People
Haripriya (Priya) Rangan
- Founding Director
More than 25 years ago, while researching post-apartheid land reform and its effects on rural livelihoods in South Africa, I met many inspiring individuals from local communities working to protect and create healthy, safe, and productive environments. Their visions for the future were bold but also grounded in the complex insights gained from lived experiences of their localities and regions. I recognised that this kind of knowledge and practical experience could never be fully grasped from being in a classroom alone.
For nearly 15 years, I ran a field-study program on regional sustainability in South Africa’s lowveld region, where Australian university students learned directly from community-based organisations, local NGOs, and government agencies. The program provided practical insights into long-term strategies for creating productive, healthy, and resilient communities.
With the enthusiasm and support of many alumni from the program, we founded Reseed Indico as a not-for-profit organisation. Our mission is to actively pursue ecological and climate resilience projects, working alongside local partners and communities in the Indian Ocean region.
I continue to do research on various aspects of biocultural and landscape change in the Indian Ocean region. I hold an honorary position at the School of Geography Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, and also serve as a consultant on transnational education and research collaboration for the Australia India Institute.
Ian Fenton
- Executive Director
For the past 15 years, I have worked in international and community development, heading a range of conservation, sustainability, and resilience-focused projects. I have extensive experience in financial and project management for community-based organisations. I have worked on agroforestry projects in Fiji and Mozambique, including leading a project in central Mozambique that established tree farm plots and developed small enterprises centred on skilled artisanal production by local communities. I also have experience in establishing community gardens and tool libraries in the peri-urban areas of Melbourne.
I hold a Master’s in International Development and Environmental Analysis (M.IDEA) from Monash University, Australia. As a former student and alumnus of Priya’s field-study program, I was inspired to co-found Reseed Indico with her. I have since led Reseed Indico’s partnership with Azada Verde Mozambique and Climate Lab, working to initiate and develop the Kurarama Kutemba Muty (Kukumuty) project with rural communities in Chibabava District, central Mozambique.
Craig Thorburn
- Chair, Board of Directors
I began my career as an appropriate technology volunteer in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the 1970s and went on to spend over 25 years living and working in Indonesia. My experience spans working with local and international NGOs, bilateral and multilateral aid programs, and commissioned research projects, focussing mainly on environmental and sustainability issues. I completed my postgraduate studies in human geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2000, where my thesis explored how customary coastal and marine resource management institutions and practices were changing in the Kei Islands of Southeast Maluku. My research interests include post-disaster recovery, conflict resolution, and community-based climate change adaptation. I currently live on a farm in northeast Victoria, where I grow and share vegetables, fruit, and care for various animals.
Simon Connor
- Advisor and Founding Member
How people and environments work together to create thriving, sustainable communities has always been an interest of mine. I have been a researcher studying environmental change for nearly 20 years, travelling all over the world to try to understand how today's landscapes and ecosystems have been shaped by past generations of people. I also worked for many years in urban horticulture and have a great affinity for the plants that find their way into people's gardens, homes and kitchens.
One of the great joys of environmental research is working with the communities whose culture sustains and is sustained by the lands where they live. I've worked with communities around Australia, the Caucasus region, the Balkans, Iberian Peninsula, Azores Islands, Palau and Timor-Leste. In doing so, I've come to a deep appreciation of the diverse and creative ways that indigenous people understand and respond to climate change and organise themselves to promote healthy ecosystems and societies.
Along with Priya Rangan and Ian Fenton, I helped establish Reseed Indico to promote resilience, education, and sustainable livelihoods in partnership with communities around the Indian Ocean region.