JOSHUA ASIEDU
Born and raised in Milan, Italy, from an Akwapim-Ghanaian father and a Napolitan-Italian mother , Joshua Kwaku Asiedu never felt aligned within the materialistic, consumerist and Eurocentric environment.
At the age of 20 he decided to leave his hometown in order to explore the world and his own being on a solo journey. With 50 euros in his pocket and a one-way ticket, he left without knowing where this new chapter would lead him.
Earning money however he could; working as electrician, mason, model, retailer, waiter, co-chef, in dairy farming, kiwi farming, while residing in places like Greece, London, Sydney, Auckland, Cape Town, Los Angeles and more, to sustain his movements and support every next step as he went deeper and deeper within himself and, therefore, nature.
As the journey continued, he started to leave behind hostels, guests houses and rental rooms, in order to find rest in tents, temples, as a guest in the homes of people he just met, as well as in places like caves, under the stars on beaches and in forests. In awe-inspiring areas such as the cold North of India, the arid landscapes of New Mexico, the Northern Territory of Australia, the Osaka Peninsula, the testing Laotian jungle and the vast Transkei.
He started to practice and learn via direct experience various discipline as in mixed martial arts, the ancient Yogic path and meditation in India, natural building techniques on the Himalayan foothills, natural ways of farming on the island of Samoa.
Having first trials and experiences in gathering his food, foraging fruits, berries and mushrooms , spearfishing in the ocean on the Polynesian islands, periodically fasting for days and getting familiar with natural drinking water collection while relishing fresh baths in streams and rivers of unlike territories.
Moving from place to place by airplane, train, bus, as well as going between islands by canoe, covering thousands of kilometres by bicycle in Japan and Aotearoa, crossing South East Asian borders by feet and wandering through the Himalayas range on two legs.
After 7 years of deeply altering experiences, meeting many modern and remote corners, living and learning within a diversity of social circumstances, from many families, indigenous communities and environments,
Joshua came to the conclusion that this modern/western world, as it is based on materialism, consumerism and superficialities, is leading nowhere if not far from Mother Nature - the source of independence, freedom and inner expansion.
Willing to leave those said societal structures once and for all, in order to go back to the roots, back to nature and its simplicity, he started to look for a native piece of land where to move. After a demanding, dedicated search on which he put himself into testing scenarios, he surprisingly got to know that his father’s ancestors left plots of lands in heritage - in Ghana
Reconnecting to the very place where Mother Earth gave life to humanity itself, to the very place where the spirits of our own ancestors are still dwelling among the frequency of nature.
This brought him back to the Motherland.
After months of research and expeditions and with the help of his relatives, he traced the lands and began to settle in one of these beautiful rural and remote places.
He moved into the jungle, a dense overgrown uninhabited forest, with only a mosquito net and a beach bed. While at the beginning relying on packaged noodles and many fruits he could collect in the land, he began to dig a water well, to build a couple of huts, a little toilet, and to cultivate veggies and trees.
As he became familiar with the new and raw environment through trials and mistakes, he inevitably started to mentally and physically become one with that very land, creating and expanding within the realm of nature, as well as connected to the members from the nearby village of Mankrong.
At this stage Kwaku made use of modern technology, Social Media, to reach out and inspire those who resonated with this life choice. The word spread, and as the public interest increased, Joshua started to host small groups of individuals with the support of knowledgeable people from the nearby village to pass on precious knowledge through various workshops and programs.
An experiential learning program in natural sustainability practices and indigenous knowledge that brought and still brings benefit to all:
Himself, our guests, the local community, and ultimately,
ASAASE YAA.
who is ASAASE YAA?
Asaase from the Twi language of Ghana translates as "Earth".
Asaase Yaa “Mother Earth”, also called Aberewa “Old Woman”, in the indigenous belief of the Akan people of the Guinea Coast (West-Africa), is the great Female Spirit of Earth.
We Akan, regard the earth as a female spirit because of its fertility and its power to bring forth life, and we further personalize it as a mother because human beings depend on it for their continued nurturance and sustenance.
Asase Yaa is of paramount importance to the Akan because it is through her, by way of libation and dance, that we gain access to and maintain familial connections with our ancestors.