“What is your water story? What is your water biography? And your first memory of water?”
These are questions you may be asked if you happen to walk along a river with the magical Li An Phoa, a woman whose depth of wisdom is only matched by the depth and length of the rivers she walked since she embarked on a majestic mission: to make rivers drinkable again.
If you are a millennial you are probably wondering: what does that even mean? Were we ever supposed to be drinking from rivers? I never got the memo.
As I lost myself in the pages of Li An’s book “ Drinkable Rivers, how the river became my teacher” I wondered under what circumstances would I have drunk from a river, and then searched deep in my memory to ask myself did I ever? It took a long trip into memory lane to remember a time, that feels like centuries ago, when I was maybe 17 and I was hiking in the Dolomite mountains and without hesitation I drank from the water of a freshwater source close to the glaciers. That memory felt like an exception, I would have not touched the same waters downstream for lack of trust, not trust in nature, but trust in the humans who messed that nature up. Would I drink the water of a river today? probably not, after reading so much about climate change, pollution and the environment, I don’t think I would trust the color alone to be an indication of safety and purity.
In 2005 Li An Phoa canoed the full length of a river in Canada, the Rupert. she was joining a small group heading a protest, and for a month she would be living mostly on a canoe and resting in camps along the river bed.
When thinking about that trip, now almost 20 years ago she recalls: “I was a beginner with the canoe, I was not prepared for the trip, I didn’t speak French and the entire group including my canoe partner Richard were French speakers. Richard was not much of a talker anyway but my inability to communicate did not stop us from collaborating and that gave me incredible insights into the power of collaboration for a shared goal.
All along the way, prompted by Richard, I discovered I could drink water straight from the river. As I took my first sip I had an incredible overwhelming experience, tears came down my cheeks.”
Three years later, Li An returned to the Rupert only to discover she could not drink from it anymore. The river was polluted as a result of dams and mining. Fish died, and people got ill. The delicate balance in the ecosystem was destroyed.
“ I cried again, this time grieving for the loss of these sacred waters” she said.
Li An realized that drinkable rivers are an indicator of healthy living. Indeed, when we can drink from our rivers, it means that the whole ecosystem is healthy and in balance. Rivers can only be drinkable when all actions and relations in an entire watershed contribute.
This experience changed her forever and cemented her commitment to do something tangible to bring about change.
“ I became a nomad, I started walking along the rivers in my country, talking to everyone, telling people they could join me. Over the years the effort extended to other regions and I contacted the Mayors of the cities and towns that stood on the river’s path and told them of my intention and ask them to join to send press, to come and listen”.
This was the birth of “Mayors for drinkable Meuse” today comprising a yearly gathering, at its sixth edition, and a network of active Municipalities committed to a signed declaration to make the Meuse a drinkable river, again. You can watch the trailer of the documentary here.
Her entire life is this mission, which to me feels gigantic and impossible, so I asked her:” With the current status of the world how do you keep hope, do you feel defeated, or do you see that the progress is moving at a faster pace in a good direction?”
She answered: “ Hope is something you have to practice. Pessimism and optimism can exist at the same time, but you must choose enthusiasm and practice hope.”
“Hope is something you have to practice.” – LI AN PHOA
She continued: “ When I walk with people I try to connect with them, to what is important to them and then I ask them about their connection to the water. What is their water biography? What is their first memory of water? Then I ask them about their routine, what was the first thing they did in the morning, aside from reaching for their phone? Wash their face, brush their teeth, take a shower, drink a glass of water…I look for a point of connection to a conversation that is far greater”.
We need to learn to reconnect to nature, something most of us don’t understand because that connection was never there, however, people seem to be very quick to invoke nature when you ask them to not eat meat. “ It’s nature’s way” most people would argue, and Li An’s response is: “You want to be the lion in the food chain, then eat like a lion, because lions eat meat twice a week, don’t abuse the system”, and that I must say is the best answer I heard in a while.
Nature does not take advantage of nature, it takes only the essential that it’s needed to continue maintaining balance and harmony.
Reparing rivers drinkability is not only possible but within reach, we witnessed the rapid repair during the months of covid lockdown “ If we don’t work against the logic of the river, the river will self-repair again” Li An said.
With the set up of her foundation Li An is opening up her work for more people to not just participate with her on her walks, but to take her experience, the framework of citizen science, and start their own drinkable rivers missions in their own country.
When I asked her what her big wish was, and what she needed to take this to the next level, her answer was clear and simple: “Join me, in a walk, in starting a mission in your country, in taking the lead in doing what I do with the tools we make available and do your part”.
You can join Li An in her up and coming walks, it’s free, it’s probably the most transformative trip you will take and you can help her spread the word and the knowledge.
There is also an incredible movie “Our blue world, a water odyssey” narrated by Liam Neesom that prominently features Li An’s work soon to be released, a preview trailer here.
To listen to our wonderful conversation, head over to our podcast, and don’t forget to like and share.
