Sheltering from the urban heat in the shade of our small London garden, I start reading We Will Not Be Saved.
Guided by the myriad evocative details, names of endemic trees, plants, animals and lush descriptions of daily life, I am instantly transported to the Amazon rainforest. The book, co-written by Nemonte Nenquimo and her husband Mitch Anderson, has just been published in the UK. Kicking off Climate Action Week, the pair introduced their groundbreaking memoir at an event organised by designer Gabriela Hearst in her Mayfair boutique earlier this week, that Tina and I attended.
Nemonte, born in the Ecuador rainforest, is a formidable award-winning force of nature. A Waorani leader, she is also co-founder of the Ceibo Alliance and Amazon Frontlines, two Indigenous-led non-profit organisations dedicated to “supporting the struggles of Indigenous peoples to defend their rights to land, life and cultural survival in the Amazon”.
In 2019, she led her people to win a landmark court ruling against the state of Ecuador, halting oil drilling and preventing further deforestation of 500,000 acres of Waorani territory, one of the most biodiverse in the world. Named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, the only Indigenous woman on the list, she has also received the UN “Champions of the Earth” award, and a Goldman Environmental Prize.
Mitch, an environmental justice activist, co-founder and Executive director of Amazon Frontlines, is originally from America and has now been living in the Amazon region for nearly two decades. The couple met in 2011, as Mitch was building access to clean water for local Indigenous communities in the region. Working together, they fell in love – but “if you want to find out about the love story, read the book!” she tells us, cheekily. Mitch played a crucial part in bringing the book to life, by listening, translating from Spanish, and writing.
Images via @gabrielahearst
“This is a special moment for us, this book will travel far and wide, and travel deep because it has the power of love… the love for the land, for the forest, for the people.”
Mitch Anderson
Speaking to a room of designers, art directors, climate activists, editors, philanthropists and loyal customers, Nemonte proceeds to read a text in Waorani, that Mitch translates into English. Her grounded presence, backlit by the surreal glow of a luminous summer sunset, is both soothing and galvanising.
Contrasting with her black dress and the white shop walls, she wears a vibrant crimson red crown, red achiote paint under her eyes and a jaguar tooth necklace accented with red pantomo seeds – precious adornments crafted by her mother from vine, scarlet macaw feathers and chambira palm fibre, for leadership, courage and spiritual protection.
“This is a special moment for us” Mitch confesses. “This book will travel far and wide, and travel deep because it has the power of love… the love for the land, for the forest, for the people.” Nemonte echoes this love and respect, explaining that it took nearly three years to complete the book: first collecting oral anecdotes from Waorani elders, before writing could even begin…
At first glance, the choice of venue, a luxury boutique opposite a luxury hotel, in one of London’s most affluent neighbourhoods, is jarring – a far cry from the world Nemonte and Mitch have travelled from. “I often feel heartbroken when I travel (…) I see how many possessions and luxuries people have and how they want more. Their greed fuels the burning of the Amazon” Nemonte writes in an essay for Time magazine in March 2024.
“Without the Amazon, we are not here.”
Gabriela Hearst
But talking to Gabriela, I become acutely aware of the care and effort she puts into weaving sustainability throughout every aspect of her design and advocacy work, providing a pertinent showcase for Nemonte’s cause. For Gabriela, “supporting (Nemonte and Mitch’s) fight is not just supporting their people, it is supporting all of us… without the Amazon, we are not here.”
Interestingly, the London flagship store, one of only three GH stores in the world, is a fully carbon neutral space, designed by Norman Foster. Everything here is carefully thought through: the parquet of reclaimed oak wood from military barracks in Shropshire, the linen and leather curtains dyed with non-toxic vegetable dyes – and the furniture, made from London plane timber, sourced from a tree that fell during a storm.
The absence of mannequins and floor to ceiling bay windows work to highlight what matters most: Gabriela’s designs. Her brand of luxury is not only “quiet”, but also “honest”: here natural, noble materials like cashmere or linen are sustainable, colours are muted, and craftsmanship exquisite. “Knowing where clothing materials come from and who crafts them is the truest form of luxury”, Gabriela tells Cady Lang in an interview for Time magazine, earlier this year.
Talking to her customers and store managers, it is clear she has built a loyal following of wealthy, knowledgeable women willing to invest in “forever” pieces. It doesn’t matter if they buy only one piece: this is the mentality Gabriela grew up with, on a 17,000-acre ranch in Uruguay, making her own blankets and furniture, to last a lifetime.
Ultimately, Gabriela’s goal is to rally her troops in joining the fight against climate change. Never has it been more urgent to heed the voices of those witnessing its impact first hand, tirelessly working on the ground to protect our planet. “Mother Earth isn’t asking to be saved” Nemonte pleads, at the Time Earth Awards ceremony in 2024. “She’s asking that we respect her.”
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>> We Will Not Be Saved <<
>> Gabriela Hearst <<
