CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
DESTINATIONS
DESTINATIONS
The Dreamtime, or the Dreaming, portrays the Aboriginal beliefs in spiritual existence. According to the tribes that first settled down in the continent, the Dreaming's roots date all the way back to the very begging of the creation of the world. The meaning and ideology of the term is generally not so well-understood by non-indigenous people as it is referred to as part of the culture of one of the early nations, which differs from modern perceptions.
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The Spirits were the creators of everything. They made the land and the seas, the rocks and the plants, the sky and the earth. They were the higher power and the Australian Aborigines spent their lifetimes honoring this power, which guided their path and shaped their way of thinking. Not only creators of everything, which could be seen as well as felt, the Spirits also gave the Aborigines the Dreaming.
The time when everything started existing according to the initial Australians, was called the Dreaming. This is the foundation of the continent's culture. The origin of the Dreaming goes way back - 65 000 years back in time to be exact. The Ancestors of the nation shaped the land, forming some parts of it as sacred. The Aborigines were very careful and overprotective of those places, strongly believing in their significance.
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The Australian Aborigines are known to have believed that the world didn't have any shape and was therefore empty. Darkness dominated, and life was simply asleep, but this changed when the creation began happening. After the Dreaming and the influence of the Spirits, objects began taking shapes and came to be. They created the four elements: water, earth, air and fire, as well as all the planets, the Sun and the Moon. The Dreaming therefore is a continuous process, which never ended. It is a small cosmos on its own, unifying the past, present and the future into one.
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The Australian Aborigines' home riches so many vivid areas of the continent, including Fraser Island, Tasmania, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt and Mornington Island. The Aborigines had very strong believes in relation to the powers of the land, claiming that they never owned it - it rather owned them. The only reason they were able to call it their home is because they were looking after it and the land was taking care of the people in return.
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Equally important to the Dreaming was the tribes' understandings of the disappearance of the Spirits. There came a time, when the creators of everything vanished from sight. Some of them were thought to have started living in sacred places, which is why the Aborigines perceived their homeland to be so sacred. The ancestors of today's Australians used to believe that the creators started living in rocks, in water holes and some went up to the sky to guide the people from above and keep them safe. Others transformed completely, taking the forms of the rain, the lightnings and the thunderstorms so they could be part of peoples' life.
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Among the hundred's different Aboriginal languages, there isn't a word to describe 'time', because to them this simply doesn't exist. Dreaming and Dreamtime are used to replace it and summarize the ideologies of the Aborigines about everything they knew, everything they could see, feel and experience. This is why the Dreaming has such a vivid, and overwhelming meaning and has survived the obstacles of time. For the past couple thousand years, the Dreaming has built a rich cultural heritage that can identify a whole nation.
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Read more about the Land, its connection to people and the way it has been perceived from different generations in the very first print issue of ORIGIN. The Land Issue covers varied topics, most of which remain related to cultural aspects of the land and its importance.
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A lot of people travel to explore places and learn about them which is the message that ORIGIN wants to spread. With traveling, however, comes certain responsibilities that we should all be aware of. Elephants riding has become a popular way to explore locations by land. People have been doing this as part of their trips, mostly to places such as Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia and other parts of Asia. It is a common thing to see in certain places in Africa as well. We investigated the activity to explain why it is wrong and riding elephants should be banned everywhere.
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Our first print issue studies culture and traveling represented through the land. We explored various location around the globe and learned what makes the land so valuable, which nations cherish it and how it helps us establish an identity. Traveling is important to us but traveling responsibly and making an impact is what we feel proud to stand behind. This is why riding elephants as a way of amusement should be reconsidered.
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Let’s talk about the details. Elephants are very caring and extremely intelligent animals. It is a well-known fact that they never forget anything. When kept in captivity instead of spending their life in the wild, elephants die younger. Unlike in other species, this is common for the gentle giants and is often a result for stress.
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Many African cultures respect elephants, believing they symbolize strength, loyalty and power. However, power can be a very tender concept. Elephant used as a tourism tool suffer from great pain daily. Elephants can be hurt very severely from the weight of carrying people and a trainer on their backs. The reason for this is the design of their spines. They have sharp protrusions, extending upwards from their spine instead of having round spinal disks. The protrusions and the tissue that serves to protect them can be harmed easily from weight pressure. Once a damage to their spine has been made, there is no going back and sometimes the harm can be irreversible. While this can’t be physically seen, the harm that the chairs can do to the elephants’ skin is. It is often the case that the chairs and the weight on their back can damage the animal’s skin and cause pain to their body. The chair, called Howdah, that gets attached to their backs, rubs on their skin and can cause blisters, which can sometimes get infected.
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The training that elephants are required to go through when in captivity sometimes adopts a traditional Thai ‘phajaan’ or ‘crush’ technique. Explaining the technique would compare it to the animals’ spirits constantly and continuously being broken by the means of torture and social isolation. This is done in order to tame them. Elephants are wild animals, this is their nature as they are born in such conditions. Making them safe and obedient around people requires them to go through such training. As horrible as it sounds, in some places young elephants are taken away from their mothers to be abused with nails, bull hooks and bamboo sticks to make them obey rules, given by people. The animals often lack sleep and are starved to become submissive.
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Actions from such nature are cruel and harmful as the technique is used to crash the animals’ spirit. Once wild and free, elephants become a source of tourism and entertainment. Nobody, who cared about sustainable tourism should ever ride an elephant.
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In a sense, elephants have a human soul. They socialise and feel everything – pain, happiness, grief, sadness etc. They spend their life building families and finding friends. The largest land animals are a gift from nature and it is our responsibility to take special care of them and make sure they live according to their nature. Many animals, who are kept in captivity, are forced to live in isolation and carry heavy loads all day long, which is a wrong way to treat them. Their strength and power shouldn’t be abused but treated gently and celebrated by people. Elephants require minimal care to stay happy and healthy, which comes from giving them freedom to behave naturally and socialise. It is our responsibility to be culturally aware while traveling and make sure to spread awareness about the problem.
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You can read the rest of the article as published in the LAND issue.
RANCHLANDS
THE FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS THAT PROMOTES CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, BUILDS A COMMUNITY AND PRESERVES BIODIVERSITY
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Explore the diverse programs of this family-owned business that focuses on conservation and preservation of biodiversity, while empowering and educating young people to manage ranches in a sustainable way. We caught up with the team of Ranchlands to learn about their conservation practices and what it's like to stay at their locations
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Ranchlands is a family business focused on promoting the conservation of ranch lands and quality of life for people living and working on ranches. The agricultural-based business operates large-scale cattle and bison ranches in the American West. They partner with conservation-minded owners to develop ambitious conservation programs alongside running their diversified cattle business and advisory services around fishing, hunting, hospitality and ecotourism.
The goal of Ranchlands is large-scale preservation and restoration of natural resources. Not only are the ranches economically self-sufficient, but vigorous conservation programs improves biodiversity while supporting the full employment of the ranch real estate owners of their lands and eliminating the ongoing costs. Even in times of draught or weak cattle markets, the ranches ensure to remain ecologically and financially viable thanks to their ancillary business. Ranchlands is focused on preserving ranching heritage and traditions while also embracing new ways of thinking.
The business owners view ranching as a way of preserving the biodiversity of large-scale American grasslands and seek opportunities for ranchers and environmentalists to combine resources and knowledge to improve land management. The team considers it their responsibility to protect the lands they live and work on, which ultimately support them. They strive to empower young people interested in ranching and to provide learning opportunities to new ranch owners at a time when ranching is losing a high percentage of its young people as the refinancing of the American West results in ranches being purchased by investors with little to none hands-on ecosystem management experience.
Ranchlands cares deeply for the future generations, the public and other ranching communities. They cultivate their experiences and offer expertise with ambitious conservation objectives in ecological restoration, ranch management, business management, and entrepreneurial creativity to other ranch owners. Ranchlands work closely with conservation organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and several others to achieve responsible conservation practices and to reduce the stress on ecosystems.
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In our conversation with the Ranchlands team, we learn about their most popular locations, their community, their favourite thing about the American West, and their conservation practices.
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‘‘I think everyone involved in Ranchlands has a deep love of the land and it’s wild inhabitants, each connecting to it in a different way. The romance and beauty of the West is still very much alive.’’
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Kate Matheson, Zapata Ranch Manager & Ranchlands PR for NOMADSofORIGIN Magazine
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NOMADSofORIGIN: You have ranch conservations across the American West. Which is the most popular location?
Kate: We manage 5 large scale ranches in the West. We currently offer experiences for people to take part in on two of them, Chico Basin Ranch and Zapata Ranch but if you are a member of The Ranchlands Collective you have the opportunity to stay on four of the properties. You can be a member of the collective for as little as $5 per month.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: What inspired you to create the conservation?
Kate: The Zapata Ranch is owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by Ranchlands. Ranchlands was founded by Duke Phillips lll and now owned and run by himself and two of his children, Tess Leach and Duke Phillips.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: You offer guests the option to book a stay with you. What is that experience like for them?
Kate: At the Zapata ranch we offer horseback riding across both the ranch and the Great Sand Dunes. You can experience seeing the Nature Conservancy owned, wild bison herd up-close along with numerous wildlife, flora and fauna. We offer a fully immersive ranch experience that includes ecology walks, guided hikes in to the Sangre De Cristo mountains, horsemanship classes and other specialized workshops like Natural Fabric Dyeing with Edie Ure or literature weeks with Pam Houston.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: Ranchlands is focused on community. Why was it important for you to establish a close connection with people and nature as well?
Kate: We actually developed The Ranchlands Collective as the next phase of our community building. A way for people from around the world to join our mission in perpetuating ranching into the future and demonstrating how ranching can create environmental change at scale. Members will gain behind-the-scenes access to our work, team, and community through a variety of resources and benefits that will allow our community to grow.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: What are your favourite things about Western America?
Kate: I think everyone involved in Ranchlands has a deep love of the land and it’s wild inhabitants, each connecting to it in a different way. The romance and beauty of the West is still very much alive.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: How many horses do you take care of and what do you do to make sure that they live a healthy life?
Kate: We have a large horse herds in each ranch. At Zapata we have around 60 horses. They live together out on pasture in one large herd year round. They are a group that know each other very well, they have hierarchy and structure. They’re all riding horses, used to the sandy footing across the ranch and the dunes, used to the presence of coyotes and large bison, to wild winds and occasional hail storms. They’re tough and hardy and kind and are the most important element and companions we have on the ranch. Their happiness and well being is our happiness and well being.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: What do guests love most about Zapata?
Kate: I think Zapata provides people with a sense of wonderment and exhilaration. A connection to nature and freedom so removed from their day to day lives.
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NOMADSofORIGIN: What are the difficulties you encountered wen creating Ranchlands?
Kate: As ranchers our difficulties are raising awareness of the positive role ranching can take in increasing bio diversity and carbon sequestration. We see education as an important tool in increasing that awareness and our new membership, the Ranchlands Collective is one of the ways in which we are doing that.
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Follow @ranchlands on social media.
NOMADSofORIGIN x Ranchlands
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This interview appears in NOMADSofORIGIN Magazine print #06 The Trailblazers Issue
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