A message from Stories for Action's director & founder, Lara Tomov:

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I grew up in a small town in the mountains, with humble means. My parents instilled in me the value of being an active member of one's community, and to have respect for and connection to the land. I spent over a decade working as a camera operator for films and television, as I had a passion to uplift story and offer glimpses into different realities. I traveled to over 35 countries for my work and witnessed how people around the world interact with their place and respond to their pressures. I saw incredible diversity in cultures and approaches, but also many common through lines. I saw that the most effective responses were those that were led by the local communities themselves. I saw that incredible things are possible when local people are empowered to steward their own place, in the way that works for them. And I saw that the best external partners were those that may offer technical or financial support, but who listened and stepped back, allowing communities to lead. These are the approaches Stories for Action aims to elevate; to serve the effort featured, to inspire others, to learn about different experiences, and to remind us of our collective humanity.

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For thousands of years, there are examples of humans interacting with their place and meeting their needs in a way that maintains and benefits the health of their communities and the environments they are a part of. I believe this approach is possible in all systems of our societies; public health, ecosystems, economies, energy, food systems, community vitality. But divisions around these topics can hinder critical work from moving forward. Sharing our stories can be the antidote to current polarization, and allow us to see our human connections while honoring our differences.

 

It's time to shift the mainstream narrative. The push for a thriving environment is also a push for public health, resilient economies, social well-being, jobs...not protecting one at the cost of the other. We want to elevate stories that allow that narrative to rise above.​​

 

Our society is creating increasing avenues for isolation. We have many challenges, and many more growing on the horizon. When our interconnections are strong, we can be more resilient to these pressures. We don't need to be experts on one another, but we will all benefit from gaining at least a sliver of insight of one another's experiences. The goal is not to do or view things the same, our differences are key, but we can collectively design systems that enable people on the ground to meet their needs and steward their place in the way that works for them.

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Consistent themes of the work we produce or curate include:

• Community-guided approaches

• Holistic or collaborative approaches

• Showing the nuance in social and environmental concepts, to urge us not to build our worldview based on generalizations or divisive rhetoric.

• The health of human communities is directly connected to that of the environment we're a part of

• Honoring our differences and recognizing our collective strength

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We work to curate content from a diversity of communities, and stress the importance of amplifying stories told by storytellers from those communities.

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Thank you for connecting with our work and being a part of this community.

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