Meet Eliska

Kia ora / Hello / こんにちは!

My name is Eliska. I am a New Zealander born into an immigrant family, and I grew up here in the beautiful Hokianga. Over the years I have been

A bear conservationist and nature guide in Japan, working closely with diverse communities to mitigate human-wildlife conflict
A wildlife photographer and tracker –this humbled me and taught me how to truly listen to Nature, rather than rely on human assumptions of what is best for it
A travel and conservation writer, specialising in sustainable, authentic travel to unique destinations which truly benefit locals

Finally, after learning to integrate deeply into cultures other than my own, I went through a process of reconnecting to my own ancestry and cultures of multiple lineages.

Now, I follow in the footsteps of my ancestors, some of who were sangoma, indigenous healer-shamans of South Africa. I use my connection with the spiritual to guide my work and act as a bridge; first between people and their ancestors, second between people and nature, and third between people of varying cultural and other backgrounds – this is how Roots, Land, Community was born.

As part of this work, I am humbled to work alongside the spirits of this land. I honor their legacy, the legacy of indigenous Maori people that I grew up alongside in this community, and work closely with community partners to ensure this work benefits and aligns with them.

Vision: We aim to heal the sense of disconnection at the root of the world’s social and environmental problems, while providing cultural exchange that gives back to, rather than takes from, our local community.

Our vision is to improve wellbeing and contribute to the solving of the world’s social and environmental problems by aiming at the root cause – the sense of disconnection many of us feel, from ourselves, from nature and from each other.