WHO IS A GOOD FUTURE ANCESTOR?

You feel an ancestral pull towards weaving a tapestry that will become the inheritance of our future descendants - past, present, and future practiced and folded into the warps and wefts of time. You might not know where to start. But you know you want there to be more joy. More pleasure. More love. More play. More community. More silliness. More stewardship. More flourishing. More good.

You’re tired of contorting, conforming, and performing for a society that exalts individual purpose and lone-wolf success, as if success happens in a vacuum. Instead, you aspire toward serving a purpose that is collectively shaped and held.

I’m Kāvya. Social impact designer. Facilitator. Change alchemist. Mama. Athlete. Lover of liberation and aspiring good future ancestor, just like you!

Gratitude

I have lived on and benefit from the ancestral lands and waters of Indigenous communities, lands that hold the memory of millions of enslaved people, and lands that have been shared with many beings with whom we have been in relationship over generations.

My access to these lands, which have nurtured and sustained me, is possible due to the stewardship of the many Indigenous communities and teachers (people and more than people) who came before me.

For centuries, they have modeled how to treat land as kin - caring for, defending, and living in harmony with it - amid ongoing violence, cultural genocide, and forced assimilation.

As an uninvited, displaced, and racialized settler carrying the trauma of colonialism in my ancestry, I commit my time, energy, and heart to unlearning and confronting practices that perpetuate oppression and harm, amplifying BIPOC voices, and honoring their sovereignty by aligning my words with my actions.

Journey

With the privilege of lifelong access to learning and travel, I've gained knowledge, experiences, and the capacity to access and navigate different spaces where I am given a platform to share my perspectives. My intersecting identities, along with layers of privilege, and marginalization, shape my practice in three ways:

As a social impact designer and facilitator, I design and facilitate spaces for change with organizations, movements, and people learning what it means to become good future ancestors. Whether shaping strategies or alchemizing rituals to celebrate special occasions, my work is rooted in joy, social justice, love and collective liberation.
As a change alchemist, I steward the Playground for Good Future Ancestors (Formerly Decolonizing Design), a shared space for anyone to explore what it means to become good future ancestors - tending to cycles of growth, harvest, and rest, together.
As a mother, I try to raise my child with intention and integrity. It’s a continuous journey of recognizing patterns of inter-generational trauma, unlearning internalized oppression and seeking ways to practice parenting with love from a place of joy, liberation and social justice (while re-parenting my inner child).

If any of this resonates, I would love to hear from you. Let’s talk!

xo Kāvya