Arati Kumar-Rao - From National Geographic Explorer to Environmental Chronicler, documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation, inspiring us all to take a closer look at our changing world. Author of Marginlands: Indian Landscapes On The Brink.

Arati Kumar-Rao is an exceptional National Geographic Explorer, independent environmental photographer, writer, and artist dedicated to documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation. With unwavering passion, she traverses the South Asian subcontinent, embarking on captivating journeys that span seasons and sometimes years. Through her profound storytelling, Arati chronicles the ever-changing landscapes, climate, and their profound impact on livelihoods and biodiversity in South Asia.

Arati's profound impact is not confined to her lens or pen; she employs a multidimensional approach, utilising the power of photos, long form narratives, and art to communicate her insights. Recently, she unveiled her debut book, "Marginlands: Indian Landscapes On The Brink," a poignant exploration now available in bookstores across India and on Amazon.

Currently, Arati is engaged in a significant undertaking as she explores forced human migration in India, supported by a prestigious National Geographic grant. Her remarkable body of work has garnered recognition and has been featured in esteemed publications such as The National Geographic Magazine, Emergence Magazine, The Hindu, #Dysturb, The Guardian, BBC Outside Source, Hindustan Times, Mint, and other reputable outlets. Additionally, her artistic endeavours have been exhibited both in India and internationally, leaving an indelible mark on the global stage.

When not immersed in her assignments, Arati finds solace and inspiration in the Western Ghats and Bangalore, where she cherishes being a loving mother to three rescued cats.

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Show notes

Who is Arati?
Being based in Bangalore when not travelling
Her role as an environmental chronicler
Being a slow journalist or a slow storyteller
The types of story she tells
Her passion for photography and art
The tools she uses to tell the story
Working in the corporate world and making the decision to leave her job (2013) and start telling environmental stories
Her early years growing up and spending time in nature
Being inspired by the National Geographic Magazine
Wanting to tell stories of the land by walking
Making the transition from the corporate world to following her passion for storytelling
The practical steps involved
2 pivotal moments in her life
Studying for a Masters in Physical and working in a lab and deciding it wasn’t the right job for her
Having to choose between the Arts and the Sciences
Moving back to India and working with Intel doing Market Research
Falling ill with Typhoid in her 30s and starting to reflect on her life and thinking about what she really wanted to do
Needing to make new connections and build new networks
Slowly starting to find her way and the power of social media to publish stories
Slow story telling verses the speed of the internet
Needing to upskill in photography, writing and art
Taking out personal loads and writing for grants
Getting the grant from National Geographic to study forced Human Migration across India due to environmental degradation
Doing a transect walk from the most easterly point of India to the most Westerly point.
Planning and starting a story - what that looks like
Following the threads and seeing where it leads
Knowing when you are on the right path?
Not finding any path to be wrong - there is always something to learn
Taking a pause to reflect on the information that’s been gathered
Dealing with dead ends and moving on
Her first time in Bangladesh
New book: Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink
The speed and impact of climate change
Why it’s important to listen to the local geography’s
Sounds in storytelling - Soundscapes
Recording a sound signature throughout the journey
Paul Salopek’s - Out of Eden Walk
Art as part of the storytelling
Wanting to train herself to pay attention to detail
How to connect with Arati on the social media platforms
Final words of advice for other women to follow their passions
Why it’s important for women to speak up
The stories that are in your backyard
“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ~ Mary Oliver.

Social Media

Website: www.aratikumarrao.com

Instagram: @aratikumarrao

Twitter: @aratikumarrao

Facebook: @aratikumarrao

Book: Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink

The episode Arati Kumar-Rao - From National Geographic Explorer to Environmental Chronicler, documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation, inspiring us all to take a closer look at our changing world. Author of Marginlands: Indian Landscapes On The Brink. from the podcast Tough Girl Podcast has a duration of 45:13. It was first published 10 Oct 07:00. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

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Thank you for your invaluable support!

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Show notes

Who is Carly
Living a unique lifestyle
Working as a freelance guide in the Middle East and Central Asia
Wanting to simplify her life so that she can live it
Her love for adventure and travel
Moving every 2 years due to her dad being in the Army
Turning 18
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Feeling liberating
Being a scared child
Deciding to face her fears
Going on lots of solo adventures and being inspired to do even more
Figuring it out as she went travelling around the world
Facing the fear by doing it
Changing in a shared dorm
42 years young!
Wanting to explore the world and keep on travelling
Henry David Thoreau quote
Age 27 and having another pivotal trip in Namibia
Being inspired by other people living as guides
Working as a tour leader in the middle east
Living on the brink of the unknown
Wanting to experience and feel communities
Going with her feelings
Falling in love with the middle east
Knowing there was more than her 9 to 5 life
Living in Syria before the conflict (2010)
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Making friends and building a community
Working as a tour leader
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Feeling travel burnout
When travel lost its purpose
Advice for women who want to make a change
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Training to run around Mount Blanc
The covid years
Having a routine and taking a big rest from the world
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Getting older and dealing with the future
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Ultimate Direction - Fast Packing Pack
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Social Media

Website: www.downtoearthtravel.co.uk

Instagram: @carly_fillis

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Thank you for your invaluable support!

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Show notes

Who is Carol
Her early years
Growing up in Canada
Going to university to study English Literature
Wanting to visit Antarctica, but going with a purpose
Being inspired by people around her
Taking the opportunity when it came available
Wanting to help clean up Antarctica
The Antarctic Treaty
Collaboration and working with others
Working with Wendy Truslerhttps://www.wendytrusler.ca/
Book: Ode To Antarctica - Antarctic cultural history book based on a civilian ecological cleanup expedition 42 recipes, pix, journals. HarperDesign.
Crossing the Drake Passage
How the experience changed her
Applying to Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
How art fits into the work
Telling the story of their Antarctica expedition through food and imagery while discussing serious issues
Heading to Svalbard, to do a clean up operation
Using art to talk about serious stories
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Emily Penn - Tough Girl Podcast EXTRA (Jan 9, 2020)
Wanting to learn how to sail
The challenges of sailing and dealing with sea sickness
The lessons learned and the takeaways from the experience
Having an international scope but working locally
Presenting their finding to the Scottish Parliament
TEDxMontrealWomen: Ocean Love: Cleaning Up Our Plastic Mess
Advice for people regarding plastic pollution
#OceanOptimism
The little things/small actions you can do to make a difference
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Code Red for Humanity
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Future projects
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How to connect with Carol
Final words of advice for other women and girls
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Risk, discomfort and challenge
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Social Media

Website: www.caroldevine.info

Instagram: @antarcticcookandclean

Gráinne Moss: Navigating Open Waters - Expert Advice from arguably Irelands most accomplished female open water swimmer. First Irish woman to swim Cook Strait (2001) Foveaux (2022), Lake Taupō (2021) and the Channel of Bones in Hawaii (2023).

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Thank you for your invaluable support!

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Show notes

Who is Gráinne
Being born in Ireland
Emigrating to New Zealand at the end of the 90s
Living in Wellington, New Zealand
Representing Ireland and the first Open Water Swimming Championships (1986)
Her early years and memories of water
Being spotted as talented at swimming at 6 years old
Wanting to better herself and try new things
Swimming for Bangor Swim Club
Making the transition to open water swimming
Meeting people from around the world who loved open water swimming
The pressure of swimming competitively and wanting to swim well
Getting married and having 4 children
Swimming through out the years
Getting back into big swims in 2021
Lessons learning from the big swims
Making an emotional commitment to the swim
Keeping motivated while waiting to compete the big swims
Having her family involved in the big swims
What the journey of a swim looks like
Swimming the Channel of Bones in Hawaii (43km)
Having anxiety and neves before the swim and feeling full of doubt
Taking medication for sea sickness
Swimming for charity - Kenzie’s Gift
Training and maintaining swim fitness
Working with a swim coach (Phillip Rush) and the importance of stretching
The importance of recovery
Handing changes in her body over the years
Being aware of her body
Not using a watch or GPS
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Taking it one stroke at a time
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Social Media

Website: grainnemoss.com

Instagram: @swimirishkiwi

Charity: Kenzie’s Gift supports the mental health of tamariki (children) and mātātahi (young people) affected by serious illness or grief.

Link to Fundraising: winter-swim-challenge-2024.raiselysite.com/grainne-moss

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Fatima's childhood was marked by challenges, but her curiosity and determination to learn led her to secretly educate herself. As Afghanistan's first female tour guide, she defied expectations and empowered herself economically.

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Thank you for your invaluable support!

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Show notes

Who is Fatima
Studying in Italy and working as a tour guide
Her early years in Afghanistan
Having 4 older brothers and 2 older sisters
Working with the sheep as a shepherdess at age 7
Not having school and not being able to study
Being inspired by hearing people on the radio
How her curiosity grew and her desire to learn more
Starting to learn secretly
Practicing her reading and writing in the sand
Being able to go to school and study
Thinking about her own future
Witnessing the suffering of women in Afghanistan
Wanting to live for herself
Wanting to be independent and the person of her choice
Becoming Afghanistan’s first female tour guide
Graduating high school and wanting to go to University to become a journalist
Convincing her mother first
Researching the history of Afghanistan
Making a Facebook account and connecting with people who travel and how that connection led to her tourist work
Untamed Borders - an adventure travel company providing unparalleled access to some of the world’s most interesting and inaccessible places.
Being able to earn more than her brothers and help to support her family
Wanting to encourage more women to enter the tourist industry in Afghanistan
Sharing her story on CNN
Her journey to Italy
Receiving warning that she was a target of the Taliban
Not being able to say a proper goodbye to her family
The challenges of getting into the airport to get on the plane
Moving to Italy and building a new life
Feeling mentally and physically lost and struggling to sleep
Dealing with the aftermath and reliving the trauma
Deciding to make changes in her life; getting a job, sorting out a university place, reading books and focusing on improving herself
Her passion for continuing her education and getting accepted with a fully funded scholarship to study at University in Milan (BA in International Politics and Government)
Being a refugee and having travel documents which allows her travel in Europe
Visiting Iran and meeting up with her family
Continuing to be a tour guide in a unique way
How to connect with Fatima
Her reason for wanting to travel to every country in the world.
Final words of advice
“You are powerful as a woman, don’t underestimate your power.”

Social Media

Instagram: @fatima.haidari786

Youtube: youtube.com/@fatimahaidari?si=6Tep5bklgaTWCUr4

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Listen to Kaz share her story on the Tough Girl Podcast.

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Thank you for your invaluable support!

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Show notes

Who is Kaz
Living in Chamonix, France in 2010
Studying architecture at University
Joining the TA - Territorial Army and becoming a Personal Training Instructor (PTI)
Doing a MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology
Working full time while studying and running
Her trail running journey
Learning about trail races
Wanting to run the UTMB
Running the Marathon de Mont Blanc
Struggling with the UTMB in 2014
Realising her mental game had let her down
Wanting to learn/understand more about the mental side of physical challenges
Losing focus and not being present while training and what you can do about it
Ending up in a dark place and questioning what you are doing
Why you need a strong WHY
Signing up to do Tahoe 200
The sacrifices and hard work which goes into training
Suffering with audio and visual hallucinations
Bears and Pizza!
Running throughout the year
Recovery after big races
Being a plant based athlete
Food and nutrition
Using Training Peaks
Where the name Mettle came from
Coaching athletes and runners
“We are stronger, braver and more capable than we realise”
Being a fan of David Goggins
Learning how to endure
How to connect with Kaz
Tips for self belief
Our lives are the sum of our choices. The future depends on what we do in the present.
Think about what you want to be doing and what you can do now to achieve that.

Social Media

Website www.mettlerunning.com

Instagram @mettlerunning

Personal Instagram @mountainkaz

Facebookwww.facebook.com/mettlerunning

Every Podcast » Tough Girl Podcast » Arati Kumar-Rao - From National Geographic Explorer to Environmental Chronicler, documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation, inspiring us all to take a closer look at our changing world. Author of Marginlands: Indian Landscapes On The Brink.