Inner Green Deal - the human dimension of sustainability.

In the West, resilience often means “bouncing back” - by yourself. An entire industry has been built around this. In Africa, it means “standing together.”

This episode brings together two inspiring women, each offering a unique perspective on how we build both individual and collective resilience - and what it means to move from self-care to shared care.

In this conversation:
How African communities embody resilience as a shared, collective process - where challenges are faced and overcome together.

What we can learn from cultures where there is no single word for “resilience,” yet where it is deeply lived through connection, care, and community.

How this contrasts with Western approaches that often frame resilience as individual wellbeing or the ability to “bounce back.”

The role of inner development in bridging these perspectives and fostering deeper forms of collective strength.

Why rethinking resilience may hold the key to more sustainable and compassionate responses to global challenges.

With:
Ruth Dawn Achillah is the Global Lead for Learning and Development at One Acre Fund, an organization supporting millions of smallholder farmers across Africa with the tools, knowledge, and innovations they need to thrive.

Katie Hodgetts FRSA is a British changemaker and author who founded The Resilience Project to provide psychological and inner-led support for young people experiencing burnout and climate anxiety. Her forthcoming book, Act, Rest, Reset, Repeat, explores how to navigate cycles of action and renewal in times of crisis.

With thanks to the The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation for their support of the Inner Green Deal podcast which is hosted and produced by Tamsin Walker. Executive producer is IGD co-founder Jeroen Janss. For more information, visit  innergreendeal.com or write to [email protected].

This episode was recorded at the Inner Development Goals Summit where we hosted a full day track on strengthening social and environmental impact.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

How should we measure progress - by what we produce and consume, or by how people and nature are doing? Dr. Julia Kim, a physician and systems thinker, discusses Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) as an alternative to GDP, and shows how inner development - including her contemplative and spiritual practice - provides the human foundations for translating that vision into policy, institutions, and everyday life.

Julia Kim began her career in clinical medicine before moving into health policy and international development with the UN and other agencies. She later served as Program Director at the Gross National Happiness Centre, Bhutan, and is a member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and an Executive Committee Member of the Club of Rome.

In this conversation:
Julia’s path from medicine to systems work—and how contemplative practice and spirituality inform her leadership

What Gross National Happiness measures and how it reframes policy choices

Practical ways NGOs can create low-barrier spaces for reflection and values-aligned action

Real-world effects of GNH (e.g. community norms around forest conservation) and the tensions of a GDP-centric world

How other Wellbeing Economy approaches are taking shape in the world

Resources:
About Julia Kim

Wellbeing Economy Alliance

Center for Healthy Minds

Small Giants

Presencing Institute

Earth4All  

Season 5 leads into the IDG Summit 2025 in Stockholm, where the Inner Green Deal curates a full-day track. Use code “MeSummit2025” for 15% off in-person and 50% off digital tickets. With thanks to the Robert Ho Family Foundation for their support.

Our podcast is hosted and produced by Tamsin Walker. Executive producer is IGD co-founder Jeroen Janss. For more information, visit  innergreendeal.com or write to [email protected].

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

It started with a dream, a tractor, and a piano—in the middle of the Egyptian desert.

Nearly fifty years later, SEKEM stands as one of the most compelling examples of how inner development can reshape entire systems.

We speak with Helmy Abouleish, CEO of SEKEM and steward of a vision first brought to life by his father and carried forward through decades of shared leadership.

What began as a bold experiment to green the desert has grown into a thriving, values-based movement that:

Employs over 2,000 people

Supports more than 40,000 farmers

Regenerates ecosystems through biodynamic farming

Provides education, healthcare, and cultural programs

Devotes 10% of working time for all staff to personal development—including arts, reflection, and values-based learning

Helps shape national sustainability policies

SEKEM has received numerous international awards, including the Right Livelihood Award (often called the Alternative Nobel Prize) and is an active member of the Conscious Food System Alliance (CoFSA) convened by UNDP.

We explore with Helmy:
How inner development enables long-term systems thinking

The principles of the Economy of Love

Why creativity and love are essential leadership qualities

Whether you're a funder, changemaker, or policy leader, this story is a powerful reminder: even the most ambitious visions can take root—with the right inner and outer foundations.

Season 5 is part of the lead-up to the 2025 Inner Development Goals Summit in Stockholm, where the Inner Green Deal will curate a full-day track on this theme.

If you are interested to join the Inner Development Goals Summit, we have a special discount code to offer: “MeSummit2025" gives our listeners a 15% discount on in-person and 50% discount on digital tickets. For more information on the Summit, go to: https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/events/summit2025/. We thank the Robert Ho Foundation for their support.

About the Inner Green Deal 
The  Inner Green Deal a mission-driven non-profit supporting changemakers in cultivating the inner capacities needed for meaningful action in the face of today’s interconnected climate, ecological and social crises.

Our podcast is hosted and produced by Tamsin Walker. Executive producer is IGD co-founder Jeroen Janss. For more information, visit us on  innergreendeal.com or write to [email protected].  If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to our podcast or leaving a review. Thank you!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What sustains an activist when defiance alone isn’t enough? We sit down with Davin Hutchins, senior campaigner at Greenpeace International, to explore what happens when a movement known for bold resistance also makes space for inner development.

Davin shares how hope, courage, and nature connection have shaped his own path - and why, especially in moments of political backlash or overwhelm, the movement must go beyond resistance to stay resilient and effective.

We explore:
Why recognising we are nature changes how we work for nature

How contemplation and community can be powerful alternatives to burnout and “go, go, go”

How inner work can sharpen strategy and fuel systemic change

Whether you’re an activist, a changemaker, or simply feeling the strain of today’s polycrisis, Davin’s reflections offer a timely reminder: sometimes the bravest act is to pause, notice, and ask better questions.

https://www.davinhutchins.com/
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to our podcast or leaving a review. In doing so you make it easier for people to discover our podcast. We thank you for your support.  

Season 5 is part of the lead-up to the 2025 Inner Development Goals Summit in Stockholm, where the Inner Green Deal will curate a full-day track on this theme.

If you are interested to join the Inner Development Goals Summit, we have a special discount code to offer: “MeSummit2025" gives our listeners a 15% discount on in-person and 50% discount on digital tickets.

We thank the Robert Ho Family Foundation for their kind support to the Summit and the podcast. For more information on the Summit, go to: https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/events/summit2025/

About the Inner Green Deal 
The  Inner Green Deal a mission-driven non-profit supporting changemakers in cultivating the inner capacities needed for meaningful action in the face of today’s interconnected climate, ecological and social crises.

Our podcast is hosted and produced by Tamsin Walker. Executive producer is IGD co-founder Jeroen Janss. For more information, visit us on  innergreendeal.com or write to [email protected].  

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

This first episode of the season explores the question why inner work matters for NGOs and funders—and their efforts to change systems.

We consider concrete examples of the linkage between inner-led change and systemic change but also discuss how to overcome obstacles in today's time of uncertainty, polarisation and funding cuts.
 
Our guide in this discussion is Luis Camargo, founder and director of the Colombia and US-based Organization for Environmental Education and Protection (OpEPA) which works to reconnecting people to nature as a way to accelerate the transition to sustainable and regenerative cultures.

Luis also serves as a Board Member of WWF Colombia and Regional Vice Chair of the IUCN's South America Commission on Education and Communication.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisalbertocamargo/?locale=es_ES
https://opepa.org/ (in Spanish)

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to our podcast or leaving a review. In doing so you make it easier for people to discover our podcast. We thank you for your support.  

Season 5 is part of the lead-up to the 2025 Inner Development Goals Summit in Stockholm, where the Inner Green Deal will curate a full-day track on this theme.

Over the course of six episodes, we'll be speaking with inspiring guests about the role of inner development in organisational and systemic transformation—and what it takes to fund and support this work meaningfully. 

If you are interested to join the Inner Development Goals Summit, we have a special discount code to offer: “MeSummit2025" gives our listeners a 15% discount on in-person and 50% discount on digital tickets.

We thank the Robert Ho Family Foundation for their kind support to the Summit and the podcast.

For more information on the Summit, go to: https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/events/summit2025/

About the Inner Green Deal 
The  Inner Green Deal supports changemakers in cultivating the inner capacities needed for meaningful action in the face of today’s interconnected climate, ecological and social crises.

The Inner Green Deal is a mission-driven non-profit based in Cologne and Brussels, with a growing global community. Its mission is to serve as a catalyst for deep, regenerative change—within individuals, organisations, and systems.

Our podcast is hosted and produced by Tamsin Walker. Executive producer is IGD co-founder Jeroen Janss. For more information, visit us on LinkedIn, innergreendeal.com or write to [email protected].  

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.