?!X: What’s the Future You Choose?
AD: It would be amazing to live in a world fully transparent. I’m not sure what sort of shape it should take, but I’d love to be able, in an instant, to know every thing about a product: where it comes from ? its history ? how it has been made, by who ? In which conditions ?
?!X: What’s a ‘think’ to create this future?
AD: I find Pierre Rabhi’s life, battles and writings very inspirational. Pierre Rabhi is a French/Algerian farmer, environmentalist, philosopher and writer. He has pionneered organic farming methods and has created the “oasis in every place” concept. He fosters farming models respectful of the soils and the local communities while prioritising the accessible to the poorest. He has been working in Africa, France and Europe on many agro-ecological projects. Now a consultant at the UN and the World Bank he invites us to think outside the infinite growth scheme and call for happy moderation. One of his book, where he intimately interlinks ecology and spirituality, has been translated in English: As in the Heart, So in the Earth: Reversing the Desertification of the Soul and the Soil.
That would be my Think !
?!X: What’s an ‘act’ to create the future you choose?
AD: My act would be asking questions ! We now have so many tools to look for information that we should be a bit more curious about the world around us. As consumers we can be very powerful in driving changement.
?!X: What’s a ‘vote’ to create the future you choose?
AD: This will be a little biaised but I’d like to share a few words about the project we have started 6 years ago, the fair trade brand of trainers Veja. Working directly with cooperatives of small farmers across Brazil, we use organic cotton, wild rubber from the Amazon and naturally-tanned leather to create the Veja trainers and accessories. From the fields of raw materials in Brazil to the doors of the fashion stores in Europe where the sneakers and accessories are available, we try to respect very high social and environmental standards. This means a thorough involvement in agro-ecology farming initiatives in North Brazil, in deforestation fighting in the Amazon, in workers’ right and dignity protection and also in social rehabilitation back in Europe.
Check out our website www.veja.fr
?!X: Future Soundtrack – What song would you take with you into the future?
AD: Blowin’ In the Wind by Bob Dylan
?!X: What are your five all time favourite weblinks?
AD:
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