Forest Builders

Khanh-Linh
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Forest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. Feeling sometimes at loss with how we are collectively responding (or not responding) to the climate crisis ahead of us, I found inspiration in these conversations with people who found their pathway into action. I had the chance to meet these inspiring individuals, and they were generous to share their time and stories. I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they inspired me! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. Farwiza Farhan - Empowering communities to save the Leuser ecosystem

    25/06/2025

    Farwiza Farhan - Empowering communities to save the Leuser ecosystem

    In today's episode of Forest Builders, we are interviewing online with Farwiza Farhan . Farwiza is well known as a conservation hero. You may have seen her on the cover of the Times as the leader of the Time 100 list. She received multiple accolades for her work with HAKA foundation and her dedication to save the Leuser ecosystem : National Geographic Wayfinder Award, Whitley Award, the Ramon Magsasay Award in the Emergent Leadership, just to name a few. But what is the daily life of a conservation hero, and what is Farwiza’s specific philosophy about conservation ? A lot is being said about the importance of local communities, but what can organization like HAKA do on the ground to involve them in conservation efforts? Join me to find out Farwiza’s take on that.   For a deeper dive in Farwiza’s world, you can listen to her Ted Talk here Forest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. Forest Builders is a podcast by Nature Builders Podcasts, a podcast series bringing the spotlight on conservation heroes and their stories. Listen to our brother podcast Blue Builders, hosted by the amazing Romain Joly for ocean conservation stories! Did you enjoy the episode? Don't hesitate to shoot stars, or a comment to let me know how to make it even better . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
  2. Dimitri Moreels - Creating a chocolate factory with Congo's oldest national park

    20/02/2025

    Dimitri Moreels - Creating a chocolate factory with Congo's oldest national park

    In today's episode, we are interviewing online with Dimitri Moreels. Dimitri’s entrepreneurship journey started 20 years ago, and took him from Belgium to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he currently lives. Today, he is the founder and co-CEO of Envirium Life Sciences, a group that encompasses several businesses : Virunga Enzymes, COPAK and Virunga Origins. Dimitri shared his story of building business ventures in Congo, the challenges of building for the long run in a place where basic infrastructures and safety are not a given, but also the rewards of being able to make a difference for the communities and for nature with the Virunga National Park (the one that made it on Netflix) Our discussion explored the role of economic development and for-profit companies in the preservation of nature. Here’s the angle of an entrepreneur who believes that sustainability starts with profits, and that the restauration of the park is deeply rooted in the economic development of the region. We also talked about Dimitri’s latest venture Virunga Origins, where he got onboard a famous Belgian chocolatier, Dominique Persoone, and the Virunga National Park itself as co-founders.  For a deeper dive in Dimitri's world, order a piece of Virunga Origins Chocolate here to chew on while you watch the Virunga documentary on netflix Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    54 min
  3. Dr Ryan Merrill - Becoming a mangrove forester

    30/01/2025

    Dr Ryan Merrill - Becoming a mangrove forester

    In this episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Dr Ryan Merrill, the co-founder of the Global Mangrove Trust (GMT) GMT is a non profit organization based in Singapore whose mission is to enable the preservation and development of mangroves – all around the world. Because you will learn in this episode how mangrove forestry is an effective, yet overlooked, solution against climate change (and that is not only because mangrove are carbon sinks – 4 to 5 times more powerful than rainforests in capturing carbon) Effective blue carbon projects are not many to come by, and scaling them is today’s challenge. But Dr. Ryan is also a researcher on the topic of sustainability, strategy and innovation, topics on which he taught at Singapore Management University and University of Southern California. So the solution he designed with the founders of the Global Mangrove Trust is actually all about scale.     Forest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action.  Did you enjoy the episode? Let me know how to make it even better here. You can also find deeper dives on topics mentioned Dr Ryan's "Miracle Mangroves" Business Case from where his story started Arnie Fjortoft's pioneering work on mangrove restoration in Myanmar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min
  4. Rhett Ayers Butler - Building a conservation news media

    09/01/2025

    Rhett Ayers Butler - Building a conservation news media

    In this episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Rhett Ayers Butler, the founder of Mongabay. Mongabay is an independent non profit media reporting on conservation, and is basically the top of mind conservation news media. It’s been named by the Time magazine as one of the best "green websites". Rhett founded Mongabay back in 1999 when he was still a student, out of passion for the tropical rainforests. 25 years on, Rhett still operates today as Mongabay’s CEO, and received several awards recognizing his work as an environmental journalist. In today’s episode, I wanted to explore the crucial role that information plays in forest conservation with someone who spent the last two decades building a news outlet reporting on the state of nature conservation and a global network of environmental journalists. Interested by Mongabay's impact? See the articles refered to in our conversation : Full overview of 2024 by Rhett Rhett's top of mind impactful article in Mongabay Forest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. Connect with the host and send your feedback & ideas here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    54 min
  5. Jim Thomas - Saving an endangered species 101

    20/12/2024

    Jim Thomas - Saving an endangered species 101

    In this episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Jim Thomas. Jim is a zoologist and a conservationist who is devoted to saving the Tree Kangaroos of the Torricelli Mountain Range. From his first encounter with the tree kangaroo when he was working as a zookeeper to building his life in Papua New Guinea for more than 20 years with his wife Jean Thomas, Jim is a movie-like conservation hero and the couple received multiple accolades for their continuous work from the conservation community. In our conversation he talks about all it took to make it happen in this remote areas of PNG, and all the details put together that shape the reality of his in-situ conservation journey. And at the same time he shared the essence about what he feels makes conservation work work : empathy, patience, and presence. Jim’s positive nature, his care towards other living beings and the simple way with which he talks about what he does makes his story deeply inspiring. In this end of year season when self-reflection is around the corner, it’s not a bad idea to listen to someone who lives his life with that abundance of meaning ! 😉 You can still add a Tenkile plush toy to Santa’s list or in a more straight forward way, contribute directly to TCA here Interested in Jim’s work? Dive deeper with the links below Roger Martin’s reference book on tree kangaroos Into the Jungle – the documentary covering TCA’s work Forest Builders is a podcast hosted by Khanh-Linh bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. Connect with the host and send your feedback & ideas here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min
  6. Bastien Sachet - What it means to be an Earthworm

    05/12/2024

    Bastien Sachet - What it means to be an Earthworm

    In today’s episode of Forest Builders, Bastien tells us why Earthworm Foundation choses to see large corporations not only as problems, but also as unmissable parts of the solutions Bastien Sachet is the CEO of Earthworm - a non-profit organization for nature. Earthworm Foundation is on a mission to protect nature by supporting companies and industries to transition towards more sustainable supply chains, (good news is, in some cases, it worked!). Is there still hope working with large corporations to fight against deforestation or will it forever remain greenwashing blah blah? Why would you chose the earthworm as your muse? If you are hitting your 30s and feel thoroughly misaligned between the nature of your work and your care for nature, is it too late ? Listen to this episode with Bastien to find out Forest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests, in their very own way. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. I am Khanh-Linh, and I am the host of this podcast. I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they inspired me! Mentioned in this episode // Greenpeace Kit Kat Campaign Center of Social Excellence in Central Africa Bastien's TedX Talk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m
  7. Matt Leggett - From NGOs to building South East Asia's top of mind Nature Venture Builder

    21/11/2024

    Matt Leggett - From NGOs to building South East Asia's top of mind Nature Venture Builder

    In this third episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Matt Leggett, the founder of Terratai - a venture builder for nature If your Linkedin feed looks like mine, everyone is an impact investor these days…But you will see that Matt’s story is quite different! In this episode, Matt tells us how he became an impact investor after years working in conservation NGOs such as WWF and Wildlife Conservation Society, and how this bridge from the NGO sector to the private sector gives him the fresh outlook that’s needed to support the growth of Nature Based Solutions in South East Asia. How should one translate the rules of operating a VC when looking at Nature Based Business? Is it realistic to expect a Nature Based Solution to grow at the same speed as another AI startup? Will there be a Nature-Based Unicorn? If recently you have been wondering how can we connect all this green money that we keep hearing about in press releases to green projects, this episode is for you. About Forest Builders - Forest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests, in their very own way. From guerilla activists to venture capitalists, from law makers to community volunteers, our guests come in all kind of shapes but they share one common thing – they found their way to action. I am Khanh-Linh, and I am the host of this podcast. I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they inspired me! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min
  8. Etelle Higonnet - Fighting for Human Rights and against deforestation

    06/11/2024

    Etelle Higonnet - Fighting for Human Rights and against deforestation

    In this second episode of Forest Builders, we are listening to Etelle Higonnet, the founder of Coffee Watch. Etelle has been an activist against deforestation for decades, working with Climate Defiance, Mighty Earth, and Greenpeace among others, while in the earlier years of her career she focused on Human Rights advocacy. Her impactful work has been recognized most notably as she received the médaille of chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite in France. In this episode, we will understand why she moved her focus from fighting for human rights to fighting deforestation, and what keeps her smiling even after decades of witnessing wrongdoings. Let's discover what is in the toolbox of a seasoned advocate who believes that changing industries as established as cocoa and coffee is not only necessary – it is possible. If you don't like listening to angry environmental activists - this episode is just right for you because Etelle is everything but. She's laughing, she's smiling, and well she still found a way to bring a change. If you are ready to meet an activist like no other – let’s go! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m
  9. Aviram Rozin - Seeding forests around the world with Sadhana Forest

    22/10/2024

    Aviram Rozin - Seeding forests around the world with Sadhana Forest

    In this first episode, we are listening to Aviram Rozin, the founder of Sadhana Forest. Sadhana Forest is an ecological community project that started in Auroville (Tamil Nadu, India). Its mission is to transform eroded lands into forests and support the local rural villages. Aviram and his family started Sadhana Forests in 2003, in a barren land in Auroville. Almost 20 years later, the original place where they started is lush and green, and Sadhana Forest is expanding beyond with 4 other locations in India, but also in other countries : Haiti, Kenya, Namibia. Since the beginning, more than fifteen thousands volunteers have joined to contribute to grow Sadhana Forest and build one of the largest volunteering communities in the world. Discover Sadhana Forest here - they welcome volunteers all year long in their different locations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    56 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Forest Builders is a podcast bringing to you the stories of people who dedicate their work to the preservation of our forests. Feeling sometimes at loss with how we are collectively responding (or not responding) to the climate crisis ahead of us, I found inspiration in these conversations with people who found their pathway into action. I had the chance to meet these inspiring individuals, and they were generous to share their time and stories. I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they inspired me! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Khanh-Linh
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Khanh-Linh Lê
  • Show Website
    Forest Builders