Sabrina Dhowre Elba Spotlights Indigenous Farmers and Women in the Climate Debate

What is one defining moment in your career or life that empowered you to create change, and how has it shaped the path you’re on today?

I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and there was a period of time when I was in high school and the world was watching depictions of Africans in poverty on TV, and I remember it being weaponized to represent whole countries and to tease me and my family. And while I think it was important for the world to understand what was happening, I now feel it’s so important to have narratives that reflect Africans the way I see my family. As hardworking and not waiting for handouts. As we’ve seen recently, natural disasters and conflicts don’t discriminate; they can happen anywhere to any people. But we must not let it define them. 

As we look to the future, what is one key change or innovation you believe is essential for advancing equality and empowerment in your field?

To listen to the voices of indigenous people. The work I do in food security and sustainable agriculture benefits heavily from ancestral knowledge because it is smallholder farmers in rural areas who protect the land we benefit from. Their voices matter in the fight against climate change. As so, the voices of all rural people who suffer every day to more extremes from the climate catastrophes created in the global north.

Who is a woman who has inspired or mentored you, and what lessons from her influence have stayed with you?

My mother is someone who has endlessly inspired me, and she has shaped me into the humanitarian I am today. I was raised watching her fight fiercely for what she thought was right and always using any privilege she had to help anyone in need. I’m in constant awe of her strength, regardless of everything she’s been through. She’s shown me it’s important to keep going and to always raise your voice against evils in this world. 

What is the legacy you hope to leave behind as a changemaker and leader in your industry?

I hope to inspire younger generations that hope is out there and that when we work together, we can really achieve change. It can be easy today to feel like one voice won’t make much difference, but we have seen how important it is when everyone decides to stand up, to vote, to protest, and to organize for what is right.

In honor of Gloria Steinem’s 90 years of advocacy, what do you believe is her most enduring contribution to women’s empowerment, and how has it inspired your own journey?

Gloria has inspired countless women to empower themselves by offering a platform and a way for their voices and opinions to be heard. She moved in the world without fear when it came to challenging traditional expectations and boxes of how women should be represented. We cannot go backwards from the progress she has created, and we need to always fight like she did to protect women’s voices and bodies.

What does progress for women look like in your field, and what steps do you believe are necessary to keep that momentum going?

Much of the work I do, investing in rural people around agricultural knowledge and rights, aims to create opportunity for women who make up the majority of smallholder farmers. When it comes to land rights, financial education, and work at the community level to reshape societal norms that perpetuate gender imbalance, we need to make sure women are supported. By helping organizations that protect women this way. We know when we support women, we support their entire community, and the funding needs to step up to the reality of our world. Politicians are quick to mention gender in every speech, but we are seeing countless programs collapse due to a lack of funding. This has to change.