about

I'm Ania Ektate, a faciltator, activist, and artist, from Mumbai, India, currently living in the Netherlands. I create spaces for humans to open channels of communication with the more-than-human (what some call nature), in hopes that relations can be rewoven,. This involves tuning into our senses, remembering forgotten forms of dialogue, resting in the unknown, and participating in play with other humans. I feel that our ability to create relations with the world beyond us must include how we relate with each other and how we relate with our perceptions of who we are. For me, meditation and embodiment practices pave the way for deeper awareness of this inter-relationality, and thus they form the core of my work. To make this awareness more tangible, I expand those practices with outdoor journeys, sharing circles, and art-explorations.

My work is pluriversal, it is inspired by and created with a kaleidoscope of lenses in mind. Some of these are: The Work That Reconnects, Spiritual Ecology, Decolonialism, Mindfulness, Somatics, Environmental Justice, and more. As the Zapatistas say, I work towards weaving 'a world where many worlds fit', and I recognize that all these worlds are porous, un-fixed, that they move within and through each other. This also requires a suspension of agency, giving way to wisdoms and ways of being that go beyond a purely intellectual focus. Which is why I have been drawn to alternative pedagogies and indigenous ontologies, as well as embodied methodologies, cultivating new ways of learning in conventional academic spaces. For if we wish to breathe new worlds into being, we must imagine them within our beings.

Yet another facet of my work strives to allow complex emotions towards the state of our planetary being, such as grief, sorrow and anger, to emerge forth from where they've been hidden. In letting these sensibilities flow, I witness both myself and others move deeper into love and hope, as they are inextricably linked with our pain for the world. In composting our pain with tenderness, a transformation begins, from within which new possibilities may emerge.

What I bring into the world is never mine; it is always the result of collaborations with many human and non-human entities. Which is why I'm glad to mention that I'm a registered facilitator of The Work That Reconnects, a framework created by Joanna Macy, and now carried by many facilitators world-wide, that turns climate despair and grief into actionable hope and accountability for our living world. I've carried TWTR into many settings, especially whilst being a volunteer with Spiritual Ecology Netherlands, where we design workshops and courses for students and professionals, helping them reconnect with the larger web of life. I'm also an advocate for The International Dark Sky Association, as part of my connection with the night sky, stars, and cosmos. Others I co-weave with include: OtherWise, Spectrum, Pluriversity Weavers, De Grote Broek, and the more-than-human of course.