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Nirmala Nair

Nirmala Nair ... Founder School of Practical Sustainability ... Cape Town Area, South Africa ... Environmental Services

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Peter Burgess

Nirmala Nair Founder School of Practical Sustainability Cape Town Area, South AfricaEnvironmental Services Current Self-employed Previous ZERISA, ICLEI City of Cape Town office, Ministry of Agriculture fisheries and forestry, South Africa Education Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands 144 connectionsSend a messageEndorseMore options Relationship Contact Info Connected 2 hours ago Background Summary What are we missing in the giant wheel of sustainability? How did we end up with such a mega sustainability industry caught up in its own cog-wheels? Surely we are repeating the same old patterns, the same old systems in the name of sustainability? The game of sustainability is most certainly not making the real impact it should on the excluded and marginalised majority. My passion is how do we make sustainability work for all? How do we touch the pulse of deeper consciousness with our sustainability work? How do we sustain life, simply, gracefully, with beauty and dignity? How do we sense, feel, and imagine a new breakthrough sustainability that truly SUSTAINS LIFE whether we get funded or not? How do we work with the new and emergent life processes, deeply complex, interconnected and beyond any models or theoretical mind-games? Sometimes my work takes me to groups far and wide from the central forests of Java to Timore Leste in Indonesia to community networks in Bhutan. Closer home in South Africa where I currently live, I engage and co-create with smaller groups and passionate individuals the magical alchemy of local living through food, shifting consciousness and daring dreams of a world that is simple yet complex. The art of soul-making, honoring love and integrous relationships, supporting families to co-create local-living communities is very much part of how I sustain life in my sustainability practice. I set up School of Practical Sustainability to promote, share, showcase and network some of this simpler ethos and nurture the interconnectedness of our heart and soul, caution us not to get swept away with the arrogance of the of the heady- change-makers Healing is a core integral part of School of Practical Sustainability. Experience Self Employed Self-employed January 2008 – Present (6 years 6 months) Founder School of Practical Sustainability Voluntary Director ZERISA January 2003 – December 2012 (10 years)South Africa Consultant, Designing Evaluation and Monitoring tool kit ICLEI City of Cape Town office November 2011 – May 2012 (7 months)Cape Town Area, South Africa Developing an evaluation and monitoring tool kit for environmental education evaluation for LABCEPA/ICLEI projects based on four city case studies - Sao Paolo, Nagoya, Cape Town and Edmonton. The focus of this consultancy was how to design evaluation and monitoring using complex systems approach while using the tool itself as an emergent process. The work was carried out with two other consultants - a education specialist Dr. Euretta Rosenberg and a biomimicry specialist Claire Janisch. The work was jointly commissioned by the ICLEI and City of Cape Town. Consultant Ministry of Agriculture fisheries and forestry, South Africa August 2011 – August 2011 (1 month)Cape Town Concept paper on agro-ecology and sustainable livelihoods working on regenerative multi-use forestry design. Consultant Naturally Knysna February 2011 – April 2011 (3 months)Knysna, Western Cape •Workshopping, co-designing the blue print for the Discovery park and naturally Knysna initiative Eco-Conscious living - Workshop/retreats Facilitation ZERISA March 2010 – November 2010 (9 months)Durban Area, South Africa Small group retreats, workshops and trainings on eco-conscious living, sustaining life living locally, healing the art of wellness local food living well. Associate Director Foster Films January 2008 – November 2010 (2 years 11 months)Cape Town Area, South Africa Initiating the first idea to make a film on five kingdoms, nature's intelligence and working with nature, using ZERI principles at work. Researching and networking for the film with the Foster brothers for this film which eventually took on a different slant, focusing more on climate change -The film Nature of Life was produced by NHU Africa www.nhuafrica.com/license.../one-off.../nature-of-life/ Dec 21, 2010 Slow FoodSpeaker Slow Food October 2010 – October 2010 (1 month)Torino, Italy Workshop on Food security and sustainable farming at the 2010 Terra Madre, Slow food festival Torino Italy Co-ordinator, Organizer ZERI/BLUE ECONOMY March 2010 – August 2010 (6 months)Bhutan • Planning, designing, co-ordinating and organizing ZERI-Blue Economy-Bhutan event on GNH and economic Innovation with Gunter Pauli, International founder of ZERI/Blue Economy City of Cape TownConsultant City of Cape Town February 2009 – September 2009 (8 months)Cape Town Area, South Africa Evaluation of City of Cape Town's YES program Youth Environment and Schools with Claire Janisch Senior Gender trainer Trust for Community Outreach and Education August 1993 – 1997 (4 years)Cape Town, South Africa HivosProgram Officer Hivos January 1990 – October 1992 (2 years 10 months)India Volunteer Barefoot college May 1980 – March 1983 (2 years 11 months)Rajasthan, India Worked with rural women's groups, researching on the impact of appropriate technology on women empowerment, and leadership development. Organizations Sustainability Institute, Vermont, USA Donella Meadows Sustainable Leadership Fellow 2007 – Present Projects School of Practical Sustainability(Link) September 2012 Practitioners of mindful, conscious change work in many spheres to bring about transformation. This work takes place in corporations, in communities, at educational institutions, in faith-based organisations, within families, and at a personal level. Whether we work alone or in partnerships, we individually hold society's tension between what is and what can be. This can sometimes make us feel...more Languages English Native or bilingual proficiency Hindi Professional working proficiency Malayalam Native or bilingual proficiency Publications Bridge on No Rivers, Fictional Memoir Lotsha Publication, Cape Town, South Africa February 24, 2006 Life Cycle(Link) Sustain our Africa The CHANGE AGENT publication exploring sustainable solutions for Africa. 25 Apr 08:52 April 25, 2012 What happens when a humble bicycle becomes part of an elite sporting crowd lugging fancy bicycles behind gas-guzzling SUV's??? Affordable mobility of ordinary folks is suddenly morphed into fashionable gears and wears beyond ordinary folks pockets - new face of (un)sustainability ???? Ecology of Happiness(Link) MindShift October 15, 2007 Simply Sustainable – Living Narratives Regular column in Biophile magazine,(Link) Biophile, a bi-monthly Environmental journal, Cape Town, South Africa Rituals of Eating and sustainable living(Link) South African Journal of Natural Medicine, 2003, Cape Town, South Africa On Being and becoming, many faces of an activist(Link) Agenda, Feminist Journal issue on contemporary activism 2004, Durban, South Africa Exploring possibilities: a review of Women’s Development Programme Rajasthan, IDS, Jaipur, India1986 (Open)5 authors, including: Nirmala Nair Nirmala Nair Founder School of Practical Sustainability No photo Dr. Sharada Jain No photo Kavita Srivastava, No photo Kanchan Mathur Skills & Endorsements Top Skills 9Sustainable Development 8Environmental Education 7Environmental Awareness 5Training 5Workshop Facilitation 2Rural Development 2Leadership Development 1Ecosystem 1Biomimicry 1ZERI Nirmala also knows about... 1Holistic Health 1complex systems 1Organizational... 1Women's Issues 1Healing 1Corporate Social... Agroecology Thought Leadership Motivational Speaking Youth Mentoring Evaluation Livelihood Ecological Restoration food gardens Water See 1+ Education Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands Master's degree, Development Studies 1987 – 1988 Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands Master's degree, Development Studies 1987 – 1988 Activities and Societies: Donella Meadows Sustainable Leadership Fellow ZERI Practitioner Founder, School of Practical Sustainability Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University Master's degree, Sociology 1977 – 1979 Additional Info Interests Nature walks, yoga, working with groups of people; traveling; growing local food and cooking; working with new designs; low cost technologies; sustainable living; writing projects Personal Details Birthday March 29, 1956 Marital Status Single Recommendations Peter, would you like to recommend Nirmala? Recommend Nirmala ConnectionsAll (144)Shared (1)New (3) Katherine HoltKatherine Holt2nd President, Peakinsight LLC Connect3Marilyn BorchardtMarilyn Borchardt2nd Development Director at Food First/Institute for Food & Development Policy Connect9Yahel Ben-DavidYahel Ben-David2nd Social entrepreneur Connect16Edie FarwellEdie Farwell2nd Sustainability Leaders Network Connect2Morel FourmanMorel Fourman2nd CEO at Gaiasoft Connect20Jaco DelportJaco Delport2nd Entrepreneur Connect1Cormac CullinanCormac Cullinan2nd Visionary environmental governance expert Connect2Gwyn JonesGwyn Jones2nd Council Chief for Fathers at Embercombe Connect21Barbara NussbaumBarbara Nussbaum2nd Music for Leadership and Teambuilding Connect8 PreviousNext Groups Association of Sustainability Practitioners Association of Sustainability Practitioners Join ISS Alumni - connecting the world ISS Alumni - connecting the world Join Sustainability Working Group Sustainability Working Group Join United Nations Sustainable Development United Nations Sustainable Development Join Wiser.org | The Social Network for Sustainability Wiser.org | The Social Network for Sustainability Join Following Sustainability Leaders Network Professional Training & Coaching Follow International Institute for Sustainable Development Think Tanks Follow Schools Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University India