Nora Gherbi
on Environmental Intelligence and becoming Chief Care Officers
Do you consider yourself a Chief Care Officer?
Do you believe you have Environmental Intelligence?
These questions may sound a little bit strange, but they’re exactly the kind of questions we should pause and reflect upon. Because every business has a conscience, someone trying to create change from within the system. Someone trying to make it more innovative and alive. Or, as Nora Gherbi says, someone “trying to bring back anything that drifted us away from our senses. Sensoriality is, after all, the essence of regeneration.”
For years, Nora navigated the world of economic diplomacy in France, Canada, UK and US. She immersed herself in the foundational principles of Indigenous knowledge from around the world and realized these values - reciprocity, community, circularity, interconnection, and regeneration - were repeating themselves everywhere.
They became the building blocks of her WHo CAREs!? Chronicles - Content & Services, where she pioneered the Environmental Intelligence Principles, a discipline that harmonizes the sacred stewardship of Indigenous knowledge with modern technology. As an author, speaker and Inception Partner at ChangeNOW, she explores the same big idea: “The solutions to our future are encoded in our past.”
Nora’s advocating for a Regenerative & Caring Business Model that views business as a vital organ within the Earth's living ecosystem. It all comes down to a simple formula: ANCIENT WISDOM + MODERN SCIENCE = E.I (ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE)
“Intelligence” itself is a layered word, rooted in the Latin “intelligencia”, meaning the action of understanding: “Intelligence is a multifaceted phenomenon. It encompasses the raw cognitive power of scientific minds, the intuitive wisdom of elders, the emotional intelligence guiding social interactions, and the creative genius fueling art and innovation.”
Environmental Intelligence asks us to respect the intelligence already present in the natural world: "the intricate networks of ecosystems, the survival strategies of organisms that have evolved over millennia, or the wisdom of our ancestors that offers insights into our very human existence."
In this age defined by sophisticated tech progress, Nora believes our true test of intelligence lies in both shifting the questions we ask and the way we grant trust: “Should we trust these ancestral forms of intelligence in nature, or only the new, human-developed forms of intelligence? What do we truly want to rely on?” Our true intelligence, she says, is exactly the leap from asking how an engine works to asking how a forest or river naturally functions: “That leap, from mechanical understanding to ecological awareness, is what humanity needs.”
Read Nora Gherbi’s answers for Inspirators and notice the intelligence surrounding you at every corner!
Thank you, Nora, for being an Environmental Intelligence Diplomat!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Nora Gherbi
Company / Institution: WHo CAREs!? Chronicles, The Environmental Intelligence Principles
Title: Founder
Website: www.whocareschronicles.com www.theenvironmentalintelligence.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noragherbi
Country of origin: Canada & France
Country you currently live in: Nomadic
Your definition of Regeneration: To make new again, interestingly all living organisms, including plants and animals, have some ability to regenerate as part of their natural maintenance. Somehow, humans have forgotten that ability!
A challenge you are currently navigating in your work: I feel (most of the time) that I am already operating in a new system, yet the old one (the one that has been operating up until now) is dying a slow death and it’s hard to speak of new principles, new life ways when the new system has yet to be fully born.
Main driver that keeps you going: The beauty of nature and my daughter’s smile.
An ancestral teaching or Indigenous worldview that changed how you see life: The law of the circle. Everything is circular, always…
A human or more-than-human Inspirator who shaped who you are today:
My late mother and my father.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: I never give up.
The trait you most value in others: Honesty, loyalty and reciprocity.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Writing and my daily morning walk in nature. I have a very close friendship with a grandmother tree from China. She is really cool, you should meet her someday.
A meaningful place to start for those at the beginning of the regeneration journey: Anything that brings you back to your senses. Sensoriality is so important. That’s why we have the Environmental Intelligence Principles and training. We have great, simple exercises to do just that.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Greenwashing. People who don’t care pretending that they do. There are a lot of pretenders in the space, sadly… Interestingly, pretend comes from the Latin 'praetendere,' meaning “to allege as an excuse. (emphasis on the word excuse).
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: I believe in timing, being alive and young at this time is truly an incredible opportunity. Young people are making history now; they don’t even know it…yet!
Must-read books that had a great impact on you:
· The Overstory by Richard Powers
· Healing Words by Larry Dossey
· Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
· Good Energy by Casey Means
Movies or documentaries you love: Black Orpheus (it’s a visual masterpiece), City of Gods.
Websites or podcasts you visit frequently: I listen to a blend of podcasts from Astrology to health or economics. It’s really wide-ranging, but there is one series that I have listened to many times: Masterclass by Oprah. My favorite is the Billy Bob Thornton episode. It’s so beautifully deep and precise. (The one with Jane Fonda is also very special, I am a big fan).
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: 90’s music. Anything from that era.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: The Amazon, forever imprinted in my soul.
Global Regenerative Voices we should follow:
Helena Gualinga
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Recently, the term “regenivore” has appeared, describing a person who eats in a way that regenerates and sustains our planet. Having foods that are actively healing the planet through carbon-reducing agriculture, more rigorous animal welfare policies, and equitable treatment of the people who grow and process food…I love that.
Events or gatherings we should attend for inspiration: Change Now Summit for sure, and any Climate Week if possible.
Educational resources or courses you recommend: Our Environmental Intelligence training; it’s fun and you will (re)learn how to use all your senses to reconnect with nature’s intelligence.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future: Heart intelligence. Once you tap into it, it’s incredible. More people should give it a try.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future: I am not so sure about this A.I stuff…
Regenerative Leadership values much needed today: Generational awareness, much like one of the E.I principles centered on the 7th generation principles.
The Inspirator(s) you are endorsing for a future edition:
Lea D’Auriol, founder of Oceanic Global
The quote that inspires you:
“It does not require many words to speak the truth.” (Chief Joseph was a leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, a tribe from the interior Pacific Northwest.)
Your quote that will inspire us:
