What Takes Root: Stories of Resistance and Reclamation

Cómo una bióloga colombiana reimagina el cuidado y la resistencia desde el bosque

En este episodio de Echando Raíces, la bióloga y gestora comunitaria colombiana María Clara Botero Zapata comparte cómo crecer en una familia campesina, rodeada de montañas y bosques, dio forma a su manera de entender la vida, el cuidado y la resistencia. Reflexiona sobre la decisión de su familia de crear una reserva natural, restaurando un territorio que ya había sido profundamente afectado por la deforestación y la degradación ambiental, y cómo ese proceso transformó no solo el ecosistema, sino también su relación con la comunidad. A través de sus estudios en biología, María Clara comenzó a cuestionar los enfoques tradicionales, muchas veces colonizantes, de la ciencia, y a acercarse a formas de conocimiento más relacionales y centradas en la comunidad. En el corazón de su historia está el reconocimiento del trabajo de cuidado, especialmente el trabajo invisible que sostienen las mujeres y las niñas incluso en medio de crisis ambientales. María Clara nos invita a repensar lo que significa proteger la naturaleza, recordándonos que no podemos proteger lo que no conocemos y que, a veces, nuestras mayores maestras son los árboles, la tierra y las comunidades que viven en relación cercana con ellos. Para más información sobre ORA, visitahttps:// [https://orawards.org/]orawards.org/ [http://orawards.org/]

How a Colombian Biologist Reimagines Care and Resistance in the Forest

Short description: In this episode of What Takes Root, Colombian biologist and community advocate María Clara Botero Zapata shares how growing up in a campesino family surrounded by mountains and forests shaped her understanding of life, care, and resistance. She reflects on her family’s decision to create a natural reserve, restoring land that had already been deeply impacted by deforestation and environmental degradation, and how that process transformed not only the ecosystem, but their relationship with their community. Through her studies in biology, María Clara began to question traditional, often colonizing approaches to science, and instead turned toward a more relational and community centered way of knowing. At the heart of her story is a deep recognition of care work, especially the invisible labor carried by women and girls who sustain life even in the face of environmental crisis. María Clara invites us to rethink what it means to protect nature, reminding us that we cannot protect what we do not know, and that sometimes, our greatest teachers are the trees, the soil, and the communities who live in close relationship with them. For more information about ORA, visithttps:// [https://orawards.org/]orawards.org/ [http://orawards.org/]

She Ran Away to Learn—And Came Back to Change Everything

Growing up in an Adivasi village in Jharkhand, Jacinta Kerketta never imagined she would become a voice for her people. In this episode of What Takes Root, Jacinta recalls how she fled violence in her home and journeyed to the unfamiliar and often hostile world of the city in search of an education. Moving between these two realities, she’s forced to confront caste, gender violence, and the erasure of her people’s stories. Jacinta finds her purpose in writing, where she can challenge harmful narratives about Adivasi communities and carve out space for her own voice. But her work doesn’t stop there—what starts as one young woman’s determination to get an education grows into something much larger. Returning to the villages that shaped her, Jacinta begins organizing with girls like her—creating spaces to write, speak, and imagine new futures.

Cómo una narradora boliviana utiliza el sonido como herramienta de resistencia y educación

En este episodio de Echando Raíces, la comunicadora y artista sonora boliviana Isapi Rua comparte cómo su camino comenzó en las calles, documentando protestas sociales y ambientales que impactan profundamente a su comunidad. Lo que empezó como observar y grabar pronto se convirtió en algo más, un llamado a contar historias a través del sonido. Isapi reflexiona sobre un momento clave en el que entendió que muchas luchas no se pierden porque la gente deje de resistir, sino porque no tienen su propio relato. A través del audio, encontró una forma de llevar las voces, las memorias y las emociones de quienes luchan por proteger su territorio y su forma de vida. Su trabajo se sitúa en la intersección entre el arte de contar historias, el activismo y la escucha. Nos invita a pensar el sonido no solo como un medio, sino como una forma de sentir, recordar y sostener la resistencia colectiva. Para más información sobre ORA, visitahttps:// [https://orawards.org/]orawards.org/ [http://orawards.org/]

How a Bolivian Storyteller Uses Sound as a Tool for Resistance and Education

In this episode of What Takes Root, Bolivian communicator and sound artist Isapi Rua shares how her journey began in the streets, documenting social and environmental protests that were deeply impacting her community. What started as witnessing and recording quickly became something more, a calling to tell stories through sound. Isapi reflects on a pivotal moment when she realized that many struggles are not lost because people stop resisting, but because they lack their own narratives. Through audio, she found a way to carry the voices, memories, and emotions of those fighting to protect their land and way of life. Her work sits at the intersection of storytelling, activism, and listening. She invites us to think about sound not just as a medium, but as a way of feeling, remembering, and sustaining collective resistance. For more information about ORA, visithttps:// [https://orawards.org/]orawards.org/ [http://orawards.org/]