Prof. Octavian Gakuru

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people". The reality of the current world system - which positions global regions, religions, and skin tones into a hierarchy of power and wealth that condones oppression, pollution, and extermination of all life - has forced us to seek ways to make a difference.

This current world order thrives on an ideology that deems people hierarchically as more or less human, and proclaims one civilisation as superior to others. With the consequent right to subjugate and destroy those deemed other than human. A society that is believed to honour nature, animals and life is by some considered a primitive and outdated way of life. Yet most societies in their history have once valued and honoured nature and life.

The realisation that almost all cultures, religions, ways of living have once seen or still see the value of nature and trees, has brought us together to form a networking platform for communities and people who want to make a difference, no matter how small. We find strength in the African worldview, according to which each person is a bearer of a unique gift which is valuable to the community and to the world. This concept is also the basis of the Ubuntu philosophy, as it emphasises our collective responsibility and need for recognition of the other’s humanity.

We are all like the vines that form the roots of a sycamore tree. Vines that each look alone, independent and isolated, yet are in fact connected to the others because they are part of the same totality. This realisation that we are all connected to each other, and to nature, is what inspired Power from Below; an autonomous network platform that invites people to come together and forge new ways of thinking, share their knowledge and nurture our global interconnectedness.

From the global North to the global South to the global East and the global West; from indigenous knowledge to alternative ways of living; for all who seek knowledge from experience, practice, and invention in the quest for ecologically and socially equitable lifestyles. The kind of lifestyles that will enable the survival of the environment, life, and humanity and let them thrive without leaving in its wake subjugation, extermination and oppression.