Curriculum vitae

I have extensive grassroots-level experience in more than 25 countries immersing myself in, and engaging with, Indigenous peoples and local communities, along with their knowledge systems, beliefs and practices. Alongside my academic work, I am a committed activist defending territories of life and their defenders, and in support of decolonized and decentralized governance systems. In trying to understand global processes towards sustainability, I have also been drawn to the nuances and universalities in cross-cultural human-nature relations, knowledge transmission, and perceptions of happiness and wellbeing.

I have on several occasions worked with national government and inter-ministerial policy groups in attempts to assist the incorporation of more holistic and integrated sustainability indicators (e.g. Ecological Footprint, Gross National Happiness) into decision-making. With 20 years of experience evaluating international cooperation projects worldwide, and following principles of permaculture, my previous research looks at the ways in which the promotion and imposition of various forms of so-called “development” programmes – in the ways of mainstream systems of education, politico-spiritual governance, and natural resource management (including top-down conservation strategies) - affect local cultures, environments, knowledge systems, and overall wellbeing.

I have sat on the Executive Committee of the ICCA (Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas) Consortium, where I continue to be an Honorary Member, and am Member of the Centre of Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives (CICADA). I have Chaired the Finnish Society for Development Research, sat on the European Council for the Global Ecovillage Network, as well as sat on the Ethics Committee for Human Sciences at the University of Helsinki. I have also worked as Scientific Advisor for the Pocket Project, helping to address and integrate individual, ancestral and collective trauma in a fragmented world. 

Education information