How we met: ‘He is passionate about nature – it made me rethink the way I’d been living’

Environmentalist Paul Coleman, 64, met writer Konomi Kikuchi, 53, after a tree-planting walk in Japan. They live in a home they built together in the Chilean wildernessAs a keen environmentalist, Paul Coleman has travelled the world, walking vast distances to plant trees and raise awareness about climate change. At the end of 2004, he had just finished a walk in Japan when he met Konomi Kikuchi. “I was giving a presentation that was being translated into Japanese for the audience,” he says. “I noticed she was laughing at my jokes before the translation.”Konomi, a writer, says she was inspired by the Briton’s mission to spread the message about the environment. The author of 11 books, she was keen to write about Paul and his life’s work on her blog. Shortly afterwards, Konomi’s editor read her blogpost and asked her to write a book about Paul. To celebrate its publication at the 2005 Expo in Nagoya, he planned to walk round the island of Okinawa. “I was fascinated by his character,” Konomi says. “So I asked if I could go with him on part of his trip.” Continue reading…
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