WEAVING ALTERNATIVES
#16:
A periodical of the
Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives
PERSPECTIVES
ON THE
CONFLUENCE
ABOUT RADICAL
DEMOCRACY
The
contents of
this
periodical are
also available
online on this webpage.
Dear
readers,
It is
with immense
delight that
we share the
Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives
(GTA)
sixteenth
periodical
with you. This
space seeks to
create
solidarity
networks
between
Alternatives
around the
globe and
promote the
creation of
new processes
of confluence.
You can read
more about GTA
in our introductory note.
In
this edition
of the
periodical, we
have curated
reflections
from the Radical
Democracy,
Autonomy and
Self-Determination (RaDASD)
confluence
that took
place in the
Wild Coast of
South Africa
from February
1- 6, 2025.
The gathering,
co-organised
by the Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives, Academy of Democratic Modernity, Jineolojî Academy, WoMin African
Alliance,
and hosted by
the Amadiba Crisis Committee, brought together
over 50
participants — land
defenders,
activists,
representatives
from
Indigenous
communities
and grassroots
movements — from
across 20
countries
across the
Global South
who are
actively
resisting and
subverting,
oppressive
structures,
while also
reclaiming
power and
(re)asserting
alternatives
to these
dominant,
extractive
forms of
governance.
True
to its name,
the central
theme of the
gathering was
the ongoing
struggle for
autonomy and
self-determination
amidst the
constraints
imposed by
authoritarian,
militarist,
and
imperialist
regimes. As Ashish
Kothari writes,
2024 was one
of the biggest
election years
in human
history, with
more than half
of the world
casting their
votes.
However,
democracy is
not limited to
electoral
politics;
other forms of
democracy — beyond
the liberal
model — not
only exist in
theory but are
actively being
practiced on
the ground,
especially by
communities in
the Global
South.
Encounters
such RaDASD
serve as
important
spaces to
share the
commonalities
(and
differences)
in how
communities
and grassroots
movements
practice forms
of radical
democracy
despite the
constraints of
the
nation-state,
law, and
institutions
actively
clamping down
on their
autonomy.
In his
contribution, Carlos
Tornel highlights
that
communities
are not only
rejecting
capitalist
modernity and
a
‘development’
model that
entrenches
inequalities,
but they are
also
reclaiming,
defending and
creating
direct
decision-making
structures
rooted in
place-based
governance.
Struggles for
autonomy
around the
world need to
be grounded in
global
solidarity, so
that
communities
can
collectively
construct a
pluriverse of
possibilities
beyond the
current unjust
systems. He
recalls that
one of the
most powerful
moments from
the gathering
for him was
when a
participant
mentioned that
“Collective
and Indigenous
peoples'
rights cannot
be limited to
human rights.
These rights
are based on
the rights of
nature, on our
relationships
with territory
and place, and
on our
capacity to
determine how
we relate to
and in these
places”. Doe
Doh echoes
this need for
global
solidarity,
emphasizing
that “the
mutual
recognition of
collective
struggles for
self-determination over territorial rights and autonomy is the key to
systems
change.” In
his piece, he
shares
inspiring
stories of how
the indigenous
Karen peoples
in Burma are
negotiating
with the
military state
to reclaim
their
territorial
rights and
self-determination
through
collective-decision
making and
self-strengthening
processes.
In a
similar
thread, Sutej
Hugu shares
the milestone
achievements
of the
Indigenous
Taiwan - Self
Determination
Alliance
(ITW-SDA) in
negotiating
with the
Taiwanese
government and
successfully
setting up an
institutional
process for
self-determination.
Intergenerational learning is an important ingredient in the community’s
self-strengthening process — elders
guide youth to
both revive
indigenous
knowledge
systems and
also envision
futures beyond
the trappings
of modern
institutions.
The spiritual
guidance and
presence of
our elders and
ancestors — both
human and
more-than-human — is
fundamental to
our work of
envisioning
systems of
life beyond
borders,
extraction,
and
domination,
highlights Simon
Mitambo in
his piece.
Simon adds
that at the
gathering,
invoking the
energy of the
four elements,
our ancestors,
and
spirit-beings
created the
right
conditions to
engage in the
slow and
life-affirming
work of
radical
democracy.
In the
final piece, Franco
Augusto interviews Nonhle
Mbuthuma from
the Amadiba
Crisis
Committee
(ACC), the
hosts of this
gathering.
Nonhle shares
the current
challenges
facing her
community — namely,
extractivism,
state
negligence and
the lack of
basic
healthcare
services — alongside
the ways in
which her
community
continues to
self-organise,
mobilise and
build social
and communal
infrastructures
to meet their
needs. She
reflects that
participating
in
international
gatherings
like this
Radical
Democracy is
very
important.
Firstly
because
sharing
information is
power. It has
empowered them
as communities
because they
are learning
from other
countries and
from other
communities
about how they
solve issues.
And secondly,
this is an
important
process for
building
grounded
solidarity.
Each
reflection in
this
periodical
offers a
glimpse of
worlds rooted
in justice,
solidarity,
autonomy, and
bioregional
governance
attuned to
cultural and
ecological
realities. The
contributions
contain
grounded,
practical
initiatives
towards
radical
democracy, and
the
conceptual,
theoretical
and
cosmological
underpinnings
of these
practices.
Together, they
illustrate
that our
endeavours for
autonomy and
self-determination
are not
isolated or
disconnected.
Like a
mycelial
network, our
struggles and
liberations
are deeply
entwined. Our
power lies in
our
relationships
and
solidarities,
in our
continued
insistence on
joy and
celebration
even as we
resist and
subvert
violent,
oppressive
structures.
We
hope that
these
contributions
infect you
with courage
and hope,
inviting you
to look for
stories of how
communities in
your land are
dreaming and
practicing
forms of
radical
democracy.
Editorial
team, Pooja
Kishinani,
Shrishtee
Bajpai, and
Franco Augusto
Updates
from the GTA
Articulating
Crises and
Weaving
Alternatives
(Visual
Report)
This visual
report
presents the
experiences of
a process of
weaving the
pluriverse
called The
Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives
(GTA). This is
an illustrated
and condensed
version of our
previous
publication
“Articulating
Crisis and
Creating
Radical
Alternatives”.
Access to Details
Voices
of Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives
Weavers
This series
of short
videos
features the
voices of four
of GTA's
Weavers members,
coming from
India,
Colombia,
Mexico, and
South-East
Asia. In each
of them, they
reflect and
share insights
about a common
triggering
question,
visibilizing
the powerful
commonalities
and also the
different
perspectives
grounded and
weaved in our
tapestry. It
features the
voices of
Itzel Farías
(Crianza Mutua
Mexico),
Shrishtee
Bajpai (Vikalp
Sangam),
Solangel
Murillo
(Crianzas
Mutuas
Colombia),
Ryan Martinez
(MASSA) and
Jenito Santana
(MASSA). It
was created by
Marco Andrade
and Franco
Augusto, with
the
collaboration
of members of
the GTA
Facilitation
Team.
Access to Details
Launch of the
Declaration on
Radical
Democracy,
Autonomy and
Self
Determination
Join us for
the launch of
this
Declaration,
issued at a
Global
Confluence
held at Port
Edward, South
Africa in
February 2025.
It will take
place next
June 10th. The
declaration
speaks from
the ground up:
from the
struggles of
Indigenous,
feminist,
ecological,
and
community-led
movements
around the
world who are
imagining and
building other
possible
worlds.
Access to Details
Recent
Events
Global
Confluence on
Radical
Democracy,
Autonomy and
Self-determination,
Port Edward,
South Africa,
2-6 February
2025
Organised
by Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives,
Academy of
Democratic
Modernity,
WoMIN, and
Amadiba Crisis
Committee.
During 2-6
February, 2025
a confluence
of 44 people
form 20
different
countries and
34
communities,
organizations
and/or social
movements was
held in Port
Edward, on the
Wild Coast of
South Africa.
We came
together to
discuss our
common
struggles, and
to build a
common
understanding
of how we
exercise
radical
democracy and
autonomy,
while
recognizing
our
differences.
For us,
radical
democracy
entails our
responsibility
and right to
decide on all
matters
relating to
our lives,
including to
say yes or no
to any
proposals from
outside our
communities
and
territories.
This includes
the right to
reject the
developmentalist
projects that
have long
defined us as
poor and
underdeveloped,
have
dispossessed
and displaced
us, and
alienated us
from our own
lands and
waters. This
means
rejecting
economic,
political, and
cultural
models that
impose
violence on
our bodies,
territories
and world
experiences,
and attempt to
homogenise us
into replicas
of ‘western’
stereotypes.
Instead, we
demand the
right to
maintain and
keep evolving
our own
diverse
systems of
learning,
healing,
inhabiting,
knowing,
acting and
eating—rooted
in the defense
of life, land,
and collective
existence.
Link
to the Declaration of
Port Edward on
Radical
Democracy
Decolonising
our Bodies:
Experiences
and practices
for reclaiming
our whole body
sovereignty
How has
modernity
shaped the way
we perceive,
inhabit, and
relate to our
physical
bodies? What
does it mean
to “reclaim
whole body
sovereignty”?
How do we free
not only our
minds, but
also the body
from the
shackles of
coloniality
and
extractivism?
How do we
unroot the old
myth of
separation and
domination
from the
sacred soil of
our physical
sanctuaries?
And how might
we begin to
see our bodies
as living
systems -
extensions of
our Earthly
home,
interwoven
with the
fabric of
life? Many of
this questions
were explored
in this
session.
Access to Details
Intergenerational
Wisdom:
weaving sense
making and
learnings in
complex times
The
historical
moment we are
currently
facing
requires that
we
simultaneously
recover
ancestral
wisdom and
constantly
adapt to the
new
challenges. To
achieve this,
it is very
important that
we weave an
intergenerational
wisdom that
incorporates
both the
stories and
worldviews of
the past, as
well as the
perceptions
and
capabilities
of the new
generations.
In this
dialogue with
Alcar, Belén
and Itzel
(Crianza Mutua
México) we
explored
together the
importance of
building this
“intergenerational wisdom” to collectively navigate the complexities we
face today.
Access to Details
Filming
Change: A
Conversation
with Janet
Solomon
In this
episode of our
series on
creative
expressions
featuring the
more-than-human world, filmmaker Janet Solomon was in conversation with
Ashish Kothari
about her film
Blue Burning –
a powerful
piece of work
documenting
impacts on
South Africa’s
coasts and
seas due to
oil and gas
exploration.
Janet shared
her journey of
telling
stories that
need to be
told in these
times of
climate
ruptures,
interweaving
art and
activism to
bring wider
awareness and
connection to
the natural
world.
Access to Details
Kurdistan:
What does
Abdullah
Öcalan’s "Call
for Peace and
Democratic
Society" mean?
The “Call
for Peace and
Democratic
Society”
issued by
Abdullah
Öcalan, the
founding
leader of the
Kurdistan
Workers' Party
(PKK) who has
been held
captive in
isolation for
26 years at
the Imrali
island prison,
and shared
with the
public on
February 25,
2025, may
create a
significant
opportunity to
put an end to
the nearly
fifty-year
conflict
between the
PKK and the
Turkish state.
In this
session, we
explored its
meaning,
implications,
and impact on
the Kurdistan
process and
the radical
alternatives
movement
abroad.
Access to Details
Updates from our
Weavers
The
Global
Tapestry of
Alternatives
is a “network
of networks”.
Each of those
networks acts
in different
parts of the
planet by
identifying
and connecting
Alternatives.
They are the
Weavers. In
the following
section, our
Weavers, the
networks that
currently
weaves it,
from India,
South-East
Asia,
Colombia, and
Mexico shares
updates from
their recent
activities and
actions.
Keep reading
->
More
than the
global North,
communities
from Global
South know
what democracy
is
by
Ashish Kothari
The
contrast could
not be
starker. In
2024, with
over 60
countries
covering half
the world’s
population
going to the
polls, there
Soumya
Duttawas a
clear tendency
to vote in
right-wing
political
parties with
thin
democratic
pretensions.
In many
countries
including
India, USA,
Argentina, and
Russia, and in
the European
Parliament,
the trend was
clear.
Keep reading
->
Radical democracy: a struggle against
the (ongoing)
myth of
development
By
Carlos Tornel
Radical
democracy
directly
challenges the
failures of
liberal
democracy,
whose crisis
is becoming
increasingly
evident
worldwide. As
parliamentary
and
representative
systems
unravel,
organized
communities—including
urban and
peri-urban
collectives,
Indigenous and
peasant
movements, and
grassroots
networks—are
reclaiming,
defending or
creating
direct
decision-making
structures
rooted in
place-based
governance and
shared
community
identity.
Keep reading
->
In Defense of Territorial Rights for a
Just and
Equitable
World
By
Doe Doh
The earnest
desire as
humankind in
this world is
to have a
peaceful life,
a life free of
pain and
suffering.
Leading a
dignified life
in a
democratic
society where
our rights to
life, culture,
and territory
are
recognized,
protected, and
guaranteed is
fundamental to
our struggle
for
socio-political
aspirations.
However,
living under
the repressive
military
regime in
present-day
Burma, that
firmly upholds
the
ideological
doctrine of
Burman
supremacy “we
are the master
mindset”, our
Indigenous
Karen peoples
from
Kawthoolei of
Burma have
never
experienced
peace in our
lives.
Instead, we’ve
endured
intergenerational
atrocities at
the hands of
fascist Burman
military
dictators for
almost eight
decades.
Keep reading
->
Potential
for Awakening
the Elements
of
Consciousness
& Balance
of Mind &
Soul in GTA
Gatherings
By
Simon Mitambo
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.
Keep reading
->
Perspectives on Radical Democracy from
Taiwanese
struggles
By
Sutej Hugu
GTA should
promote mutual
recognition
among
Indigenous
peoples/local
communities in
resisting and
seeking for
the
alternatives
to survive and
revive. It
should be
implemented
with consensus
resolution of
people/community, by traditional ceremony and signing treaty of alliance
and
cooperation.
Keep reading
->
An
interview with
Nonhle
Mbuthuma from
Amadiba Crisis
Committe
By
Franco Augusto
Nonhle
Mbuthuma is
the cofounder
and
spokesperson
for the
Amadiba Crisis
Committee
(ACC), a
community-based
social
movement that
formed to
fight the
proposed mine.
Her
grandfather
was a
traditional
healer and she
learned early
on that nature
takes care of
those who take
care of it.
Nonhle is the
2024 co-winner
of the Goldman
Prize.
Keep reading
->
Thank you for
reading!
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