Theresa grew up in the rural Eastern Cape in a family that strove to live a lifestyle friendly to the planet and accessible to all. From a young age she was exposed to a diversity of realities that created the foundation for her deep love for people, the land and the relationships between them.

She has over 15 years experience in the communications industry where she used her powerful visual storytelling skills to distil complex information into compelling content to make it accessible to much wider audiences. She believes that in order to overcome many of the barriers that are stacked against the majority, we need to remember old ways and create new ways that allow for each other to be authentically seen and heard, and this is what drives her passion in the communications field.

Teresa believes that sustainable development can only happen when people of all kinds are inclusively engaged in a change making process. She gets excited when people can work step by step to identify and break entrenched patterns to improve their personal well-being and growth.

She grew up in Germany and somehow got stuck with the beautiful souls in South Africa. Over the past 4 years, she has been collaborating with Theresa in the field of sustainable education and youth empowerment and has become an important driver of the strategic developments behind Amava Oluntu. Her background lies in organizational development and fundraising.

Marliese has had an interesting and varied career, from investment administration, to shoe-making, cheffing, natural house building and facilities management. But the highlight of those years for her was working in the NGO sector educating scholars and assisting schools in establishing viable permaculture practices and food forests. When she heard about Amava, she recognised a similarity in their ethos and vision, in the work of educating, uplifting and enriching communities. She is currently furthering her studies in accounting and in this role is able to use her skills to contribute to Amava by assisting with financial administration, planning, and management processes.

Raelene is a budding entrepreneur and musician based in Muizenberg.

Through the Pollinating Pride in People programme Raelene came into contact with Amava Oluntu at the beginning of 2022 and the relationship has grown from strength to strength.

Raelene is the Brewmaster of Boost, a boegoe and fynbos honey spring water infusion. She also does freelance admin work at SEED in Mitchells Plain where she was a permaculture facilitator for 2021. She is also a founding member of the Vrygrond Garden Project, where a productive garden and community safe space is being cultivated. She believes that individuals can heal themselves through plants and music. Her personal project, Inter-species Music is at the intersection of what gives her joy: nature and art.

Zhosai believes that the world can only change for the better once internal change happens within, and understands that healing can only take place once we've recognized our past traumatic experiences require healing. This has led to her desire to embed storytelling into her photography and design work. Besides digital marketing, Zhosai likes to experiment with other mediums, exploring her creative skills and developing versatility. She aspires to change the world for the better through her work and through personal interactions with people.