Yes, climate vulnerability is a severe issue in Bangladesh, but I was told it had so many good examples of climate adaptation that it could be a leading example of environmental resilience to the rest of the world.
Up close, that looked like eco-villages like Banojibi taking a grassroots approach to implementing solutions among the locals in very innovative ways.
Bricklayers who worked fourteen hour shifts in the Bengali heat, inhaling the dust from their construction.
Shiploaders who carried two hundred loads of coal and other materials overhead across planks from cargo ships to shores, over and over.
Metalworkers in alleyways who worked without proper protective gear to take apart the scraps of old ships.
In one square mile of Dhaka I saw all of the most difficult, laborious, and underpaid jobs being worked by climate migrants. Obviously, they wound up in this position because of one unfair systemic problem stacked on top of another.
When you see the effects of hyper consumption and a climate crisis firsthand like that, it makes you wish a direct response was a little bit more within reach. But truly, the only sustainable solution was to go upstream. To look at the root causes, and work from there. In the meantime, the best immediate action someone could take was simply deciding to take a posture of listening to their stories and perspectives.
A lot of the mangrove trees in coastal Bangladesh can be used to make candy, molassess, and other treats. With a little bit of training and support, the locals in the area can produce these items and sell them for an income. This also helps farmers to realize the value of mangroves and protecting them rather than clearing the trees. The even bigger payoff comes during storms and cyclones, when the mangroves create a buffer between the ocean winds and farmlands.
The people who live on Bangladesh’s coastline are extremely vulnerable to climate change. That became obvious just seeing how their farms and homes were situated.
I was invited to see Banojibi, a project of BEDS, that was an eco-village designed to help these communities bolster resilience.
Banojibi turned out to be a very holistic project. It was part training center, part regenerative farm, an energy hub, an ecotourism center, and more. This community was both equipping them with better environmental management techniques while improving their lives financially and via infrastructure.
Kolkata is such a beautiful and vibrant city. It’s large, but it is less driven by technology and industry than India’s other big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, which gives it a more laid back feel. Traditionally the city has emphasized philosophy, literature, and art, so there are plenty of ways to indulge these interests. The people were so warm. I loved it her
I’ve been to a lot of places and I’m fortunate, but India’s always felt like a huge omission from the places I've been.
Can I really say I’ve seen the planet’s diversity without it’s largest country, where 1 in 7 people reside?
So thankful I finally got a chance to step into the country and start exploring.
Somebody pretty wise once said that parenting littles is an all-day struggle to get to the point where you can put them down for bed then take out your phone and stare at pictures at them.
It’s so true.
I pretty much end every night the same way, looking over at Deanna like, wow, we really got the best ones, huh? How’d that happen to us?
On bucket lists, travel, and slowing down the time:
“This constant sense I have, that time is speeding away, accelerating, taking me further and further away from the ones I love… that all seemed to stop whenever I’d go off on an international adventure.
Travel puts me in a flow state. Things move in slow motion. I take in everything about my new surroundings. The irregularity of cobblestone streets. The smells of a night market. The buzz of a crowd flooding into a cafe to catch a World Cup match. Every sense gets turned up to full volume.
Within one week in a new country, it felt like I could live lifetimes. Perhaps it was my one antidote to this sense of time moving too fast. Me staying still felt like sinking. Movement brought me stillness. Maybe… I found a pause button for life.”
So thankful I had a chance to share these stories at Truth in Comedy. What an amazing night.
Kai, you’ve got an independent nature tucked stealthily underneath some really chill vibes. I know what that’s like, and I love it.
People love to point out what an easy-going guy you are, but I got the real treat of seeing you come into your own in the Philippines this year. Walking around in shorts and a tank like the island life was the one meant for you all along.
I love your natural sweetness. I love the way you dive deep with your passions, and try to carry as many toy cars as possible in two toddler hands.
Happy birthday my dude. We’re in for some serious fun this year.
Juni-whoop.
Congrats on turning two.
You’re the kiddo with the most surprises and I love it. Your daring, wild energy is such a delight.
Everybody comments on how much you look like your mom, and it’s true. But I also recognize my own curiosity and attraction to chaos in you, and I love the way you double down on that combination.
I love your fondness for cats- one of my happiest images of this year was that afternoon I brought you to a cat cafe just to watch your reactions. I love your version of Itsy Bitsy Spider (itsy spider, uh-oh, cuz!) and I love your enthusiasm for life. It’s gonna take you to some wonderful places this year.
Still can’t get over the fact that this happened.
Still a big believer that the stories we tell about what happens in our world have a really big impact on what happens next.
When it comes to climate.
When it comes to everything.
All the TED Talks from TEDx San Diego 2023 are now live. Go dive in!
The Ethiopian weavers are beautiful and like many of us, they love injera.
Of all the deep and diverse cuisines across Africa, Ethiopian food has been the most enthusiastically received by international audiences. Across cities in North America and Europe, you’ll find plenty of Ethiopian restaurants that have made items like tibs and injera widely familiar.
That said, it’s such a deep cuisine with a lot to offer, so an actual visit to Ethiopia introduced me to so many new items, spices, and flavors.
I ate good in Ethiopia! I’ve never been in a country that has been so fast to get Americans to complain about the portion sizes being too large. (I also got a kick out of it when an Ethiopian friend talked about visiting the U.S. and finding those portions too small. To be fair, on a typical week, people are fasting two days!)
This post only scratches the surface… stay tuned for future dives into Ethiopian coffee, the country’s party drink, and other items.
I’m a huge fan of these weather clubs I got to visit in Bangladesh. People living around Mongla are extremely vulnerable to cyclones. They farm for a living, and their homes and farms are typically right by the river- sometimes on top of the river, on stilts.
A bit of preparedness goes a long way. These clubs enable members to activate cell phone chains to alert each other of coming storms and to activate shelter or evacuation plans. No doubt that having these networks prevents a lot of damage and saves lives.
One of the most fascinating things about language is that it doesn’t just enable us to talk about things, it also impacts the way we see things.
From a Filipino perspective, a relationship of any sorts is about a merging of spirits and the shared space.
All the credit goes to @sikodiwa for being the first to connect the dots for me on deeper meaning in Filipino language. Go check out his stuff for the richest insight into Filipino psychology.
The Sundarbans is one of the most important tropical forests in Asia. Right at the coastline of India and Bangladesh, its mangrove trees can serve as important buffers between those countries and the surge of cyclones that routinely pass through the Indian Ocean.
It also happens to be home to a lot of species, but most famously the bengal tiger. The bengal population has been concerningly low over the past few years, so protecting this area carries a lot of importance for both human and wildlife communities.
Some of the more unique drinks I discovered while in Ethiopia…
Areke – a traditional alcoholic beverage. When I tried a shot of it, it tasted like a pretty mild tequila. That flavor can be deceiving, though. Supposedly it can run up to 80 proof pretty regularly. The distillation process did look a lot like tequila’s.
Negus/Sen’q/etc. – One of the more popular soft drinks are carbonated malt beverages, and some are given a little bit of a coffee flavoring too. I definitely developed the taste for this stuff while I was there.
Special Tea – even its Amharic name translates to Ethiopian Special Tea. This was a very bright tea made from citrus and ginger, and heavily sweetened to the point that it tasted like a creamsicle. Honestly it was quite good.
Within days of returning from Ethiopia, I started getting WhatsApp messages from a lot of the people I met there. Are you alright? Where are you now?
The region I visited took a serious turn for the worse just after I left. Ethiopia’s had some pretty intense conflicts within the country, and those really flared up a few months ago. The internet was shut down across the region. The airports were shut.
War feels all over the place lately. And while I don’t know people in every region where it’s happening, I do know the feel of the WhatsApp messages. What about your family? Is it as bad as it looks from here?
If nothing else, it reminds me that Sudan and Armenia are no mere hashtags. They’ve got soul and people and people who love those people. These encounters make conflict a little less abstract, a little more human. I think we could use some more of that right now.
Rhys and I took our first father-son camping trip together. I kept wondering if it was gonna be like A Goofy Movie, but my memory’s fuzzy so I think I’ll need to rewatch that to draw a proper conclusion.
We camped at Alice Lake, just outside of Squamish.
I also wanted to spend a little bit of time in Vancouver with Rhys as well. It’s such an interconnected city, and there’s plenty to do with a kid.
So happy with how this weekend shaped up.
Ethiopia has maintained its independence going back to ancient times. They were able to resist Italy over and over and avoided being colonized.
As a result, there are so many things that Ethiopia just does in its own unique way, from coffee to the alphabet to Christianity.
One of my favorite uniquely Ethiopian things, though, has to be the calendar. Ethiopians are living in 2016 right now. Their calendar has an extra mini-month, and it runs a few years behind the Gregorian calendar mostly used elsewhere.
This weekend was one for the books!
Did some storytelling about bucket lists, the Floor is Lava, and making time stand still at @truthincomedydfw Had such a blast doing what I love and seeing good friends, family, and Metal People come out to join.
Myself and two other storytellers shared some personal stories we’ve written. Then comedians came out to perform based on elements of those stories. An artist created three pieces of work based on the stories as well.
I was incredibly impressed by @adrianhuthpaintings painting based on my story… he hadn’t even seen photos of my kids, but somehow captured the Kai & Juniper vibe pretty spot on.
Huge thanks to @stampsbyron for this gem of an idea, @lucey_love_comedy for the last minute stand up set, and everyone who turned out to support!
