Zayaan Khan is an artist whose work finds a resting place through food as a means of understanding the world, particularly seed, land and our collective heritage. Her Instagram page notes that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and she also runs the Seed Biblioteek - reconnecting seed with story, towards resilience and sovereignty. As she notes: "Seed is our land, heritage and future".

Describe the nature around you at this moment?

Myself, my young son and Meisie dog are eating biltong, cured meat, while I sit in the final days of pregnancy. We are with plants and soils and their infinite worlds inside this room. Just outside this room is the garden we planted for our children, a wild space with a river and pond, clay and fire pit where endangered frogs live and so many birds connected to the larger vlei, beyond, a kind of marsh.

How would you describe your nature connection?

Inherent.

Where do you feel most at ease?

At home. We've worked hard to make it a sanctuary and lockdown + baby life supported this too.

Food justice, land reform and Indigenous food reclamation are all part of your practice as a food activist and artist. What role do you think Indigenous food would need to have in a food system rebellion?

A central, foundational one as here lies the longest and deepest connection - imbibed in spirit and hopefully, humility.

Is there anything you’re curious about right now?

Wild clay got me, it's so wonderful to be working with clay again.

What’s your top tip?

Sit down when brushing your teeth.

What kind of ancestor do you want to be?

A connector.

What inspires you every day?

Incessant thirst for knowing, not particularly knowledge but the knowing of the knowledge, how it lives in my body, in the silence or the stillness. And all the years of learning ahead.

What are you reading, watching or listening to?

Just got June Bam's Ausi Told Me. I'm still listening to Nick Hakim and Mabuta.

Could you suggest someone else or other organisations you admire that we could approach for #TheNatureKind?

Denisha Anand @theplanthropologist / Nasreen Peer of @argonautscience / Henry Fletcher of @wayfinding.guide

You can find out more about Zayaan Khan's work on her Instagram page: @byzayaankhan.