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What if the key to saving nature isn't just about science or policy, but love? Love for the land, for the people who depend on it, for the world we leave behind. Artist Elsaphan Njora has journeyed across Kenya witnessing ecosystems vanish, from Indigenous forests to sacred lakes. But he's also seen communities breathing life back into rivers, forests and coasts in creative, unexpected ways — showing that conservation can flourish alongside livelihoods, and that even the most threatened landscapes can be reborn.
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You're listening to Ted Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity
every day.
I'm your host, Elise Hugh.
Today we're taking you on a journey through the vast and beautiful landscape of Kenya.
To ask the question, what if the key to saving nature isn't about science or policy, but
about love?
From the crater in Silali to the spring's Atum Zema, the cool blue waters of Lake Chala
to the sandy beaches of Robinson Island, I am in awe of what this country has to offer.
Multi-hyphenate artist El-Safan Njora has been traveling across his native country for
years, witnessing ecosystems vanish from indigenous forests to sacred lakes.
But he's also seen communities breathing life back into the rivers, forests and coasts
in creative, unexpected ways.
In his talk and performance, supported by guitarist Menace Shalom and singer Kendi Nkonge,
he tells the story of the very real possibility of a world where conservation can flourish alongside
livelihoods.
Because for El-Safan, through love of the land, the people and the world we leave behind,
even the most threatened landscapes can be reborn.
So what is Tekkenasolong?
It's coming up right after a short break.
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And now our TED talk of the day.
For the last three and a half years, I have traveled more than I have ever done in all
my years.
I have interacted with cultures, landscapes and legends across the land.
And I've been enriched by these vast experiences that I'm so fortunate to have.
So much so that some of my songs are starting to sound like travel journals.
His safari in Yama Penzi means this journey is of love.
From the crater in Silali to the spring's Atum Zima, the cool blue waters of Lake Chala
to the sandy beaches of Robinson Island.
The waterfalls are through Scebe to the island of Sumba.
The small elephants of Abadehas to the Giants in Ambocelli.
The sometimes feisty buffaloes of Mount Kilimanbogo to the Lilac breasted roller in the
plains.
The rivers, the valleys, the people.
I am in awe of what this country has to offer.
This wealth, this beauty is meant to be shared.
It is meant to be passed on.
After all, we too found it here.
And we are direct beneficiaries of their intentional or accidental conservation efforts of the past.
The question is, what shall we leave for
those who are coming after us?
Allow me to take you on a journey.
Let us start in a county called Nyahururu.
In a peculiar water body called Lake Olbollosat, which is both a salty and fresh water lake.
It is possible that one day we might not have it anymore.
Delaying to take measures to curb cultivation around riparian land near the lake will most
certainly lead to its destruction.
And in a few years' time, it might as well never have existed.
But a lake is not just a lake, Ayah.
Now let's go to Machako's county.
The land of the long-distance traders, the flat landscape of enchantment and the crescendo
music lovers.
The home of the great sea who prophesied the coming of the British.
And once home to a vast indigenous forest whose remnants can be found at Kei Makimoe, which
means one hill.
There, at the sacred hill of the Akamba, you'll see those evidence that this was a vast
forest.
However, Machako's today stands in contrast to what our ancestors once called home.
The 50 forest station has transformed a large section of it into a semi-arid expanse
where water is scarce.
Now the forests and the legends and the stories might as well never have existed.
But a forest is not just a forest.
These are ecosystems that support a great number of species from birds, land animals, fish,
insects, plants, some of which are endemic to the area and serve as nature's order in
the great equation of balance.
The very same balance that we are here to discuss.
But our farmers need land to till and we need wood, don't we?
But pause.
This is not a piece to patronize.
Instead, it's to paint a picture of perhaps what could be possible if we took action and
to bear the news of the efforts that have been taken so far.
The proverbial, what if, but now with a motive to reconsider, reconfigure and recruit?
What if there is another way to go about it?
What if there is another way to coexist with nature, make a living and leave an inheritance
for those who are coming after us?
Let us go to Kilific County, right next to the Indian Ocean, somewhere at the shores
of Watamut.
Stan's a testament of what could be if we re-imagined conservation.
A group called the Basel through research and collaboration began planting mangroves 20
years ago in an effort to conserve 20 years of insults and ridicule, doubts and second
thoughts, but now the shores breathe more life into the world and give better sanctuary
for sea life.
And an establishment called Krabshak Hotel stands as a tourist attraction, a pillar of
conservation and commerce, margin, nature, community and profit in an eco-friendly existence.
And back in Machakos, they are making better use of the land and they are repopulating
their indigenous seedlings.
With the efforts of the conservationist, we might just see the return of the trees of
old.
And at Lake Paul Bollosa, they are resettling the farmers and they are saving the lake.
It is no longer a thing of what if it's a possibility.
We can save our ecosystems, our species and our futures.
We can.
The evidence is clear across the world.
So what is taking us so long?
I've never understood why it takes so much effort to do what we know we need to do.
Maybe it is a human condition to procrastinate until it is too late in order to catch that
edge, that elusive high of uncertainty thinking we have some kind of control.
Only problem is there is no control.
However, I believe that if we such deep inside for something bigger, something bigger than
ourselves, then we light a fire that can take us all the way to a better world.
Now, I'm no expert, but I believe that the core of conservation is love.
Love for the land, love for the people of the land and most importantly, love for those
who will come after us.
And with this, I think we can find a way to work together in a manner that will benefit
nature and community in a manner that will give honor and dignity.
And so this journey has to be a journey of love.
And while that may take longer, the effects are profound and far reaching enough to keep
the world breathing.
Finally, let me complete this journey with imagination.
I will ask you to indulge me, close your eyes.
I want you to envision that place that you want transformed.
Do you have it?
You have it?
So I want us to take this journey together.
On the count of three, I want you to say it out loud.
One, two, three.
Here's my hand, take me now, don't resist, don't ask me how.
I'm on fire for you, I'm on fire, I'm on fire for you, I'm on fire, I'm on fire,
I'm on fire for you, I'm on fire.
That was El Safan Jorah with Monase Shalom and singer Kendi Kongay at the Ted Countdown
Summit in Nairobi, Kenya in 2025.
If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out more at Ted.com slash curation guidelines.
And that's it for today, Ted Talks Daily is part of the Ted Audio Collective.
This talk was fact checked by the Ted Research Team and produced and edited by our team,
Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, and Tonsaka Sungmar Nivong.
This episode was mixed by Lucy Little, additional support from Emma Tobner and Danielle Balorezo.
I'm Elise Hugh, I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feet.
Thanks for listening.
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