Earthly Memories

“My most intimate childhood memories are the sights and sounds, tastes and smells of the Himalayan forests where I grew up; they became my physical and intellectual cradle. I feel a deep umbilical connection with the forests of rhododendrons, oaks and deodars, as well as with the mountain streams. » From the Himalayan forests of her childhood to the platforms of the UN, Vandana Shiva offers for the first time the story of her fight for life and for the Earth. In writing that is both sensitive and rebellious, she looks back on nearly fifty years of fighting against deforestation and the monopolization of water and seeds. A tireless defender of food autonomy, indigenous knowledge and direct democracy, she establishes through her actions and her thoughts the links between ecological crisis, patriarchy and capitalism. The fight against GMOs, the Bhopal disaster, the Chipko movement: these Terrestrial Memories take us back through half a century of planetary resistance in favor of ecology and Mother Earth. Through her extraordinary destiny, the Indian activist embodies the idea, alongside so many others, that women are “the true guardians of knowledge related to biodiversity”. Vandana Shiva stands out here as an heir to the struggles led by Gandhi and Rachel Carson. Translated from English (India) by Marin Schaffner