What Matters Ep 3 | Building a Regenerative Economy in South Africa

In this captured live conversation ⁠Nicole Bastien⁠ and her guest ⁠Anneen Maree⁠, a sustainable community builder from South Africa, explore the importance of community for building a regenerative economy locally. Ups and downs in this development included.

00:00:00 - Introduction to What Matters Podcast
Nicole Bastien introduces the What Matters podcast, highlighting its focus on the regenerative economy and uniting impact creators from various fields.

00:02:00 - Meeting the Guest, Anneen
Nicole Bastien introduces Anneen, a sustainable community builder from South Africa.

00:03:23 - Anneen's Approach to Regenerative Economy
Anneen discusses her approach to creating a regenerative economy, emphasizing the importance of community participation and sustainable economic systems.

00:09:10 - Challenges of Implementing a Regenerative Economy
Sharing the challenges of implementing a regenerative economy, including the need to adapt technology and training to the local community's knowledge base.

00:16:18 - Building Trust and Community Engagement
Emphasizing the importance of trust, community engagement, and transparency in building successful projects within the community.

00:23:40 - Community Empowerment and Infrastructure
Discussing the importance of community empowerment and infrastructure development, using examples such as biomass stoves to improve living conditions.

00:29:55 - Avoiding Titles
Discussing the negative impact of giving people titles and the importance of roles and responsibilities over titles.

00:31:02 - Leadership Development
Exploring how natural leadership develops when roles and responsibilities are given without titles and the negative impact of power struggles within communities.

00:34:13 - Community Dynamics
Discussing the uniqueness of each community and the challenges of bringing in outsiders to work on community projects.

00:36:35 - Observing Communities
Exploring the process of observing and understanding a community by immersing oneself in their culture and practices.

00:39:34 - Identifying Gaps
Discussing the challenges of identifying gaps and the importance of being part of the community to truly understand their needs.

00:48:15 - Impact and Satisfaction
Sharing the continuous pursuit of creating impact and the never-ending drive to do more for the communities.