Awakening Lands

Today, we are chatting with Kiran Topiwala! Kiran is an artist, someone who is learning to walk the pathway of regeneration, a seeker of the right way to be humans together on Earth.

He believes in the power of collaboration, innovation, and conscious design to create a positive impact on the world. 

He is the founder of Kula, which is doing some very inspiring things to make regenerative practices and land connection accessible for more people. He’s also the creative director at Unorthodox publishing, a community art and storytelling initiative.

A pivotal moment in Kiran's life was when he chose as a practicum in his master's program through Emory to work for a grassroots organization in Dharamshala, India called EduCARE. 

It was at EduCARE that Kiran met a true community weaver, one might also say landscape leader. This was a man named Harjeet, who has since strongly informed how Kiran thinks about community and landscape regeneration. It was Harjeet that introduced him to “regenerative flows” of value, resources, and connection that run throughout communities everywhere, always available for aware, engaged, and creative weavers to weave with...

Kiran also likes fishing and photography. 

You can learn more about Kiran by following him on Instagram @topiloveschai, going to his website for his photography work https://kirantopiwala.com/, or checking out the Kula webpage (in development) at https://www.kula.earth/

If Kiran’s story inspired you, check out some recommendations he shared when asked about influential resources, learnings, and networks he has come across over his lifetime.

Some of the books that have inspired and guided him:

- The Bhagavad Gita (and Upanishads) (transl. by Eknath Easwaran),

- Jiddu Krishnamurti's "Education and the Significance of Life" and "Freedom from the Known."

- "One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka

- "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer

- "The politics of waking up" by Indra Adnan

- "The Argumentative Indian" by Amartya Sen

- Various works by Rabindranath Tagore

- Of course, Joe Brewer's "Design Pathway for Regenerating Earth" !!!

And some of his favorite musical influences:

- "Chaap Tilak Sab Cheen" sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

- "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" by Fela Kuti

- "Savanne" by Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin

- "Yeh jo des hai tera" by A.R. Rahman

- "Floated by" by Peter Cat Recording Co.

- "Snake Charmer" by Raf Saperra and Sukshinder Shinda

- "Where My Wild Things Are" by Ryan Bingham

- "The Maker" by Willie Nelson

- "What's the use?" by Mac Miller

- "Texas Sun" by Leon Bridges and Khruangbin

Kiran sends a special shoutout to his family... Rajan, Rohit and Shilpa Topiwala. 

You can follow along as we continue to weave this story on our Substack at awakeninglands.substack.com.

If you'd like to support Anna and Benji to continue weaving stories through Awakening Lands, you can do that from our Patreon Page at https://www.patreon.com/awakening_lands.