Forest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. Feeling sometimes at loss with ho...
Dimitri Moreels - Creating a chocolate factory with Congo's oldest national park
In today's episode, we are interviewing online with Dimitri Moreels. Dimitri’s entrepreneurship journey started 20 years ago, and took him from Belgium to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he currently lives. Today, he is the founder and co-CEO of Envirium Life Sciences, a group that encompasses several businesses : Virunga Enzymes, COPAK and Virunga Origins.Dimitri shared his story of building business ventures in Congo, the challenges of building for the long run in a place where basic infrastructures and safety are not a given, but also the rewards of being able to make a difference for the communities and for nature with the Virunga National Park (the one that made it on Netflix)Our discussion explored the role of economic development and for-profit companies in the preservation of nature. Here’s the angle of an entrepreneur who believes that sustainability starts with profits, and that the restauration of the park is deeply rooted in the economic development of the region. We also talked about Dimitri’s latest venture Virunga Origins, where he got onboard a famous Belgian chocolatier, Dominique Persoone, and the Virunga National Park itself as co-founders. For a deeper dive in Dimitri's world, order a piece of Virunga Origins Chocolate here to chew on while you watch the Virunga documentary on netflix Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr Ryan Merrill - Becoming a mangrove forester
In this episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Dr Ryan Merrill, the co-founder of the Global Mangrove Trust (GMT)GMT is a non profit organization based in Singapore whose mission is to enable the preservation and development of mangroves – all around the world. Because you will learn in this episode how mangrove forestry is an effective, yet overlooked, solution against climate change (and that is not only because mangrove are carbon sinks – 4 to 5 times more powerful than rainforests in capturing carbon)Effective blue carbon projects are not many to come by, and scaling them is today’s challenge. But Dr. Ryan is also a researcher on the topic of sustainability, strategy and innovation, topics on which he taught at Singapore Management University and University of Southern California. So the solution he designed with the founders of the Global Mangrove Trust is actually all about scale. Forest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. Did you enjoy the episode? Let me know how to make it even better here. You can also find deeper dives on topics mentionedDr Ryan's "Miracle Mangroves" Business Case from where his story started Arnie Fjortoft's pioneering work on mangrove restoration in Myanmar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Rhett Ayers Butler - Building a conservation news media
In this episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Rhett Ayers Butler, the founder of Mongabay. Mongabay is an independent non profit media reporting on conservation, and is basically the top of mind conservation news media. It’s been named by the Time magazine as one of the best "green websites".Rhett founded Mongabay back in 1999 when he was still a student, out of passion for the tropical rainforests. 25 years on, Rhett still operates today as Mongabay’s CEO, and received several awards recognizing his work as an environmental journalist. In today’s episode, I wanted to explore the crucial role that information plays in forest conservation with someone who spent the last two decades building a news outlet reporting on the state of nature conservation and a global network of environmental journalists.Interested by Mongabay's impact? See the articles refered to in our conversation :Full overview of 2024 by RhettRhett's top of mind impactful article in MongabayForest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. Connect with the host and send your feedback & ideas here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jim Thomas - Saving an endangered species 101
In this episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Jim Thomas. Jim is a zoologist and a conservationist who is devoted to saving the Tree Kangaroos of the Torricelli Mountain Range. From his first encounter with the tree kangaroo when he was working as a zookeeper to building his life in Papua New Guinea for more than 20 years with his wife Jean Thomas, Jim is a movie-like conservation hero and the couple received multiple accolades for their continuous work from the conservation community.In our conversation he talks about all it took to make it happen in this remote areas of PNG, and all the details put together that shape the reality of his in-situ conservation journey. And at the same time he shared the essence about what he feels makes conservation work work : empathy, patience, and presence. Jim’s positive nature, his care towards other living beings and the simple way with which he talks about what he does makes his story deeply inspiring. In this end of year season when self-reflection is around the corner, it’s not a bad idea to listen to someone who lives his life with that abundance of meaning !😉 You can still add a Tenkile plush toy to Santa’s list or in a more straight forward way, contribute directly to TCA hereInterested in Jim’s work? Dive deeper with the links belowRoger Martin’s reference book on tree kangaroosInto the Jungle – the documentary covering TCA’s workForest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. Connect with the host and send your feedback & ideas here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Bastien Sachet - What it means to be an Earthworm
In today’s episode of Forest Builders, Bastien tells us why Earthworm Foundation choses to see large corporations not only as problems, but also as unmissable parts of the solutionsBastien Sachet is the CEO of Earthworm - a non-profit organization for nature. Earthworm Foundation is on a mission to protect nature by supporting companies and industries to transition towards more sustainable supply chains, (good news is, in some cases, it worked!). Is there still hope working with large corporations to fight against deforestation or will it forever remain greenwashing blah blah? Why would you chose the earthworm as your muse? If you are hitting your 30s and feel thoroughly misaligned between the nature of your work and your care for nature, is it too late ?Listen to this episode with Bastien to find outForest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests, in their very own way. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action.I am Khanh-Linh, and I am the host of this podcast. I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they inspired me!Mentioned in this episode //Greenpeace Kit Kat CampaignCenter of Social Excellence in Central AfricaBastien's TedX Talk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Forest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. Feeling sometimes at loss with how we are collectively responding (or not responding) to the climate crisis ahead of us, I found inspiration in these conversations with people who found their pathway into action. I had the chance to meet these inspiring individuals, and they were generous to share their time and stories. I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they inspired me! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Colombia