Nature Answers: Rural Stories from a Changing Planet
Farm Radio | Carleton University
23 episodes
1 month ago
How can nature itself help us tackle the challenges of a changing world? Each episode, we dive into an inspiring story of how a community in rural Africa is harnessing the power of nature-based solutions to adapt, thrive, and heal the planet.
In Season Two, our new host Ivy Prosper takes us to her home country, Ghana, plus Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, and Zambia, where we meet a woman growing her community, one tree at a time; young people banding together to save a swamp and the birds living in it; farmers using their ancestors' knowledge to keep their farms from flooding; and even communities using nature to help recover from addiction. Stay tuned to learn about things that you can do in your own backyard.
Produced by Farm Radio International, a Canadian not-for-profit that provides resources and training to help rural broadcasters in Africa; in partnership with Carleton University Journalism students who travelled to Africa to produce this series.
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How can nature itself help us tackle the challenges of a changing world? Each episode, we dive into an inspiring story of how a community in rural Africa is harnessing the power of nature-based solutions to adapt, thrive, and heal the planet.
In Season Two, our new host Ivy Prosper takes us to her home country, Ghana, plus Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, and Zambia, where we meet a woman growing her community, one tree at a time; young people banding together to save a swamp and the birds living in it; farmers using their ancestors' knowledge to keep their farms from flooding; and even communities using nature to help recover from addiction. Stay tuned to learn about things that you can do in your own backyard.
Produced by Farm Radio International, a Canadian not-for-profit that provides resources and training to help rural broadcasters in Africa; in partnership with Carleton University Journalism students who travelled to Africa to produce this series.
In this season finale of Nature Answers, we meet a cooperative of people recovering from addiction who are turning agricultural waste into sustainable charcoal and soil-enhancing biochar.
In this episode of Nature Answers, you’ll hear about the challenges involved in sustainable farming when your country is in the middle of a drought and electricity is scarce.
When Cornwell Hademu, of Choma, Zambia, started mentoring the women of nearby Mbole, he was sure it would help them on their fields and their farms. What wasn’t clear was just how far that mentorship would take the women.
Lifelong cocoa farmer Gbagnon Jean-Pierre Lodugnon faces a difficult choice: keep relying on traditional crops that no longer thrive—or make space for trees and embrace agroforestry.
Setsinu’s proximity to water has left it at a high risk of flooding, and in recent years those floods have wiped out crops and displaced families. Through the voices of farmers like Selorm Akli, Olivia Abogado, Simon Avor, and Sylvanus Nyidewu, you’ll hear how the community is responding—not just with resilience, but by turning to ancestral knowledge.
In Kugzua, Ghana, farmers were falling sick. They soon determined the cause: chemical fertilizer. But faced with a choice between poor crops and poor health, farmers stuck with what they were told would keep them fed—until they encountered another option.
Despite pressure from surrounding communities, Yaara has decided against cutting their trees to make a profit by producing charcoal. Why? They’re holding out hope they can bring their water access back.
When Jessica Sheillah Aanyu survived a life threatening illness, she asked herself what she could leave behind that the world would be proud of. The answer became Trees for Life, an environmental organization bringing trees and education to people in her Ugandan home.
Mangroves are money-makers in coastal Côte d’Ivoire. And the fish you can cook with the smoke from their branches are delicious. But the very practice of cutting down the trees to burn put the fish in danger. So people like Jean-Claude Kaké have had to make a choice: Do you keep cutting the trees to make money in order to feed your family? Or do you forgo the cash for a future that might take years to appear?
When the Malili Women’s Cooperative first tried new farming techniques in reaction to climate change, their community laughed at them. But what started as a simple listening group for a farming radio program has grown into a powerful, women-led farming cooperative, leading the way with nature-based solutions.
The Mabamba swamp is now a haven for rare birds. But in order to save it Joseph Kimbagaya had to convince his friends, his elders, and ultimately the Catholic Church.
When Gingo first found encroachers digging up their community forest, they called the police. But they soon found that chasing people from the forest wasn’t a long term solution – so they changed tactics.
When Shelanyili boldly banned bushfires outright it sparked conflicts and forced both the community and their neighbors to reckon with both protecting tradition while adapting to climate change.
Trees are the looming lifelines of our planet, and their roots run deep in rural Uganda. But in Morungatuny burning them for charcoal was the main economic driver of the economy. And trees were needed for firewood for cooking and building.
The rates of consumption soon outpaced the availability of trees. This resulted in extra difficulties faced by women, from the long distances they had to travel for firewood, to higher rates of domestic violence caused by economic stress.
So the community was faced with a question: what could they change to make life better for everyone – and for future generations especially. Community members like Jethro and Aliba Mary came to the community with answers — answers pulled from nature itself.
Not long ago, Kikandwa, Uganda, was considering cutting down the 100-year-old mango tree in the centre of town. What happened instead was the exact opposite.
We talk a lot about Nature-based Solutions on Nature Answers. But what are they actually? What makes a Nature-based Solution a nature-based solution? What does it mean to have both human and ecological benefits? And why are they so important anyways?
What can you do when the resources that pay you stop growing back? Mangrove rehabilitation is providing a path to a secure environmental and economic future for community members in Agbledomi, Ghana.
Nature Answers: Rural Stories from a Changing Planet
How can nature itself help us tackle the challenges of a changing world? Each episode, we dive into an inspiring story of how a community in rural Africa is harnessing the power of nature-based solutions to adapt, thrive, and heal the planet.
In Season Two, our new host Ivy Prosper takes us to her home country, Ghana, plus Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, and Zambia, where we meet a woman growing her community, one tree at a time; young people banding together to save a swamp and the birds living in it; farmers using their ancestors' knowledge to keep their farms from flooding; and even communities using nature to help recover from addiction. Stay tuned to learn about things that you can do in your own backyard.
Produced by Farm Radio International, a Canadian not-for-profit that provides resources and training to help rural broadcasters in Africa; in partnership with Carleton University Journalism students who travelled to Africa to produce this series.
