GAIA REGENERANTS CYCLE
"Regenerate" means to restore, rebuild, organise again. To put back on its feet what has been knocked down. Regenerate can also mean to generate again; to be a source, a seed of new ways of organising the world.
We are living in a time in which the levels of degradation of the Earth's spaces, accelerated by the impact of human actions, are calling for us to rediscover our bearings. Sensing the movements of the planet and aligning ourselves with them is nothing new; it's a very old way of paying attention, of tuning in, of "pisar suavemente sobre a Terra", as Ailton Krenak proposes.
However, modern, industrial, capitalist and extractivist society leaves very deep footprints on the planet. Its traces are like scars, erasing the fertile living conditions for the different species that inhabit Gaia – a word of Greek origin meaning Mother Earth.
Gaia was recovered in the 20th century by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, two scientists who realised and defended that life on Earth, contrary to what had been thought until then, was not the random result of a long dispute between individuals. The Earth is like a living organism, whose parts self-regulate in an interconnected way, sustaining the balance of the whole.
Our species is within this living organism, among countless other forms of life. In his book Regenerantes de Gaia, the main source for this cycle of studies, Fabio Scarano proposes that the human species, due to its ability to perceive how this organism works – being able to measure and track planetary environmental changes, for example – could act as the Earth's nervous system. An active part, contributing to the whole rather than destroying it.
In this cycle of studies, we seek to extend this net of sensors to diverse sources of knowledge, cultures and study materials in order to broaden our notion of Gaia and the possible ways to regenerate her scars.
ABOUT THE CYCLE
The Regenerants of Gaia online cycle includes 4 recorded meetings and other complementary materials, which can be accessed via the icons on this page.
We also recommend reading the book Regenerantes de Gaia by Fabio Scarano, which was the starting point for the creation of this cycle of studies.
Study material
BOOK
PROGRAMME
