The Emerging Earth Room at TEDx Chiang Mai 2025 turned a hotel ballroom into an earthy space for pause and connection. Through talks, workshops, soil, seeds, functional mushrooms, and forest tea, we invited attendees on a multi-sensory journey of “Climate Action” through regeneration.

The space came together, inspired by the Emerging Earth residency we hosted in October, and the cosmo-local Chiang Mai initiative which we began at the start of the year that brought together change makers from the city to explore how we can bring indegenious knowledge and spiritual wisdom into modern life. We were invited by the organisers of TEDx Chiang Mai to share our perspectives and projects and take attendees on a learning journey together. 

 “Climate Change” is one of the most existential challenges our civilisation faces, yet do we truly understand the root cause?

What the world calls Climate Crises—rising carbon emissions, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, PM 2.5 pollution, etc., are Wicked Policy Problems. Symptoms of woldviews and ontologies that see humans as seperate from nature, giving rise to economic systems of extraction and domination.  Renewable energy, carbon zero, and other SDGs are worthy goals, however, we must at the same time do the work of renewing this relationship with the earth. So to move forward and take the right “Climate Action” we start by looking back at the many indegenious and spiritual worldviews in this part of the world that held this relationship, and renew them for our present day. How can we listen more to Mother earth speaking to us?

Each session is rooted in this inquiry:

P’Ramphai and Daojai opened the room with tobacco offerings to the land, sharing seeds (literal and metaphorical) of the P’gakenoyoa way of life still preserved today through story.

Adam, Yucca, and Kenneth presented Squelch Pod & Monsoon Tea—using sound and digital technology to bring us closer to the forest, proving ecological preservation can be financially viable by transforming biodiversity data into immersive experience.

Jell introduced the emerging “eco nomad” movement, shifting travelers from temporary visitors to participants in universal belonging—where tourism revitalizes rather than depletes through projects like Nomad Turtle’s regenerative travel routes.

Moowan guided us through biomimicry as transformation beyond scientific innovation—”quieting our cleverness” to access systemic wisdom from 3.8 billion years of evolution, bridging Western science with indigenous knowledge.

Dev’s talk traced a path from the “Dark Forest” of disconnection toward a “Light Forest” worldview—moving from caring for the Earth to caring as the Earth.. 

The Emerging Earth room was co-created by:

• Ramphai Noikaew — Panya Forest & Pun Pun Eco-village

• Dev Lewis — Light Forest & digi-cnx

• Adam N. — Potent Fungi & Squelch Pod

• Naphatsakorn “Jell” Lunprom — Nomad Turtle

• Amanda – A Liminal Space

We’re grateful to Abhi from Living Roots for bringing soil and seeds for hands-on connection, Potent:Fungi for functional mushrooms, and Monsoon Tea for wild forest tea; Martin and the TEDx Chiang Mai crew for inviting us into this space and trusting us to curate the entire day; Chan from Pun Pun for documenting through photos; and Myint from Pun Pun and the Hin Lat Nai crew for their work behind the scenes. 

You are welcome to browse through the recordings of each session and pictures from the space

Light Forest Regeneration / Dev Lewis

Many Ways of Knowing: A Biomimicry Journey from Biology to Design
Sirikhanate “moowan” Sakulyong

In this presentation, Moowan introduces biomimicry as a transformative framework that moves beyond mere scientific innovation to embrace ethos and reconnection with the natural world. The speaker argues for a shift in perspective called “quieting your cleverness,” which encourages learners to move past superficial data toward a deeper, systemic wisdom inspired by 3.8 billion years of biological evolution. By contrasting Western scientific paradigms with indigenous knowledge and cultural traditions, the text explores how nature’s strategies—such as resilience through diversity and the creation of conditions conducive to life—can be applied to design, business, and social life. 

Moowan’s workshop gave participants the chance to bring some of these concept into practise.

Eco Nomads – A Regenerative Travel Route (and how it starts from within)
Naphatsakorn Lunprom

The Magic of Experiencing Biodiversity through Sound / Adam N, Yucca, Kenneth

Most of us living in urban environments feel disconnected from nature with science now revealing is detrimental to our health. 

Honey in the Heart Story Circle: The Stories that Rice Tells Us
Daojai (the elder of youth leader group of Karen) and Ramphai (Panya Forest & Pun Pun)

This presentation highlights the cultural resilience of the Hinladnai village, an indigenous community in Northern Thailand that preserves its heritage through a living relationship to the Earth. By integrating oral traditions and poetic songs, the community transfers vital wisdom regarding rotational farming, seed preservation, and the sacred relationship between humans and the forest. The “Honey in the Heart” philosophy promotes a humble, sustainable lifestyle that values ancestral roots and communal land rights over modern notions of ownership. Saving indigenous languages and seeds is essential for maintaining human identity and fostering a balanced, spiritual relationship with the natural world. 

You can experience this relationship for yourself by joining the What If course offered twice in 2026.