Samara Cultures · Culture, ecology, collective care
Culture grows
through connection.
We bring people into relationship with land, water and one another, through culture, ecology and collective care.
Rooted in Essex and the East of England, Samara brings people together around the places they care about, and the futures they want to make possible.
A little about us
People, place and the living world.
A river is never only a river. It holds memories, livelihoods, habitats and histories. The same is true of a field, a footpath or a patch of common ground.
Samara Cultures is an emerging cultural ecology organisation founded by artist and cultural ecologist Lora Aziz. We bring artists, communities, ecologists, researchers, farmers and local partners into conversation, making room for different ways of knowing and caring for a place.
We begin by listening. Together, we develop creative and ecological programmes that respond to the people, histories and living systems already there. Our ambition is to stay with places, so relationships and possibilities can deepen over time.
The people behind Samara
Rooted in practice.
Built through relationship.
Lora Aziz
Artistic Director and CEO
Lora is a British Egyptian artist, wildcrafter and cultural ecologist. Her work begins with plants, water, land and the stories people carry, bringing creative practice into conversation with ecology and collective care.
She founded Samara Cultures and leads Blue Steps along the Saffron Trail. Her work spans the Sinai mountains and Essex landscapes, including the British Council COP27 commission Motanafas, later exhibited at Wellcome Collection.
Farah Ahmed
Culture and Systems Director
Farah is an organiser, facilitator, creative producer and curator working at the meeting point of culture and climate justice. Farah brings a practice of care, imagination and collective action to the systems that hold our work.
Formerly Climate Justice Lead at Julie’s Bicycle and co-founder of Our Diaspora Futures, Farah has developed place-based strategies, community training and climate leadership programmes across the UK and internationally.
How we work
Many ways into a place.
A walk, a story, a question. Each can be the beginning of a relationship.
Make
Culture and creative practice
Film, artist commissions, writing and walks. Making room for imagination, and for stories that change how we see a place.
Tend
Ecology and collective care
Local knowledge meeting ecological expertise. Caring for water and habitats through practical work that brings people together.
Listen
Research, land and access
Maps, oral histories, archives and shared enquiry. Paying attention to what a place holds, who it welcomes, and whose stories are missing.
Gather
Community and learning
Conversations across generations and disciplines. Places to share knowledge, shape decisions and learn by doing, together.
“A more just future, not just a more just now.”
Work taking root
Blue Steps on the Saffron Trail
Blue Steps is an ongoing programme exploring how a 71 mile walking route can connect nature recovery, cultural life and more inclusive access across Essex.
Its walks, research and partnerships are helping to shape Samara’s emerging practice. With the feasibility phase complete, the next chapter is being developed with partners, including the National Trust at Danbury.
Samara is being established as a new organisational home for this wider cultural ecology work.
Newsletters and fieldnotes
Letters from Samara
Stories from the places we are getting to know. Notes on culture, ecology and the work of caring together.
This space will bring together our Substack newsletters as they are published. While the archive takes root, you can find glimpses of the work, conversations and everyday discoveries on Instagram.
Come into conversation
What could we grow together?
If you have a place, a question or an idea you would like to explore, we would love to hear from you.
lora@samaracultures.com
Instagram · @samaracultures
Rooted in Essex and the East of England. Open to meaningful invitations and collaborations elsewhere.