Reflection on My First Year of the Earth Jurisprudence Journey

By Sikhethiwe Mlotsha

This reflection marks Sikhethiwe Mlotsha's first year in the Earth Jurisprudence journey. It offers an account of how inner work, ancestral remembrance, and land-based practice are reshaping her sense of belonging to life.

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I belong to the universe, and the universe belongs to me.

As I complete the first year of my three-year Earth Jurisprudence (EJ) journey, I feel deep appreciation for how much this process is changing me. It has expanded my understanding of what it means to be alive in this moment. I sense that many humans are being invited to wake up to who they are — and to choose not to separate themselves from other beings.

One of the most important shifts for me has been recognising that I am part of a wider community of beings, both living and non-living. This year has helped me reco

nnect with Mother Earth and has strengthened my sense of belonging to the cosmos.

I am especially grateful for how this journey has helped me recognise the precious parts of life that many of us have lost along the way: our cultures, our languages, our traditions, our foods, and the ancestral ways that once guided our relationship with Mother Earth. Through Earth Jurisprudence, I have come to understand these losses not only as cultural, but as deeply relational — a forgetting of our place within the living web of life.

Earth Jurisprudence, as I now experience it, is a pathway of remembering and restoring our place within that web. It supports individuals, communities, and organisations who feel called to revitalise life by reconnecting with ancestral memory — remembering humans as responsible and caring participants within Mother Earth’s wider metabolism. Rooted in teachings that first blossomed in the Amazon and now continue to grow across Africa, Earth Jurisprudence nurtures the revival of cultures, languages, foods, ceremonies, and relationships that honour the laws, rhythms, and wisdom of the Earth. It invites us into relationships grounded in reciprocity, reverence, and responsibility.

Throughout this year, many practices supported my reconnection. Learning to relate more consciously with the four elements — water, air, earth, and fire — sitting in meditation, returning to my roots through Pathla, and practicing mindful eating all helped me slow down and stay awake. These practices deepened my understanding of myself as a human being. They taught me to listen more intentionally, to move more consciously, and to honour Mother Earth in my daily choices.

My work at Kufunda Village weaves beautifully with Earth Jurisprudence, and I am deeply grateful for this alignment. Kufunda has always brought awareness to how we can live the future we want today — through sustainability, responsibility, and practices that support people in discovering who they are and their life purpose. The inner work, meditation, and elemental practices at Kufunda have been foundational for me. Earth Jurisprudence has taken this further by expanding my worldview and helping me understand how much humanity has lost — and how much we continue to destroy — when we forget our place in the universe.

This journey is helping me learn how to track that destruction, to understand its roots, and to take part in rebuilding life for all beings.

I have also come to deeply appreciate the way learning happens through storytelling, dialogue, and shared reflection. Through storytelling, we bring back memories, reconnect with wisdom, and learn together in ways that feel alive and meaningful. This has strengthened skills I had long struggled with — writing, reading, journaling, and storytelling — and I now see these as essential tools for healing, remembering, and sharing.

Through Earth Jurisprudence, I am also discovering where I can contribute meaningfully: reviving natural sites, restoring traditional languages, and supporting the return of traditional foods and seeds. These feel like powerful doorways for rebuilding life and reconnecting communities to their roots.

As I look ahead to the next two years of this journey, I feel excited and hopeful. I trust that this path will continue to expand me, guide me, and help me grow into someone who contributes positively to life.

I walk forward with gratitude, ready to deepen my service to Mother Earth and to all beings.

Sikhethiwe and Pheladi in conversation at Towerland