‘Sustainable’ i s bandied around a lot today. Thirty years ago I started a degree in Environmental Science and first explored the attributes of sustainability of resources. Then , it was a term limited to eco warriors; now every business and organisation uses it in promotion and advertising. There are sustainability models like the one pictured; Unlike many who promote the latest green credentials I have deep roots in the sustainability movement. For starters, I grew up in Tasmania at a time when dams were protested and old growth forests fought over between loggers and conservationists. [səˈsteɪnəb(ə)l] The family of my first serious boyfriend ADJECTIVE made mud bricks from their property 1. able to be maintained at a certain rate or level: and built their house entirely from found "sustainable economic growth" materials. I began buying all my clothes o conserving an ecological from ‘op shops’ to the horror of my balance by avoiding mother; a practice which I have depletion of natural resources: continued to this day. I drew up a "our fundamental blueprint for my ultimate self - sufficient commitment to sustainable development" home complete with methane powered stove and compost toilet. I read the 2. able to be upheld or defended: "sustainable definitions of good ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carsen and educational practice" David Suzuki’s ‘Metamorphosis’ and subscribed to ‘Grassroots ‘ magazine. In case you don’t recognise any of these titles, the key themes are living sustainably and responsibly with the resources we have. This has been a lifetime goal throughout the myriad roles and places I have found myself in.
sus·tain·able
I am not a natural ‘businessman’. My sister is a financial analyst and now CEO; she obviously inherited ALL the business acumen from my father and his family. IN other words, I am not wired to make money, accrue wealth and make investments; for me, living authentically is sharing my knowledge and skills, connecting locally and respecting the land on which we live. As one workshop participant said after I offered a discount on a class ‘you are such an artist! That’s not how you build a successful business .’