The Serviceberry

At its heart, The Serviceberry is not merely an economic argument—it is a relational one. Robin Wall Kimmerer suggests that the crises of climate change, inequality, and social fragmentation stem from a distorted understanding of value. When wealth is defined by accumulation and success by competition, both ecosystems and communities suffer. But when we redefine wealth as having enough to share, and prestige as generosity, entirely different outcomes become possible. Nature demonstrates daily that abundance increases through circulation. The serviceberry feeds birds, which plant forests, which nourish soil, which sustains life. Reciprocity is not idealism—it is infrastructure.

Kimmerer does not demand utopia. She asks for participation. Gift economies already operate in kitchens, gardens, libraries, and friendships. By practicing gratitude, completing circles of giving, and supporting institutions built on shared access, we begin restoring balance. The transformation she proposes is both intimate and systemic: change how you receive, and you will change how you give. Change how you give, and you reshape the economy. The seeds of another world, she suggests, are already ripening.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist, professor of environmental biology, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss, works that integrate Indigenous ecological knowledge with scientific research. As a scholar and storyteller, Kimmerer bridges Western science and Indigenous wisdom traditions, offering frameworks that honor both empirical inquiry and relational ethics. Her work centers on reciprocity, gratitude, and restoring respectful relationships between humans and the living world.