Photographs and text are copyright  protected to Janelle White, author and photographer.

Welcome to Janelle White, whose passions include long-distance cycling, hiking, writing, photography, travel, language learning, and cross-cultural sharing. She writes:

Sustainable livelihoods often depend on practices and knowledge, that are based on thousands of years, and generations of trial and error. The secret to global sustainability lies in mutual respect, better communication, knowledge-sharing, and (often) humble re-evaluation of ecological landscapes, and our place within them. Working at all levels to foster a better understanding of  relationships with one another, and the planet on which we live helps us to share the spirit of hope, determination, and peace. During 2009 I spent three amazing months in India learning about sustainable livelihoods in the arid zone Himalaya (Ladakh) and the deserts in the North West state of Gujarat. In summer, in the isolated mountain areas, people  often combine barley (nas) growing with the hosting of trekkers to supplement their annual incomes. Local women's unions run parachute-tent cafes serving cha (tea) and selling handicrafts. In Gujarat, manyNGOs work to connect people who are geographically and socio-culturally isolated (thus distant from economic and market opportunities) by building on their traditional knowledge and skills, including embroidery and beadwork. The field of anthropology has allowed me the great privilege of working with peoples from many different regions, ethnicities, and nations. I am just now completing my PhD with Aboriginal peoples in Australia's desert regions by documenting benefits to their livelihoods and well-being associated with their involvement in a variety of indigenous bush-produce enterprises including medicines, foods, and jewellery.

I love working with people to facilitate the telling of their stories, which helps to create a space for nurturing understanding and respect between peoples of different cultures. I also love learning from people who are intimately connected to their traditional lands, and whose identity and way of life are inseparable from their physical and spiritual surroundings. In particular, I am  inspired by the wisdom that the Elders impart.

"The interdependency of humankind, the relevance of relationship, the sacredness of creation is ancient, ancient  knowledge." Rebecca Adamson, Cherokee, Founder & President of First Nations Development Institute.