As the world faces the limitations of nation-state control, many communities are forging their own paths of governance, rooted in Indigenous worldviews that honour the interconnectedness of all life. Rather than relying solely on state laws, these communities are revitalizing governance systems inspired by nature and ancestral wisdom.

Thomas Berry, cultural historian and ecological thinker, emphasized that Nature is not only a teacher but a living community we are part of. He believed Indigenous ways of knowing could guide humanity toward more respectful relationships—with each other and with the Earth.

This reflection explores how such Earth-rooted wisdom shaped the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (GTA) Confluence on Radical Democracy, Autonomy, and Self-Determination (RaDASD), held in Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in February 2025.

From February 2nd to 6th, over 50 participants from more than 20 countries across the Global South gathered for the RaDASD Confluence, co-organized by the GTA, the Academy of Democratic Modernity, the Jineolojî Academy and WoMin. Held on South Africa's Wild Coast, the location was both symbolic and spiritual - a meeting point of ocean, land, and ancestral presence.

Delegates arrived from all four directions of the Global South, and those directions became more than geography. They infused the gathering with elemental and cultural significance:

• East: Participants from Asia (Myanmar, India, Philippines, Taiwan, Kurdistan) brought the spirit of the sunrise - symbolizing renewal, water, and youthful feminine energy. They spoke of relationships with forests, rivers, and mountains. The Dzomsa system from Lachung, North East India, embodies governance deeply embedded in Nature and spiritual practice. Their stories echoed themes of beginnings, rebirth, and divine connection.
• West: Delegates from Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Panama) represented the sunset - a symbol of transitions, the unknown, and ancestral realms. The Cherán community of Mexico highlighted the importance of maintaining harmony with ancestors and land, while the Kuna people of Panama spoke of dignified life and death, resistance to colonization, and spiritual balance. Colombia's Misak community emphasized Earth as a living being, with land stewardship beginning in the womb.
• South: The Amadiba community, hosts from South Africa, came from the direction symbolizing fire, energy, and creativity. Known for their resistance to destructive mining on their ancestral lands, they welcomed us with music, food, and deep hospitality. Their strength under threat and their celebration of life brought a fierce spirit of illumination to the gathering.
• North: Though less represented geographically, the North in many Indigenous traditions symbolizes air and vision. In our gathering, this direction found expression in the ideas and ancestral memory that informed our collective dreaming and intention-setting.

The four elements are revered in many Indigenous cosmologies as essential forces of balance. In our gathering, they were not just metaphors - they were presences. Air (old man), Earth (old woman), Fire (warrior), and Water (young woman) were invoked throughout the Confluence. Symbolically, these are embodied in the dragon - claws in the Earth, wings in the Air, a fiery breath, and water-associated scales.

On the opening day, traditional Amadiba rituals awakened these forces. Drumming and dancing lifted our spirits and opened sacred space.

On the third day, a mystica I facilitated further deepened our connection. It invited us to engage all senses, including our intuition, and invoked the energies of the four directions, our ancestors, and the more-than-human beings that share this world. We honoured those who once walked this coast, whose bones rest in its soil, and whose spirits swim in the Indian Ocean. They include both human and more-than-humans.

We remembered Gustavo Esteva, GTA co-founder and mentor, and acknowledged the ancestors of our families and lineages, extending even to the Sun, Moon, Stars, Mountains, and Rivers - those first ancestors who shaped this world. This elemental invocation brought us into conscious balance, allowing us to be fully present. We cultivated consciousness and balance within body and soul, grounding ourselves for the work of radical democracy. The elements within us, got in layered harmony: the Earth and Water being felt at the base, Fire in the chest, and Air in the head. Balancing these energies was vital to cultivating the right environment for reimagining democracy, autonomy, and self-governance.

This was GTA’s second return to the African continent in two years. Our first was in 2023 for the General Assembly at Mt. Kenya, where we gathered with fig trees, monkeys, and birds as co-witnesses. Elders there blessed us beneath a sacred fig - the same tree under which Kenyan freedom fighters once resisted colonial rule. This made us feel that we were in the right place because GTA has an explicit orientation against colonial and neo-colonial imposition of any kind.

The Wild Coast offered a similar depth: rolling hills, ancient forests, rich marine life, and Xhosa hospitality. Nature and culture braided together to welcome us into a place of living memory.

Yet our return to Africa came amid conflict. As we gathered, the Democratic Republic of Congo was in turmoil, torn by war fuelled by foreign interests and historical wounds. This had followed the conflict which began between DRC Congo and Rwanda in 2022 after the Rwanda forces entered the country to provide military support to the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group. This included fighting alongside them against Congolese military and pro-government militias. The echoes of that violence were felt in our hearts. It reminded us why our work matters: we were convening not only to dream, but to reclaim governance rooted in justice, dignity, and ecological belonging.

We closed our time with a joint declaration, calling for peace and reaffirming our shared commitment to life-affirming systems of autonomy.

Our declaration was a rallying cry for unity among Indigenous peoples, grassroots movements, and oppressed communities. We rejected the imposed structures of the nation-state and called instead for biocultural regionalism: governance aligned with ecological and cultural realities.

We affirmed our role within the web of life and honoured the ancestors and descendants whose wellbeing is tied to our actions. We asserted the right to reclaim and practice knowledge systems rooted in land, spirit, and collective care.

This is our commitment: to live and struggle for systems of life beyond borders, beyond extraction, and beyond domination.

Simon Mitambo is an Indigenous Tharakan from Kenya, a National Hero and trained Earth Jurisprudence Practitioner. He is the founder of the Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation (SALT) and the Kithino Learning Centre (KLC). Simon serves on the Facilitation Team of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (GTA) and sits on the Council of the African Earth Jurisprudence Collective (AEJC) among many others.