The framework, in its simplest form, has three main points. At times, these may be viewed as phases, stages, or areas of work. The idea is that they are dynamic and often work in an intricate relationship, informing and revising each other.
For simplicity:
Stories involve observation and research.
Rituals involve actions that create new imprints in the memory of the territory, often connecting with stories.
Fantastic Realism is the design and implementation of a new story that will be activated and dynamically brought to life. A narrative approach that encodes knowledge about survival, ecology, and identity within communities.
Stories: Making Sense
Stories actively shape perception, rewire neural pathways, and influence emotional regulation. Oral traditions encode ecological survival knowledge through metaphor and allegory, preserving essential wisdom across generations. BeNative integrates storytelling through three interwoven dimensions:
The Stories Nature Is Sharing
Nature is constantly communicating—through wind, water, movement, and cycles. The challenge lies in how we perceive and translate these messages into something we can understand. By learning to listen, we rediscover our place within the larger web of life.
The territory is talking; listening may take different forms, from simple ways to more esoteric ones.
For instance, we may consider
How is the land organized?
How are the grasslands?
Where are the forests growing?
Which trees does the forest have?
How is water distributed?
What living entities inhabit the place? What birds are present?
How are the grasslands?
Where are the forests growing?
Which trees does the forest have?
How is water distributed?
What living entities inhabit the place? What birds are present?
All these and many more questions will give us a hint of the stories nature is expressing here and there.
The Human Stories
Human cultures have long been interpreters of nature’s messages. This dimension explores:
- Indigenous knowledge and oral traditions (e.g., Braiding Sweetgrass).- Scientific research and discoveries that mirror ancient wisdom (mycelium networks, neuroplasticity, deep ecology).
How humans have interacted in this territory?
How have they moved around?
What activities they have done?
Have they chosen to live in some areas?
Did they reserve other areas for work?
What type of living situation? What food do they eat?
How have they moved around?
What activities they have done?
Have they chosen to live in some areas?
Did they reserve other areas for work?
What type of living situation? What food do they eat?
The New Stories We Create
This stage is going to connect actively in the design process (Fantastic Realism) phase. Storytelling allows us to shift perspectives, challenge paradigms, and cultivate deeper connections. For instance, there is a need for us to transform the narratives of humans as keystone species and as caretakers and then focus our actions on improving and bettering our territory.
This section explores:
- The role of storytelling in reshaping human relationships with nature.
- Changing conservation narratives (e.g., wolves as protectors vs. villains).
- Storytelling bridging past, present, and future.
- Changing conservation narratives (e.g., wolves as protectors vs. villains).
- Storytelling bridging past, present, and future.
It is good to consider, what the intended use of the area is:
Is it going to become a nature reserve with stations and a trail?
Is it going to be a mixed-purpose forest with an ecological view?
Is it a concert in the forest with reforestation activities?
Is it going to be a place for ceremonies like meditation, workshops, or weddings, ecological stations, and trails for conservation?
Is it going to become a nature reserve with stations and a trail?
Is it going to be a mixed-purpose forest with an ecological view?
Is it a concert in the forest with reforestation activities?
Is it going to be a place for ceremonies like meditation, workshops, or weddings, ecological stations, and trails for conservation?
Rituals: Patterns of Meaning and Reciprocity
Rituals are actions, cycles, and patterns that give meaning and dynamism to life. They function as a form of governance between people and nature, reinforcing reciprocity and interdependence.
As we continue to observe, we need to find the activities that occur in the territory and discover patterns, cycles, seasons, and the changes they create.
The Rituals of Nature
Rituals are not just human constructs; nature itself operates in patterns that resemble ritualized behaviors. Examining seasonal, biological, and ecological cycles as forms of ritual in both natural and human systems. A way of connecting with territory.
When do the rains come?
How is water distributed?
What kind of birds arrive and when? What's their food?
What plants do well in each season?
How do the rivers behave during the seasons? What migrations occur?
How is water distributed?
What kind of birds arrive and when? What's their food?
What plants do well in each season?
How do the rivers behave during the seasons? What migrations occur?
Examining seasonal, biological, and ecological cycles as forms of ritual in both natural and human systems, it's a way of connecting with territory.
Memory, Myth, and the Land
Exploring how territories and ecosystems store cultural memory through oral traditions, rituals, and indigenous knowledge.
In many instances the territory will imprint the memory of the cycles; for instance, when many would coincide in taking a specific path to access a water source, the pathway will encode that memory in the land as a clear presentation of a possibility for dynamic movement and easy access.
What memories have been imprinted in the land?
What are the signs of cycles left in the territory by nature and humans?
Is there a registry of paths of drainage waters?
Where are the marks of previous floods?
Where do the branches gather after a certain season?
What are the signs of cycles left in the territory by nature and humans?
Is there a registry of paths of drainage waters?
Where are the marks of previous floods?
Where do the branches gather after a certain season?
Ritual as Technology
Rituals function like technology, structuring time, behavior, and social cohesion, and they are evolving alongside digital storytelling. The role of ritual in a world increasingly mediated by digital storytelling.
Fantastic Realism: The Intersection of Story and Ritual
This is the design and implementation phase of the BeNative framework. At the convergence of storytelling and ritual, fantastic realism emerges as a means of shaping reality. Landscapes act as living archives of cultural memory, where myths and rituals encode survival knowledge, ecological awareness, and human identity. By blending the mystical with the tangible, fantastic realism offers a way to engage with the world not just as it is, but as it could be.
This phase weaves together insights from Stories and Rituals, integrating the vision of the territory with the intentions of those who care for it. The focus is on enhancing the vitality of the territory, drawing inspiration from indigenous communities and their ancestral practices of land stewardship.
The goal is to establish a reciprocal relationship between humans and the territory—where design is not an act of control, but one of deep listening, reverence, and regeneration.
It calls for a multidisciplinary approach, where new narratives and actions (rituals) are thoughtfully designed to imprint memories that are cultural, ecological, and rooted in belonging.
This phase builds on a rich foundation that bridges ecological knowledge, storytelling, ritual practice, and speculative futures, reinforcing the view that humans are not separate from the land but participants in the territory, co-creating meaning through interaction rather than imposing change from outside.
BeNative is an invitation co-create our new story by listening deeply—to nature, to ancient wisdom, and to the stories we have created. Through storytelling, rituals, and the power of fantastic realism, we remember our belonging to the land and rediscover ways to live in harmony with all living beings.