Crafting Conscious Food Systems, with Sonita Mbah

Hosted by Matthew Green. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. 

Born into a farming family in Cameroon, Sonita Mbah grew up imagining that she would always be able to make her living off the land. But as she began to recognise how far patterns of colonialism, extraction and displacement still ruled the lives of African farmers, Sonita felt a deeper calling begin to stir. 

In her inaugural appearance as a co-host of What Is Collective Healing?, Sonita shares about her mission to transform the “trauma architecture” of exploitative global food systems in line with a more equitable and sustainable future.

Rooted in a profound appreciation for Indigenous ways of living in harmony with the more-than-human world, Sonita explains how her approach was shaped by her time living among Indigenous communities in Cameroon, and deep dialogues with the Makhuwa people in Mozambique.

The conversation reveals how Sonita’s journey as an advocate for conscious food systems is intimately braided with her personal process of transmuting the collective trauma of colonialism.  Not only does this global imprint live on in her own nervous system, Sonita explains,  neocolonial ways of relating continue to deprive Indigenous communities of acknowledgement and resources to this day.

This deeply moving episode casts a new light on the many ways in which personal, inter-generational and collective trauma histories are enmeshwed with the exploitative ways we produce, trade and consume our food. 

Sonita’s commitment to reweaving these outdated patterns will inspire anyone with an interest in the relationship between collective healing and the kind of systems change needed to pull life on this planet back from the brink.  

Further Resources:

Designing for  Deep Regeneration from the Edges: A Guide for Conscious Transformation of Food Systems in the Polycrisis

Conscious Food Systems Alliance

Pocket Project

About Sonita Mbah: 

Sonita serves as communications coordinator at the Pocket Project and holds a Masters in World Heritage Studies. She is a passionate food grower, permaculture designer and facilitator. For over 10 years, she was the administrator of Better World Cameroon and co-initiator of Bafut Ecovillage, an off-grid learning center. As Executive Secretary of the Global Ecovillage Network Africa, Sonita brings regenerative community and social enterprise development to several African communities. In 2017, Sonita received the Gender Just Climate Solutions Award from the Women and Gender Constituency for empowering women with earthen cook stove technology. Driven by her passion for healing colonial trauma, Sonita took the Principles of Collective Trauma Healing course with Thomas Hübl.

0:00 What is Collective Healing?

1:49 Introduction to Sonita Mbah

5:13 Being in Community is a Healing Process

7:20 Conscious Food System Transformation

10:20 Story : Discovery of Palm Wine

13:50 Corruption within our Global Food System

19:30 Colonialism's Impact on Food Systems

27:00 Confonting Internalized Colonialism and Healing

31:10 Stories from working with Ecovillages in Africa

43:11 Conscious Food Advocacy within larger International Agencies 

44:20 Enriching the Indigenous Sources of Knowledge & Practices

48:20 Future Implications & Possibilities of Restoring Indigenous Wisdom