Amsterdam’s ‘doughnut economy’ Doughnut Economics Action Lab The article I wrote for The Conversation on all this that went viral, even gaining the interest of Sydney talk backSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is an excerpt from episodes 88 and 89, parts 1 and 2 of A Native Grains and Native Mills Resurgence. It features around 15 minutes of each episode, patched together with Rob’s closing lines from the Extra to episode 88. So first up, you’ll hear Rob Pekin and Gaala Watson from the legendary social enterprise Food Connect. We chat about how Gaala and Rob came together here, and the connection between social enterprise and Aboriginal systems of governance. Then we go on to explore how their early experiments with a ‘custodial enterprise’ model are reaping big rewards – from a change to their leasing model, to this brilliant milling and baking initiative.In the back half of this excerpt, you’ll hear Ian Congdon and Courtney Young, the young farmers pivotal to this changing of the face of farming, and the food and economic systems generally. We talk of their vision, and their experiences of the growing demand for what they’re up to. We chat about their doubts, how incredibly this story has come together, and their reflections on where to take it from here.Title slide: hand chiselling the new locally made mill (supplied).Music:Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:You can hear the rest of our conversations in the main episodes, ‘A Native Grains and Native Mills Resurgence’ – Part 1 and Part 2 (you'll see some photos on those episode web pages too).Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to Part 2 of A Native Grains & Native Mills Resurgence, featuring the young farmers changing the face of farming in Australia. Ian Congdon, Courtney Young and family are farmers, mill makers, artists and business people, and they’re exploring how all this connects with culture, creativity, and the regeneration of country and community. If you haven’t yet listened to last week’s episode with Gaala Watson and Rob Pekin from Food Connect, the trailblazing social enterprise and legendary community food hub in Brisbane, no fear. You can listen in reverse order, as it were. So given you’re here, stick around for this incredible story. It's a serendipitous chain of events deep and wide across Country, that includes connections with elders, native grains off Bruce Pascoe’s farm, this podcast, and this young farming couple who wondered if they could build the first Australian mill in who knows how long, and how that might help leverage the sorts of systemic changes so many of us would like to see.Join Courtney, Ian and I, on what happened to be settlement day for their own farm, and would you believe, the day they finished their first mill! Title slide: Ian, Courtney and family (supplied). You can see some other terrific photos on the episode webpage.This conversation was recorded on Monday 28 June 2021.Music:The System, by the Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:Woodstock Flour Courtney’s website Tune into Part 1 of this series, A Native Grains and Native Mills Resurgence, featuring Gaala Watson and Rob Pekin from Food Connect You can hear my conversation with Tyson Yunkaporta, that Courtney refers to, on episode 70And as it happens, that one was just after my conversation with MarkTaylor from Miller & Baker And finally, hats off to Andrew Heyn from New American Stonemills and Don Hearn from the Noteworthy charity, the organiser of the Angie McMahon gig at Little Pork Deli, Barham.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is a brief extra to episode 88 with Robert Pekin, founder of the award-winning social enterprise Food Connect. It features 10 minutes where Rob and I continued on briefly after Gaala left. It's well worth the listen for some profound reflections on Rob’s part.Title slide: Robert Pekin (supplied).Music:By Jeremiah Johnson.Find more:Tune into the main episode, ‘A Native Grains & Native Mills Resurgence, Part 1: Gaala Watson and Rob Pekin on custodial enterprise’.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

You might remember Robert Pekin (with his partner Emma-Kate Rose) from episode 28. Rob’s the founder of Food Connect, the trailblazing social enterprise and legendary community food hub in Brisbane. Since then, plenty has happened at Food Connect. The $2m equity crowd-fund – an Australian first - was successful. And Gaala Watson, a Kungalu and Birri-Gubba Woman born and raised in Brisbane, came on board as Chair of the Food Connect Foundation. That convergence of people, skills and cultures is bringing about a revolutionary addition to their set up, thanks to a serendipitous chain of events deep and wide across Country. That included connections with local elders, the native grains off Bruce Pascoe’s farm, a young farming couple in NSW who wondered if they could build the first Australian mill in who knows how long, and this podcast.Back in episode 28, Rob and Emma-Kate talked about being a ‘systems enterprise’ more than a social enterprise – aiming to change the inter-related food, farming and economic systems, along with the cultural stories underpinning how we organise those systems. Now Food Connect is starting to flip capital from an ownership to a custodial model. This lands squarely in Gaala’s wheelhouse – where social enterprise aligns with Aboriginal systems of governance. And where this particular enterprise aligns with an enduring vision stemming from her father.Title slide: Gaala Watson (off the Food Connect Foundation website) (Rob Pekin is featured in the title slide in the Extra to this episode).This conversation was recorded on Friday 25 June 2021.Music:The System, by the Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.Find more:Tune into the 10 minute Extra to this episode, where Rob and I continue on a little after Gaala left.Food Connect Foundation Food Connect enterprise Woodstock Flour on Instagram Hear Rob and partner Emma-Kate together on episode 28 And my conversation with Mark Taylor at Miller & Baker on episode 69.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is an excerpt from episode 87 featuring the last 20 minutes or so of my conversation with the CEO of Commonland, Willem Ferwerda. We pick up our conversation with a question I’ve been looking forward to delving into with Willem for a while – how do we create a regenerative economy that fosters healing of country and restoration of landscapes by its very nature, in the face of cultures and systems going the other way (think shareholder value, GDP as a measure of progress, investment expectations etc.)? We go on to talk about Willem’s “big dream” and how it’s taking another significant step as part of the recently launched UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. And we close by coming full circle to the words of Oral McGuire: “Biodiversity is the manifestation of spirit” (along with the challenge he lays down) - with some stirring words from Willem alongside his choice of music.Title slide: Willem Ferwerda, all grown up (supplied).Music:Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:You can hear the rest of our conversation in the main episode, ‘COVID & the Wolf: Willem Ferverda on making landscape restoration & Spirit the heart of economy’.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Willem Ferwerda has an extraordinary background as an ecologist and international policy leader. But a little over a decade ago, after backing over 1,000 conservation projects, he decided to face down the fact that they weren’t making a dent in our slide into mass extinction and ecosystem collapse. He turned towards business and economics, and has since dedicated himself to building practical bridges between ecology and economy. Since founding Commonland in 2013, his team has been applying its holistic ‘4 Returns’ framework to restoring landscapes at scale globally, across a range of ecosystems, and with brilliant success (including in my home state of Western Australia). Yet, the overall picture continues to worsen. So with 8 years of learning in hand, they’re gearing up a notch, and inviting us to join them, as a key element of the newly launched UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.Willem and I first met on Ballardong country in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, at Oral McGuire’s place. It was a special few days spent with the Indigenous-led WA collaboration they’ve engaged with, that has been pivotal to Commonland’s evolution in recent years. We had a couple of open, warm and penetrating conversations about the state of things, and our respective observations about what is possible together. Willem says he’s been watching ideas and talk of natural solutions move from marginal to mainstream over 30 years - that a transformation is afoot - across business, finance and economics, and above all in people’s search for meaning, purpose and spirit.This conversation was recorded online with Willem at home in the Netherlands on Tuesday 29 June 2021.Title slide: Willem Ferwerda in the Costa Rican forest in 1992 (supplied). Find more photos from Willem on the episode website. Music:Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:Commonland Willem’s personal post that prompted this chat (inc. film of the wolves returning to the Netherlands)4 Returns Framework reportFull launch event featuring Oral McGuire & clips of global landscape restorationWillem's personal video explanation of the 4 Returns Framework4returns.earthSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is an excerpt from episode 86 featuring the full gripping 13 minutes of Fate, a track from the new release album by Stephen Jenkinson and key collaborator Gregory Hoskins (with band). We pick up our conversation with 15 minutes or so to go, leading in to that piece of music. We talk Fate, our primordial starting point vs a nostalgia for secretly remaining in charge, and drinking daily from eye sockets. Title slide: The cover image for Fate, with Gregory Hoskins and Stephen Jenkinson (supplied).Music:Fate, by Stephen Jenkinson and Gregory Hoskins (with band).Find more:You can hear the rest of our conversation in the main episode, ‘A Generation’s Worth: Climate strikes, making music & what now?’Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

You might remember that Stephen Jenkinson was my first guest when this podcast changed name to The RegenNarration, back in episode 35. For those who are newer to the podcast, Stephen’s a special presence in the world – a wonderful lyricist and story teller, teacher and ceremonialist, author and farmer. Our last conversation delved into his new book at the time, Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble, in which the case is made that we must birth a new generation of elders, one poised and willing to be true stewards of the planet and its species. That episode culminated in some of his gripping music and spoken word. Today we talk more about that art form, for last year he and key collaborator Gregory Hoskins released a studio and accompanying live album – called Rough Gods and Dark Roads, respectively. They were to be toured globally. But we all know what happened then.I’ve had guests and listeners alike speak to me of their respect for Stephen, since he was first on the podcast. So when Stephen’s wife Nathalie reached out to update me on the new releases, I was keen to speak with him again. We dwell deeply in the new music this time, and particularly on one track – called Fate - that’s acutely relevant in the wake of the latest global student climate strike last month. It’s featured in its full 13 minutes at the end of this episode.More on Stephen: Stephen is the founder of the Orphan Wisdom School in Tramore, Canada and the author of four books, including Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul, the award-winning book about grief and dying, and the great love of life. In 2015, he created Nights of Grief & Mystery with Canadian singer-songwriter Gregory Hoskins. With a 5-piece band, they have mounted international tours and released three albums, most recently DARK ROADS and ROUGH GODS. Most recently, a four-part livestream speaking series, A Generation’s Worth, was presented in Winter 2020. A book of the same name, emerging from that series, is due out soon.Title slide: Stephen Jenkinson (supplied). See the episode web page for more photos.This conversation was recorded on Tuesday 24 May 2021 (Australian time), a few days after the most recent global student climate strike.Music:Fate, by Stephen Jenkinson and Gregory Hoskins (with band), a 13 minute track featured in full at the end of this episode.Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:You can find more from Stephen at his Orphan Wisdom website, the home of his writing and teaching work. It’s described there as ‘a redemptive project that comes from where we come from. It is rooted in knowing history, being claimed by aSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!