La Tristesse de Gaïa. De l’effondrement à

10 × 19 cm 160 pages softback october 2021 estimated retail price: 10 €

A farmer, writer and French thinker of Algerian origin Pierre Rabhi is an advocate of a lifestyle and society that is more respectful of nature and our fellow human beings. He has championed the development of agroecology throughout the world, especially in Africa where it has contributed to food self-sufficiency and safe and healthy diets for local communities. He is the founder of many associations, including Colibris and Terre & Humanisme, and is the author of numerous books, including Vers la sobriété heureuse (Actes Sud, 2010). As part of the “Domaine du possible” collection, Olivier Le Naire has published a book of interviews entitled Pierre Rabhi semeur d’espoirs (Actes Sud, 2013).

De l’effondrement à l’émerveillement

GAIA’S SADNESS

Of collapse and wonder

Pierre Rabhi

To accompany the publication of the new edition of his famous essay Vers la sobriété heureuse (“Domaine du possible” collection), Pierre Rabhi has written a short and incisive text that is an intellectual testament to dark times through which we are living. La Tristesse de Gaïa is another uncompromising denunciation of our contemporary society, which has completely lost its direction, its appreciation for nature and a sense of self-restraint and is geared instead to the enrichment of the few.

At the age of 83, Pierre Rabhi has lost none of his lucidity or acerbity, and remains as awe-struck by the beauty of Gaia as he is indignant by the countless outrages that we visit upon it through our ignorance and greed. His distinctive voice and inimitable style are immediately recognisable – the perfectly crafted, lapidary phrases full of good sense and musicality. And his cause is an insurrection in the name of wisdom, intelligence and beauty as he reiterates his faith in oases – communal living arrangements that offer the necessary privacy for each household but also a sharing of experience and the shared use of essential facilities. We live on the verge of an age where the dominant system that is so resistant to change – the classic “business as usual” ethos – will give way to a welcome trend in the opposite direction as it becomes overwhelmingly obvious that we need to embrace Mother Earth.