facultyexplore advaya’s teachers
Explore advaya's faculty of teachers, scientists, practitioners, philosophers and storytellers, who share multidimensional, local and diverse narratives from across the world.
Bayo Akomolafe
Sophie Strand
Satish Kumar
Vandana Shiva
Veronica Strang
Manda Scott
Beloved Sara Zaltash
David Abram
Dr Andreas Weber
David Whyte
Helena Norberg-Hodge
Dr. Predrag Slijepcevic
Charles Eisenstein
Aisha Paris Smith
Brontë Velez
Timo Granzotti
Timo Granzotti is a multifaceted specialist who bridges ecology, art and craft.
Timo Granzotti is a multifaceted specialist who bridges ecology, art and craft. He has worked as a teacher, designer, consultant, organizer, and field specialist, bringing his unique fusion of ethnobotany and whole systems’ ecology in California for the past 15 years.
He was an instructor at the Occidental Arts & Ecology center for 10 years and collaborates with many groups, organizations and annual events. He is also and artist, sculptor and craftsman, with a focus in wood and natural materials, as well as a wilderness skills expert, with an emphasis on techniques, technologies and crafts.
His interest lies in the creative use of his hands, the human relationship with nature, and the preservation of lost knowledge, art, and cultural history. Throughout his work, he strives to merge the present with the past, in a unique and contemporary form.
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Attuning to the Standing Ones
What does the sacred tree of life tell us about our telos on planet Earth? What secrets do the trees hold, and how do we listen to them and allow them to show us the way? Ahead of the advaya course curated by Imaginal, Tree of Life, the three course curators dialogue about attuning to the trees, this time of initiation that humanity is facing, and how we may be of service to the forests, as we so urgently need to do now. Special guest Shira Netanya also explores the Kabbalah and Tree of Life, and weaves the cosmological and ecological stories of unity from and with the trees.
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The Epic of Gilgamesh and restoring humanity's sacred relationship to forests
"This is a time of really building a sacred way of life, learning how to listen again." In the opening week of Tree of Life, our course with Imaginal, the three curators, Nat Kelley, Isis Indriya and Timo Granzotti, explore mythological, cosmological and ecological stories to understand why humanity (led by a certain kind of civilisation) lost its way.
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Water, forestry and indigenous culture in the Mesoamericas
In the third week of Tree of Life, our course with Imaginal, Timo Granzotti and Nat Kelley explore the highly advanced, and deeply rooted agricultural systems of Mesoamerica.
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The acacia, a tree through the ages and generations
In the sixth week of Tree of Life, our course with Imaginal, we learn about the acacia tree: a tree that witnesses and carries the passing of lineage, from generation to generation. Isis Indriya shares about what the acacia represents in regard to human souls, liberation and consciousness. Timo Granzotti shares about the concept of dream time, and the relationship between the acacia and Aboriginal culture and lore.
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Baobab, the Great Mother Tree
In the seventh week of Tree of Life, our course with Imaginal, Isis Indriya speaks about the reverence of the baobab across Africa, how and why it is regarded as a Mother Tree, and the different creation myths associated with the baobab, the upside down tree. Timo Granzotti speaks to the art, culture and stories associated with the baobab: images that are quickly disappearing.
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The symbiosis of humans and plants
In the final week of Tree of Life, our course with Imaginal, Timo Granzotti offers some parting thoughts inspired by the teachings, mythologies and cosmology of the olive tree. How can we understand and carry forth this human-plant relationship, a relationship of symbiosis? What does this have to do with the "oldest task in human history"? Timo summarises some of the lessons we can take away from this course, and what we may think about moving forward.