At shado we believe it is crucial that those at the frontlines of social, political and cultural change are given the space to demand what social justice looks like within their specific contexts.

This has never been more urgent than in regards to those at the frontline of climate justice movements. The reality is that Indigenous populations make up only 5% of the global population yet protect 80% of the world's biodiversity – so why are they routinely and systematically silenced? The cause lies with legacies of imperialism, colonialism and capitalism which have torn communities apart and exist to profit off the exploitation of natural resources – the very same resources which Indigenous communities have been nurturing and protecting for generations.

In this series, we’ve collaborated with A Growing Culture to amplify the work of frontline groups around the world who are demanding food and land sovereignty, an end to exploitation and extraction, and a life of dignity. Sharing the stories of these land defenders is the first step in confronting and dismantling the corrupt systems within which they are being marginalised.

At present, land defenders are being criminalised, persecuted and murdered in their thousands. Why? Because defending land and human rights is in direct conflict with states’ and corporations' commitment to profit and extraction.

A Growing Culture say: In a world where industrial agriculture seems indispensable, climate change seems inevitable, and capitalism seems impenetrable, we are faced with a crisis of imagination. The food sovereignty movement is rising to redefine the limits of what is possible and remind us of our collective power to build something different. Something better.

Land defenders across the globe are using this imagination: through refusing to accept the state of the colonised world as it is, and fighting for a world that must do better.