GROW SUSTAINABLE LIVING MAKES SUSTAINABILITY ACCESSIBLE SUSTAINABILITY IS THE BUZZWORD NOWADAYS But what does it really mean to be sustainable and more importantly, what practical habits can we adopt to make this a part of our lifestyles? It can sometimes be confusing for consumers who are looking for a healthier and more environmentally-friendly way of living. Ecological products or food can be expensive or difficult to come by in certain areas. The marketing for health products can also be misleading if people are not well-educated about what it means to be truly healthy and sustainable. We want to bring a bit of greenery into our lives but how do we do it in a way that is efficient and not energy-draining? We spent a beautiful day with Leanne Butler and Cardia Forsyth of Grow Sustainable Living at Toms Creek who are on a quest for a new way of living that is in harmony with the environment around them. They go beyond merely romanticising the idea of keeping things natural. They look honestly at the difficulties and challenges of making the change - how they can make this change doable and accessible to their community.
“Getting the community and local businesses, producers and artisans involved is key to our idea of sustainability. Provenance is important and it involves getting like-minded people to collaborate. Getting the right people takes patience and time. It is also about the ethos of each business - are they totally sustainable, is everything completely natural, is everything reusable or can be recycled and have they been created with a minimum of production (to 76
save energy)? These are questions we have to consider when we think about the partners we would like to have with us on this sustainability journey,” says Leanne Butler who specialises in making beautiful Green Plant Based Foods. “Cost is the other challenge. It would not make much sense putting natural or ecological products out on the market if they are so expensive and exclusive that most people cannot afford them. It is really about making sustainability accessible, not just geographically in terms of where it takes place in the community, but also economically accessible, for us to offer it, and for others to receive it.”
