The Doing Good Podcast

Derval Barzey: Climate Justice, Human Stories | The Doing Good Podcast (S2, Ep. 3)

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Welcome back to The Doing Good Podcast!

In this episode, host Karen Philip sits down with Derval Barzey, the visionary Founder of the Climate Conscious Podcast, for an incredibly candid conversation about resilience, consistency, and what it truly takes to advance the intersection of climate and gender justice across the Caribbean.

Derval pulls back the curtain on the reality of balancing a purpose-driven podcast alongside a full-time career. She shares her personal journey navigating gender bias early in her professional life, the reality of "podfade," and the foundational principles that make up her personal Doing Good Toolkit.

We dive deep into why technical spaces need human stories, how to move from inspiration to bold action, and why meaningful change requires a shared effort across the board.

✨ “Consistency is driven by purpose, and impact is not always measured in scale, but in the depth of connection and change.”

📌 In This Episode, We Discuss:

  • Community as an Exchange: Approaching community as a two-way street—not just about looking for support, but actively contributing to shared spaces where people can grow and collaborate together.
  • Boldness in Action: The courage to move a project from idea to reality. While many have strong ideas, progress often stalls at conception. Boldness is what carries the vision forward.
  • Navigating Bias & Redefining Equity: Derval reflects on navigating gender bias early in her career, confronting the expectation that her place was in administrative roles rather than technical ones. She offers a nuanced perspective on gender equity, noting that progress isn’t about displacing men, but actively engaging them as shared partners in change.
  • Beating "Podfade" with Purpose: In the digital space, many projects begin with high energy but fade after only a few episodes. Derval speaks candidly about how celebrating milestones—both big and small—and focusing on how her work resonates with listeners keeps her sustained.

💖 Sponsored by Kainos Caribbean

This season of The Doing Good Podcast is proudly sponsored by Kainos Caribbean. Kainos Caribbean offers a range of innovative services to enhance the Caribbean development sector. From expert grant writing to seamless project management, we’re here to help you do good better. 🌐 Learn more at: www.kainoscaribbean.com

🎙️ About The Guest

Derval Barzey is a prominent Caribbean environmental advocate, sustainability consultant, and the creator and host of the Climate Conscious Podcast. Her work is dedicated to amplifying Caribbean perspectives on climate change, fostering environmental literacy, and driving inclusive climate leadership that centers on gender equity and regional resilience.

🔗 Connect with Derval:

📱 Connect With Us

How do you practice boldness in your own life and work? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and share your thoughts with us! 🎧✨

#DoingGoodPodcast #KainosCaribbean #ClimateLeadership #GenderEquity #DoGoodBetter #Community #BoldAction #WomenInLeadership #CaribbeanDevelopment

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to the Doing Good Podcast, formerly known as the Common Sense Steps to Doing Good. I'm Karen Phillip, a passionate advocate for doing good. I believe in the wheel of social impact that we're preached at too much and not enough time is spent acknowledging who we actually are. I've spent my career meeting amazing do-gooders, and while their work is celebrated, their humanity is often overlooked. I created this space to peel back the layers to share our stories, our struggles, our triumphs, and the secrets to doing good better. Welcome to the Doing Good Podcast. I'm your host, Karen Phillip, and today with me is Daval Barzi, the founder and host of the Climate Conscious Podcast. Welcome, Daval. Hi Karen. Thank you for having me. Great. Can you tell people a bit more about who you are and what it is that you do?

SPEAKER_02

Sure. So as you mentioned, I'm the founder and host of the Climate Conscious Podcast, but I'm also a sustainability consultant with a background in environmental risk management as well as sustainability and environmental, social, and governance management.

SPEAKER_01

That is a mouthful, but we'll be digging into what all those things are and how it's related to doing good. So I to start off, I ask all my guests what is in your doing good toolkit? What are the three values that carry you through life?

SPEAKER_02

Sure. So for me, it starts with impact. I always want to make a difference positively. So I look at, you know, what is going to be the impact of this action or my contribution or my participation. The second one is community. Um and you know, that has a two-way flow. We all need support, we all need encouragement. Um, so you look for like-minded persons or shared spaces where there is a common goal where you can contribute and also be poured into. And last but not least for me, it's boldness, and that's the boldness to pursue a dream or to follow through on a vision. I think you know, many people have great ideas, but you know, not many of us, you know, some of us are, and sometimes we are all, you know, stuck at the point of conception, but being bold enough to pursue that vision, that dream to seek out support, resources, and in the end, it may not look like what you originally um envisioned, but at some somewhere along the line, you are able to arrive at that um intended goal. And for that one in particular, I think about my podcast, you know, launching a podcast with no um media training, um, and a vision to public speaking, you know, no um technical podcasting equipment, but having that vision and being bold and brave enough to pursue it.

SPEAKER_01

That is beautiful, and I do love that you talked about how starting the podcast with no experience, and same thing here, and you were one of the persons who I could testify that you do believe in community, you did allow me to ask you questions, and you're open to to provide your experience with me. So, let's talk a little bit about how that podcast started.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so the Climate Conscious podcast, you know, it's really amazing to look back on it almost six years in. And at the time, back in 2020, I was participating in a mentorship program for women in renewable energy that at the time was hosted by the Clinton Climate Foundation, and we were required to conduct uh a project, carry out a project or a call to action. So I was thinking about you know what can I do? I want again, I want to have impact, right? Um, and I I was listening to a lot of podcasts. There weren't many Caribbean-based podcasts, one of the few was um Tommy Takes Everything. She's out of Jamaica, Tommy Shin. Um, and I just loved that, I guess, medium of listening and you know, tuning in to hearing people's perspectives, their stories. And I thought about, you know, what if I married that with my passion for sustainability, my interest in climate change. And I also recognized that, you know, I was involved in the climate change space, but the average person wasn't really tuned into, you know, the real um implications of climate change. But at the same time, so this was in 2020 when I started. Um in the middle of the pandemic. In the middle of the pandemic, people were recognizing how the environment was quote unquote healing as we were in lockdown. Um, and I saw where people were starting to make the connections, but there was still a big gap. Um, so I decided that for my call to action, I would launch a podcast. I had no idea that it would span five plus years, um, but it's it originated as a project where that would allow me to bridge the gap between you know technical information around climate change and the average citizen who may be inclined to tune into our podcast. I found that it was a different avenue to bring information about climate change, about environmental sustainability to a wider and in particular a non-technical audience. So, yeah, in the midst of the pandemic, um, that's where it all started at home with my laptop. I first started off using Skype, which is easy to think about it. Yes. Um, and I tapped into my network because, as I mentioned, I work in the environmental sustainability field. Um, so I tapped into my network, and even being a part of that wire network, it gave me a uh a regional network, um, persons who were already involved in this space, and their jobs may not be specifically labeled as climate, but it's all connected when we talk about sustainability, right? And then another aspect of it too, that really um encouraged me to pursue this was that I saw even in international climate conversations where we saw activists emerging such as Greta Thanberg, the narrative was really, you know, skewed towards what we know as the global north. Um, you know, climate change perspectives were dominated by the more developed nations, the United States, the um Europe, the European Union. And I felt that the Caribbean perspective was not really being hid, not being shared prominently or featured at all. But at the same time, we are on the front lines. You know, the Caribbean is already experiencing, it's already battling with climate change impacts. So I felt there was a need to put forward the Caribbean perspective, to add our voice to the conversation, and I felt that a podcast was the ideal way to do that.

SPEAKER_01

All right. So can you give us a snippet for those of us who still not sure what is this climate change and how it's really affecting our region? Because since we're small, we are accustomed to these hurricanes, we are custom to this, and we are a majority of us may not be aware of the ratings for our our region as a hurricane, as a prone region. So if you could just give us like a snippet of what exactly does this climate change mean to our region, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So the the term climate change, you know, in the grand sense, it's a natural phenomenon. The climate changes over time. Um, but due to human activities, namely the burning of fossil fuels, um, since the industrial revolution, you know, we have become industrialized, we have a lot more vehicles, a lot more even industrial agriculture. And this has contributed to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, one of which is carbon dioxide. Um, methane is also another one, which we got from um landfills and also um industrial agriculture um farming with livestock. Um, so this has led to something that we know as global warming. And as the planet gets warmer, it intensifies the changes in the environment, the changes in our weather patterns, our long-term weather patterns, which we call climate. So, weather is short-term, you know, it may be sunny this morning and rainy in the afternoon, but climate looks at long-term patterns. So, for example, in our region, we have our rainy season and our dry season. But climate change refers to the changes in those patterns, and with those changes, we see the disruptions that are happening, right? So we're seeing periods of drought, we're seeing periods of intense rainfall leading to flooding, we're seeing the effect on the oceans, the oceans are also warming up as well, and then we're seeing things like um coastal erosion, you know, um water scarcity, changes in the productivity of our agricultural system. So it really when we speak about climate change, we speak to those, those impacts that are a result of the changing in our long-term climate patterns. And as you mentioned, we have historically had hurricanes. We have a hurricane season, right, from June to November. But with climate change, with global warming, we're seeing that the frequency of those hurricanes is increasing, as well as the intensity of it, right? And this ties back to a warming planet and how it fuels these systems either to be disrupted or intensified.

SPEAKER_01

Ah, okay. So I think I understand, but I want to find out a bit more about how you got involved in this and what what made this a passion for you. I know you spoke about being part of the Woman in Renewable Energy program, but like from a child, were you always interested in the client in environments and how we we lived in harmony with it or not in harmony with it?

SPEAKER_02

So I've always had a passion for geography in school. I think back then climate change wasn't really the big buzzway that it has become now. But I always loved learning about different environments. Um, you know, but being born and raised in the Caribbean and familiar with our tropical environment, but through geography class, which I studied all the way up to form six, um, you know, I learned about different um environmental um environment ecosystems, I should say. Um, and I always enjoyed being in nature. I loved going to the beach, I guess, as a typical island girl. Um, so and then growing up in a fairly rural area, you know, the environment was always around, you know. But as I pursued my studies, I began to learn how our environment was really taking a hit. And I began to learn about concepts such as sustainable development. And I realized that, you know, this thing that we enjoy, that we take for granted, you know, if we don't change our trajectory, we could really be in some serious trouble. And I guess based on that interest and involvement in the environment, from since being a little girl, it was just a natural progression for me to study environmental management for my undergraduate degree at the University of the West Indies. So I went in there very passionate, very excited to learn not just about the environment, but what we can do to safeguard it, right? And I think what was a very defining moment for me was during my undergraduate degree, I got the opportunity to participate in a graduate trainee program at our national oil and gas company. And that was really eye-opening because that's where I saw where the techniques, the um skills that I was learning in terms of environmental risk management, this is where it needed to be applied, right? Because I also got the view that okay, this was one of the main economic earners for the country, but it also has a very significant environmental footprint, especially if you're operating in, let's say you have marine operations, so you know, a shared space with fishing communities, you also have to look at how you impact the marine environment, your affluence. Um, so that's why I saw where my skills would or the theory would come off the page and it has to be applied in a real-world context. And I think that is what sparked something in in me because when we talk about sustainable development, you know, it's still development. We still want to improve people's standard of living. We still want to, you know, produce and grow economically. But how can we do that in a way that still allows our environment, our people to thrive? So I am most inspired by sitting in that space, the nexus of you know economic and social development as well as environmental sustainability. Because at the end of the day, we all want to, you know, achieve our goals, our dreams, improve our standards of living, provide for our families. Um, but how can we do that in a way that coexists with other priorities?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but I'm definitely also hearing how communicate professional community has shaped you. So this is the second professional program that you messaged that you said that really challenged the way that you viewed life and the way that we interact with the environment and that you have power. I is that you would say the same thing that community gives you a sense of power to act on what you think of.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it's definitely linked to when I mentioned you know, the boldness to pursue a vision, definitely having community, you know, fuels that because you feel like you're less alone, you feel like you have shoulders to stand on, or persons to, you know, engage with um bunks ideas off of. So community has definitely been that tread running through my career and my you know professional pursuits. Um, that really community does so much, you know, it opens doors, it it provides encouragement, and it it really gives you that momentum to keep going.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So you could tell us a bit more like how your personal community helped you and you're doing good? Were your parents supportive of you doing this? Um, how was it in school and high school? Were you the tree hugger? Or they would they call you Captain Planet?

SPEAKER_02

So definitely my personal community has been, you know, uh a really solid foundation. I must say that you know my my parents and my family have always supported my pursuits, my crazy ideas. Um but specifically when I launched the podcast, they were very supportive. And I have to mention in particular my Aunt Um Marion, who if it's one person that listens to every episode, it's Auntie Marion, you know, and she can yes, and um she's a retired nurse, you know, so she wasn't directly involved in say in environmental matters. But hearing her speak now about sustainability and climate action and all that she has learned, you know, throughout that journey, journeying with me, you know, it's really rewarding and fulfilling. And I I you know I take that as a measure of the impact that the the podcast can have to, as I mentioned, a non-technical audience, you know. So I'm really grateful for my support system, you know, my entire family. Um, they definitely encourage me and support me in in my pursuits. So that's that's really important, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, definitely. It's important to have that that group that makes you that could hold you when you're crying over your crazy idea and you don't know how to execute it, and then also the group to tell you yes, you know, or maybe no, also. Yeah, and how like so when you're going through a tough time or like trying to execute one of your crazy ideas, as you called it, I don't think any of them are crazy because I have seen the fruits of your labor. What what do you rely on? How do you get through those tough times?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I mean, it's it's life, you know, the tough times will come. For me, it's it's sometimes it's it's pausing, it's taking a step back, and then reminding myself of you know, your why as SVC, um, and the vision, coming back to the vision, and um for me it's being flexible. I think when we're too rigid, we hold on to a specific um trajectory or a specific blueprint. But I think when we allow ourselves to you know be creative or or be led um as doors open or as um help shows up, um, that allows us to overcome those challenges, those bumps in the road. So for me, um when any kind of frustration or or roadblock comes, I try to take a uh a pause, um, maybe you know, take my mind off of it, pursue something else, and then come back to it with a fresh outlook, um, as well as maybe getting someone else's um a trusted person's opinion, you know, someone else's view that can maybe help you identify some blind spots that you may have, or they may present an option that you didn't consider before. So again, coming back to community, right? Um, so yeah, I think it's for me it's just being willing to explore, and I personally have the up the belief that everything is figure outable. So um I hold on to that. I hold on to that. Um, but I think it's sometimes it's important to kind of step away from the frustration and then come back with a fresh view.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I I definitely agree with you. And let's talk about another community that you built, the CW4CJ. You can tell us what it stands for and how that community has been shaking up the way that we narrate climate issues in the Caribbean.

SPEAKER_02

So CW4CJ, Caribbean Woman for Climate Justice. So this originated as a way to commemorate the anniversary of the podcast. Um, so the podcast itself has evolved from being just a podcast to becoming uh, I would say, a regional movement. And one of the congratulations, one of the key themes that emerged from the climate conscious conversations was the issue of climate justice and also how that connected with gender justice. So the for the first installation of CW4CG, which is a virtual conference, a virtual regional conference, I partnered with the Bradford Collective, which is uh an NGO based in Guyana that focuses on gender and climate justice. And we produced this event that brought a range of stakeholders together, but with a focus on grassroots, to really help persons understand what is climate justice. Because we spent, I spent a couple of years helping people understand what is climate change. Now we're taking it up on another level, talking about climate justice, and then not only that, but we're Showing how it intersects with gender justice in the Caribbean. But we felt that it was really important to help people to understand because we felt that you know we can be channeling a lot of energy and resources toward climate action. But if we leave out that justice lens or that gender lens, you know, those actions will not be effective, right?

SPEAKER_01

Because so you're gonna need to explain to us those lens.

SPEAKER_02

Sure. So when we we talk about justice and we talk about gender, it's really about being inclusive. It's about recognizing that you know climate change doesn't affect everyone equally. There are different levels of exposure to climate risks, there's different levels of vulnerability. So, what might make someone more vulnerable to climate change? If we're all living on the same island, why would there be different pockets of vulnerability? Well, it has to do with existing inequalities, and that could be uh um from the dimension of economics. So we have low-income uh or impoverished communities, their ability to recover from uh, let's say a hurricane is different from someone living in a higher income community. Okay, that's an example of an existing inequality that is made worse by climate change, right? So when we speak about justice, it's about ensuring when we are addressing climate change, we're not ignoring any of those vulnerabilities. And when we bring in gender to the conversation, it's recognizing that women as a group are also vulnerable, even before we add climate change impacts to that equation, right?

SPEAKER_01

So but we also have inequalities within that because it's not only just women are are not treated as equals in society, right? We understand that, but then as you just pointed out, we have layers that we have the intersectionality, so it could be that a woman with disability is facing even more of a challenge, correct?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so when we talk about justice and we talk about uh inclusive climate action, that's what we want to get to. We don't just want to, well, firstly, we can't just look at people as a as one group, so we have to look at you know the different genders, and then even within those groups, we have to look at as you mentioned, persons with disabilities, persons with um from low-income communities, right, persons who are already on the fringes, what are their needs? What do they need to be resilient to climate change, to be able to recover or to prepare for um or adjust to the impacts of climate change, right? So we found that a lot of our climate change policies or um interventions they don't naturally cater to those different needs, right? It's a kind of broad brush approach. Um, so through CW4CG, we brought the conversation to a wider audience um about what is climate justice and what does that look like for the Caribbean. And what I'm most proud about in terms of producing CW4CG, which the last episode, sorry, the last um edition of it you were a part of um in 2025, is that it also created a platform to showcase what is already being done on the ground by women who are leading um climate action, who are leading resilience, and who are often the first ones to engage in rebuilding communities when disasters hit. You know, so it's really a platform to share knowledge but also provide visibility for what is already being done around the region by amazing women who are leading initiatives. For example, you know, we have the Caribbean Feminists and by Safia, who's based in Trinidad, we have Girls Care Jamaica, which is based in Jamaica. Um, we have um so many amazing prisons, um, leading initiatives. We have Carolyn, um, we have um Helen's daughter out of um St. Lucia. Yeah, yeah, and um so many more, and um but I'm just happy that creating this space to not only highlight the issues that we may not that are often hidden, you know, because one of these things that say when a hurricane happens, the headlines would be you know the infrastructural damage, but you know, we're not often exposed to okay, so uh an entire community was affected, you know. We in the Caribbean, we have a lot of woman-led households, right? Right there. You know, and in an entire community, maybe uh a male-led household has more resources or opportunity to rebuild quick more quickly as opposed to a female-led household that may not have that level of access resources to let's let's unpack that.

SPEAKER_01

Let's not just leave that there. I think what you're saying, using my gender lens, you're saying that a male-headed household may have greater access because it it has been proven that they get easier access to financial financing from banks, right?

SPEAKER_02

That's what you're well, that's one aspect of it. Um, and just to go a bit deeper, like when we talk about female-led households in the Caribbean region, one aspect of that is that a lot of women are involved in the informal sector, yes, or they may be involved in sectors that are um very dependent on the environment. Um, for example, um, fishing agriculture or hospitality. So, or even hairdressing, you know, as an example. So you can contrast that with a meal at household that may be in more formal employment, um, just as an example of vulnerability. And this this is not again, it's not a broad brush for all women, but it's all it's all it's about recognizing that there are these groups within the grouping of women who are increasingly vulnerable, right? Um, so yeah, so so they are really in a precarious position in terms of the the length of time that it may take them to recover. And added to that, the building of care that is on women in terms of child care, caring for elderly parents or even neighbors that they will assist. Um that's that's we we use the opportunity to showcase those layers to vulnerability and why when we're talking about boosting resilience, you know, we have to look at these unseen burdens that women carry. Have you always been passionate about gender issues?

SPEAKER_01

Honestly, no. Let's talk about that journey.

SPEAKER_02

Honestly, no. I think um for me, I think I um I grew up in a community that I would say was very matriarchal, um, and I was surrounded by strong women, and but I think as I became more and more exposed, um particularly in my professional journey where I started to experience the effects of gender inequality, it was very eye-opening to see that, you know, although in the Caribbean, I think we like to say that women are very empowered, but it's in spaces and places of um power is where we see the big gap, you know, and and where there's this unspoken expectation of women to stay in their place or women to be seen and not heard. Um, to give you an example, as I mentioned, I I worked in the oil and gas sector. Yeah. And so after graduating, I I went in and I was working in HSC, health, safety, and environment. And you know, for some persons, the expectation is as a young, as a young woman, your place was as an your place was administrative. So the expectation was that as a young woman, your place was in an administrative role as opposed to a technical role, you know, and I had to overcome that challenge. Um you know, almost a fight to be recognized or accepted as a professional. And yeah, I started to see, you know, some of the challenges that women continue to face. Um, and that can read that can be related to so many other sectors, you know, where the playing field is not even. And I think what that showed me also is that even as we pursue gender um equity, we really have to take men along because they currently hold many of the positions of power, and we need it's not about necessarily displacing men, but creating space for men and women to coexist, to share, um, you know, and to be empowered to make decisions that benefit you know all of us. Um, so that's a little insight to my gender justice journey. Um I think I was a bit naive to the gender, I don't want to call it a struggle, but the gender challenge that still exists. Um, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be able to contribute to moving it forward, at least in the climate space. Um, and and you know, thinking about it now, everything is so interconnected because the the mentorship program, Women in Renewable Energy, it was about empowering young women in the renewable energy space, right? Um, recognizing that energy as a whole is male dominated. Um, but how do we get women to you know elevate? Because we see where in universities the classes are dominated by women, right? Yes. Across faculties, right? Natsu, humanities, engineering. But when we get to the corporate space, when we get to the boardroom, where are those women? Right? And if the women are not in the room, if the women are not at the decision-making tables, that's where we get these policies and programs that do not cater to the many dimensions of being a woman. A woman who's a professional, a woman who's a homemaker, a woman who is a farmer, or a woman who's doing all of those things at any given point in time.

SPEAKER_01

The disconnect between the policy and the grassroots. This episode is brought to you by Kinos Caribbean, a consultancy dedicated to helping you do good better. From grant writing to project management, Kainos Caribbean provides the common sense steps to turn your passion into a powerful, well-run organization. We help you cut through the jargon to find the right path to creating real lasting change. Visit KinosCaribbean.com to see how we could help your organization thrive. But it's also what type of woman, as well, right? Because we we know that not every woman holds the same desire for gender equity, as you said. Um, and we also know that some of us reinforce the gender, the gender biases or the gender stereotypes and believe that the woman's space is at home. And even if they're in the corporate, they still believe that the woman's face is such a support. I you talked about having to fight for your voice when you were working in the corporate, and I remembered I was doing a gender project with an organization trying to work through their gender mainstreaming, and they seriously watched me in my face and was like, No, we must hire women. They are the ones that make the babies and they mind the babies, so they wouldn't walk off the job. So that's why we hire women. And I was just like, so not for their qualifications, not for this. He's like, No, from the time a woman has a child, she will stay in that job no matter what, the man will walk off, and that talks about the the care that's placed on us, the care that's placed on us at home and in the workplace, because he's expecting that person to turn up and perform for how many hours a thing as if they don't have a child, but knowing that they're gonna stay in the job no matter how bad the conditions get, because they have a child, and that's interesting because he's aware of that, you know, additional labor that the woman has, but instead of you know supporting that or enabling that, he is exploiting that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So, yeah, so it's we still have a long way to go even as we make progress. Um, and I completely agree with you that there are some women who still you know endorse the inequality. Um, so it's really about you know how do we change those mindsets, you know.

SPEAKER_01

And how are you doing that through your podcast or your work? I know that you also had a a workshop on climate justice for community groups, I think.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes. So um I ran a campaign um with the Crystal Clare Foundation and we hosted a workshop called Access Granted. So the objective is really how do we get these community groups to gain access to the funding that is available? I mean, we are calling for more funding, but for the opportunities that exist, there are many barriers to grassroots organizations really tapping into those networks. Um and not to deviate too much, but just to drive home the point that we need the resources to hit the ground, right? Because when disaster strikes, it's you know, our national systems they're not usually the first one on the ground. It's the people in the communities who show up, right, to help someone whose house may have collapsed, for example. So it's important for community groups to have access to resources, and um many times, you know, to access grants as you would know, because this is your area. Um, how can we support them in going through that that process to get to the funding, you know? Um, so yeah, we got together a group of representatives from community-based or NGO organizations and really, you know, help try to help them to understand, you know, how they can navigate that grant um space. And it was really fruitful, you know, also to hear about what they have been doing, the experience that they have so far, and what they intend, how they intend to move forward. And that in that group also includes representatives from the indigenous community, the Warrow. Um yeah, and it was also intergenerational as well. Um, you know, uh very diverse. Um, because we're talking about inclusion, right? So that's creating space for more persons to have access to resources. Um, that is another challenge in climate action and climate justice, you know. How as our governments fight for more access, even when that funding comes to our countries, how does it trickle down? How does it get through all the bureaucracy to where it matters most, which is underground?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah, and I like that you talked about the inclusiveness. So you talk about the indigenous community and also intergenerational, because that's something that did cross my mind earlier. Like that these terms are relatively nude. I mean, when when I was in primary school, we talked about the Ozole um disappearing and that stuff. But what about the generation before us when they've been hearing this all the time, but yet they're still living on the earth and nothing's really happened per se, or where they just don't have acts, they don't have access to to podcasts, they don't know what a podcast is. How do they get the knowledge? How do you create extend the impact that you're having to the the older generation? And and if you have done it, if they've been receptive.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so my intervention has been primarily through digital um platforms, um, and it generally targets you know the demographic from let's say the 20s to maybe about 45. But what I have seen that has an impact on other, you know, the more mature groups is when we go into communities, when we host um, you know, um offline events. For example, we have hosted one or two events in collaboration with Arc Co-Create, they're a space based in Takarigo in Trinidad. Um, and that's when you see, you know, a range of um age groups coming together to um to engage, to share ideas, to learn, to support each other. But what what I would like to say, although the although the terms are new, you know, the environmental advocacy work has been going on for quite some time, you know, um, and we are just building on that. And I think it's important to acknowledge that, as well as the gender, I think even more than environmental, the gender, the fight for gender justice has been going on for quite some time in our region. And we have benefited from that, you know, and I must make mention of one of these talts, Miss Judith Weatherburn, out of Jamaica, you know, I was really privileged to meet her and interview her um on a series that I did with Canari, you know, for her to share her insights and she gave such I mean you you you just can't get better than that in terms of understanding what is happening on the ground, you know. So we really these are the people who need platforms, these are the people who need the resources. I mean, the policymakers have their their place, they are important too. But I feel like um underground is where it's happen, where it happens, underground is where it happens.

SPEAKER_01

And I know, all right, and I know I I think I've heard you've said before that you think that there's a misconception that policymaking is only for technocrats, but it's something that all of us could get involved on. Do you want to touch on that a bit?

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Um, so policymaking it has to be for us, therefore it should include us, right? Yeah. So it it requires, I think, widespread stakeholder participation, and that is what would make uh a strong or an effective policy. So we need to bridge the gap between the technocrats and the pr the beneficiaries of. Of that policy, and it requires meaningful consultation, meaningful participation, even moving beyond consultation, because you know, we all know that that tends to be a tick-the-box exercise, right? Yeah, yeah, it's a little meeting, and you say that the community was consulted. But what I advocate for with um amongst many others is that you know, you want people to be involved from conception, right? You want to firstly understand what are their needs, what are their challenges, and what are their ideas. Many times these the solutions can come from the community. So I believe that policymaking should be community-led, um, and it definitely should be, you know, collaborative, not the technocrats sitting in a room drafting something and imposing it on a community, yeah, but engaging with the community from start to end and allowing the co-creation of that policy.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I ful fully agree with you. And so you you start your face value was impact, and throughout this time that we've been talking, I've just been hearing about your amazing impact that you've had so far. And I have not even touched any fact that you've been your podcast has been recognized as a leading climate change podcast. Could you tell us a bit about that?

SPEAKER_02

Sure. So yeah, UCL, um, that's a university in the UK, they published a list of leading climate and sustainability podcasts, and I was so amazed and pleasantly surprised that the Climate Conscious was listed on that list, you know, and it was really a testament of the global reach of the podcast, which uh, you know, I'm I'm grateful for because we focus on the Caribbean, but yeah, the message is universal because there are so many other you know communities that um may be experiencing similar challenges, but you know, not not their voice is not being heard. Um, and also we want decision makers in in those spaces in the global north as well to recognize that you know they have to widen their view. So um I'm definitely grateful for when when the podcast you know expands out, um and we have a listenership in a number of territories across the globe, and I'm truly grateful for that.

SPEAKER_01

And how do you celebrate that? Because I realize that like with do-gooders, we seem to struggle with celebrating our wins, and these are all quite big wins that you've you've spoken about.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, in terms of celebration, I think that's why I try to um acknowledge the anniversary of the podcast. I mean, each year is a milestone. Um, in the podcasting space, there's something called pod feed, where you know podcasts just die off after a couple episodes. Yeah, and I understand because it's not easy to keep going. This is something that I do in addition to a full-time job. Um, but I um I celebrate the milestones, big and small, uh, because I think this work is important and I'm I'm seeing the impact that it has been having. So that encourages me. That is the fulfilling part of it. You know, when I meet persons who and I say, you know, you should listen to my podcast, and they're like, I listen to the climate conscious, you are the climate conscious, you know, and and they tell me something that they like about the show or they learned from the show. Um, that that is the most rewarding part of it.

SPEAKER_01

So you told me what's rewarding, but you didn't tell me how you celebrate. How do I celebrate? I celebrate by trying to do more. So is it anytime you stop and you'll be like, okay, I'm gonna buy a cheesecake, I'm gonna go to go on a trip to be like, I have I have done this good week and I am deserving of rest and um celebration as well.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, definitely. So when we brought gas, um one of these decisions I took was to take breaks in between seasons, uh, and that in itself is a risk because you know listenership can fall off if you're not producing content all the time. But it's necessary to rest to reflect, and as you said, to celebrate. Um, how do I celebrate? Um, I do enjoy um interacting with community, so maybe going out, having um a nice dinner with a friend, and yeah, reflecting on the accomplishments. I think that's that's how I um celebrate what I've been doing, and that allows me to refuel, you know, when you pause and reflect and acknowledge the good that you have done, it really fills back up your tank. And when the people around you really um celebrate that as well, the community, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

When Auntie Marion calls you and tells you, good job, we're going out. Yes, yeah. So I'm gonna challenge you to try to celebrate a bit more. I know it's something that I do as well. Like, as you said, when you finish something, you're like, okay, so how what else needs to be done? But I'm just gonna tell you to remember your humanity, remember that you deserve to be celebrated as well. And you started off with your values, your impact, your boldness, and your community. And I want to tell you if you don't know that you have a massive impact, and you should be proud of the legacy that you've been creating through your community and also your boldness. Six years that's really long in podcast life. And I just want to tell you what an amazing job that you've been doing. And I want to thank you so much for being here with us today. You provided great insights on why climate issues are important to us in the Caribbean, how you, as a person, was developed through professional communities, and also the importance of not stopping. So seeing the obstacles and finding a resilient way to address them and ensure that the policymakers also hear us so that we could continue to be doing good.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you, Karen. It's it was really a pleasure to speak with you and to reflect on my journey. Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. And yeah, look forward to being back on the doing good podcast. Yay!

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for tuning in to the Doing Good Podcast. If you found value in this conversation, please subscribe. You can find every episode of the Doing Good Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your audio. For video content and all show notes, including links to Deval Brazi's week, visit our YouTube channel at Kinos Caribbean. Be sure to follow us on social media at IG and LinkedIn at Kinos Caribbean to stay up to date on season two episodes and join the conversation. Until next time, keep doing good better. This episode is brought to you by Kinos Caribbean, a consultancy dedicated to helping you do good better. From grant writing to project management, Kynos Caribbean provides the common sense steps to turn your passion into a powerful, well-run organization. We help you cut through the jargon to find the right path to creating real lasting change. Visit KinosCaribbean.com to see how we could help your organization thrive.