African Earth Jurisprudence Collective

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Ancestors

Our ancestors are those who have inspired this path for Earth Jurisprudence in Africa. They continue to accompany us as the path unfolds.

We hold them dearly in our hearts and minds. 

Ricardo Marín

Colombian Amazon

Ricardo was a charismatic Indigenous leader from the Pirá Paraná River in the Colombian Amazon. A well-respected shaman of the Barasana community, he inherited the art of healing from his grandparents and ancestors. Through a dream, he foresaw the path that Amazon methodologies could open for African communities, sharing his wisdom generously when he visited South Africa.

Thomas Berry

USA

Thomas was a cultural historian, ‘geologian’ and poet who sought a broader perspective on humanity’s relationship to the Earth. He warned that civilizations which grow quickly, at the expense of their ecological foundations, will also collapse quickly, and advocated for a shift from human-centred to Earth-centred society. He is the ‘father of Earth Jurisprudence’.

Thomas Berry

Ng’ang’a Thiong’o

Kenya

Thiong’o was a lawyer (known as the ‘barefoot lawyer’), and became so deeply inspired when he visited the Colombian Amazon, that he began to work with communities in Kenya to protect sacred natural sites. He also worked closely with Wangari Maathai, including in advocating for Earth Jurisprudence principles to be included in the new Constitution for Kenya, enacted in 2010.

Wangari Maathai

Kenya

Prof, as she was fondly known, founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, working with rural woman to plant trees on critical watersheds and becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She was part of our early explorations around Earth Jurisprudence, and recognised ‘culture as the missing link’ in the ways ‘development’ was conceived and practiced.

Dr Melaku Worede

Ethiopia

Melaku was an Ethiopian plant scientist celebrated for establishing the first gene bank in Africa, by bringing together traditional farmers with scientists. The relationship between seeds and sacred natural sites was of particular interest for Melaku, who studied how domesticated varieties develop resilient traits when grown in the wild, enhancing genetic diversity and thereby resilience.

Mugwe

Kenya

Mugwe was the spiritual leader of the Tharakan people for some 20 years, coming from the lineage known as Mbai of the Kithuri clan. He was always present when Earth Jurisprudence practitioners visited Kenya, becoming an elder for the Earth Jurisprudence Practitioners and sharing his wisdom with other communities in Africa.

Margret Kagole Byarufu

Uganda

Kagole, of Uganda’s Bagungu people, was custodian of their Wandyeka sacred natural site in Kisyansya. She was an inspiration for the Earth Jurisprudence community of practice, embodying the dignity, confidence and joy that is revived when we choose to remember our rich cultural, ecological and spiritual heritage. Kagole contributed to the passing of African Commission Resolution 372, which recognised sacred natural sites and custodial governance.