Solutions from Unexpected Sources

Facing environmental crisis, solutions emerge from diverse sources. Traditional ecological knowledge, long dismissed by engineers, proves invaluable. International communities bring techniques from their homelands. Youth activists connect environmental and social justice. The restoration of French waterways becomes a multicultural project.

In Lyon, floating wetlands designed by refugees from Bangladesh help filter the Rhône while providing community garden space. The project combines Bangladeshi flood-adaptation knowledge with French engineering, creating infrastructure that's both functional and social.

"In Bangladesh, we live with water, not against it," explains project leader Mohammed Rahman. "Floating gardens feed families during floods. Here, they clean water while bringing communities together. Same principle, different application."