Kate RaworthThe Octopus

I lived in Zanzibar from three years in the 1990s and once when i went snorkelling I saw an extraordinary small octopus skipping and ambling across the coral. I was mesmerised by the octopus and the reef it was part of, and was atounded to see it changing colour before me.

I’ve since tried to find if there is a word for all the creatures that can change colour (think octopus, cuttlefish, squid, chameleon…) and as far as I know there isn’t one. I take this as a sign of deep envy by humans, refusing to name a brilliant skill that we wish we had too.

I can never get enough of books, films and videos about octopuses and find their intelligence, ingenuity and play just irresistible. I know I’ll rarely encounter them in person anymore – I don’t want to see them in captivity and I no longer fly so can’t get to where they live. But I stand beside them as brilliant intelligences and creatives who would have a great deal to tell us if we could learn to listen.

I’m a mum of two from the UK. I’m dedicated to transforming economics so that it centres care for life on this delicately balanced planet.