Sousan Samadani reinvented her life after 60 turning into soil activist

When 65-year-old Sousan Samadani came across an online video about global soil degradation, it changed her life. She began a years-long environmental journey across Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and South America to support the Save Soil movement.

Living in Utrecht, Samadani said she was shocked to learn that most of the world’s soil could be degraded by 2050. The campaign, started by spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, pushes for policies to restore soil health and raise awareness about how fertile land supports food security and environmental sustainability.

Wanting to help, Samadani joined the movement’s 2022 awareness campaign, traveling through many countries by train, bus, and hitchhiking while volunteering at events. This was a big change for her, as she had never been involved in activism before. She was born in Kermanshah and grew up in a Bahá’í family that moved to Shiraz because of religious persecution. After working as a piano teacher in Iran, she moved to the Netherlands as a refugee in 1995.

Her interest in agriculture began with stories about her family’s old farm in Iran, where they grew wheat, fruit trees, and kept livestock. In the Netherlands, she grew vegetables and herbs in a rented garden while still working as a musician. Since joining the soil campaign, she has taken on bigger challenges, like cycling hundreds of miles in India and joining public awareness events on several continents.

Samadani’s long-term goal is to bring soil conservation advocacy to Iran, where drought, land degradation, and water shortages are growing problems. Even after more than thirty years away, she still dreams of returning home to create a garden like the one her parents described from her childhood.

Source: The Guardian