@2013, ICE, All rights reserved

Sustainable LifestylesStories of Trendsetters from Around the World

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved

Why Sustainable Lifestyles?

Is our current materialistic lifestyle sustainable for our planet? How long can we continue to do things that make us feel good, but that are harmful and not sustainable for our environment? We need to start seeing our interests and nature’s interest as one and the same.

At, HFI’s Institute of Customer Experience (ICE) we believe that there is hope to turn things around from leading a materialistic lifestyle that is indifferent to the planet to leading a sustainable lifestyle; and we have that hope in people. So we went out searching for people from around the world who do live a sustainable lifestyle, and it shows in their work and in their personal lives each day. They are ordinary people, but with a refreshing new mindset, which makes them extraordinary. They are cleaning up our planet, making it a better place to live in, and empathizing with nature all along the way. They mobilize others into action and have drawn many to their work.

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved

Trendsetters for Sustainable Lifestyles

We at ICE believe that these people are the “Trendsetters for Sustainable Lifestyles”. Through the eight photobooks that follow we want to showcase their work to the world for the simple and elegant ways in which they have made a difference to the planet as individuals. They are doing their bit and as a result have positively affected communities and the environment around them. We hope they inspire our readers the way that they have inspired us. If we can learn from sustainability being their state of mind and from their work, we can make changes in our lives and fields of work to start living in a manner that will keep Earth a beautiful and habitable place for us for a very long time to come.

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved

Key Findings: Trendsetters are Leaders

People leading sustainable alternate lifestyles prefer to do the work themselves, leading by example. They believe in the power of ‘small

steps leading to big change’.

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Key Findings: ‘The Road Not Taken’

For most participants, sustainability is a state of mind – it is something that they work at in spite of many odds.

They often take this as their full time vocation even though it may not lead to as much material prosperity as they could have experienced had they taken the path in life that everyone travels on.

But they epitomize poet Robert Frost’s lines:

‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference’.

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved

Most believed that the sustainable lifestyle of the future is “local”, self-sufficient and close to nature.

Key Findings: What Does the Future Hold?

Manu Gopalan – An architect with

a difference, Pondicherry,

India

Mattias Gustaffson – Project Manager at Eskilstuna Energy &

Environment, Sweden.

Lonnie Gamble - Co-director of the

Undergraduate program on Sustainable

Communities, Maharishi University of

Management, Fairfield, U.S.A

Sruti Hari– Restaurateur, Retailer, Film-

maker and Founder, Goli

Soda.

Prakash Patel -Ecological Farm

Owner, Pondicherry India

David Fisher – Academician turned cultural explorer in sustainability, U.S.A

Julius Rego – Founder, Green Souls, Organic

Farming, Mumbai, India

Kanwal Pal Singh Banga -

sustainability activist, working at IBM, Gurgaon,

India

‘Merveille’ of Prakash Patel

“The preservation of environment also has a spiritual and cultural aspect to it. Would we want to live in a nation with no forests, no birds, no flowers? Would we really want to live in an artificial world?”

Puducherry, India.

1980s

Prakash Patel was a researcher in sustainable ecological environments and he was made part of a special team to develop the Ecological Farming practice & Biodiversity.

Present

Name: Prakash Patel

Responsible for Merveille farm

Involved in research on the topography and afforestation of the region around Ousteri Lake, Pondicherry.

Takes care of Merveille farm. Merveille covers more than 150 acres of land. Merveille means Miracle in English and it is an attempt to restore Ecological Balance & Biodiversity in the area.

2000s, 1990s

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a spiritual community established in Pondicherry by Sri Aurobindo on the 24th of November, 1926. The Aurobindo Ashram undertook a project “Eco Lake” to introduce a green environment around Lake Ousterri at Pondicherry. This initiative was a long term project and it commenced 30 years back in around 1979.Website: http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/saa/

Prakash lives in a small place within the farm. He loves to read about technology, nature and science. He reads scientific journals, articles, magazines, newspapers and browses the internet to understand recent developments around the world. He also has a small research laboratory where he researches soil and plants.

Prakash believes that over the last few decades, human influence on the environment has led to huge ecological changes which have resulted in ecological imbalance.

The country spends about 6 -7% of the Union Budget on defense, hardly 1% of the funds are diverted to preserve the environment.

If sustainable practices are not undertaken, the window for preserving the environment will be lost and many species can face extinction.

“On a geological timescale we are on the 3rd phase after Pleistocene and Holocene – Anthropocene.”

“Do you know what are the biggest and best resources of a country? SOIL & WATER.”

“We might reach the tipping point – the point of no return.”

When the Merveille project started the land was very rocky & barren. The first challenge was to change the ecology. Prakash’s team did a lot of research on trees and plants that could grow in such soil conditions and found out about Acasia trees that are generally found in Australian deserts.

Another step for them was to retain the nutrients of the soil and check erosion. Prakash worked on a lot of Check Dams & Gully* Plugs. If the gully is plugged, the water flow is checked thus leading to lesser soil erosion. Eventually the soil retained the nutrients and allowed them to grow other varieties of plants and trees.

*A gully is a naturally created water flow body in many areas including this one which leads to a lot of soil erosion.

“Once we had trees, the insects and the birds came along. The insects were bad for the vegetables and the crops that we were trying out in our other farms. But, again nature has it’s own system of checks and balances– birds take care of the insects and save our flowers, crops and vegetables.” – Prakash Patel

Prakash employed Vermicompost techniques , where waste from plants & animals are treated through earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture.

Vermicompost contains water-soluble nutrients, and it acts as an excellent nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. This compost is used to enrich soil with nutrients. So, the farms at Merveille not just retained their nutrients but gained much more.

He is also working towards Bee Keeping & Pollination. He has created nesting places for bees, kept at specific places all across the farm. These nesting places act as honey collection centers & also help in the preservation of bees as they help in natural pollination.

Using pits for Vermicomposting

Using old pots for Vermicomposting

Bee nesting places made by Prakash

Prakash gets a lot of enthusiastic volunteers and he is very happy to work with them!

He is also visited by a lot of people who want to understand these techniques and want to implement them in their own farms. He tells them that it is not a copy and paste technique. One needs to connect with nature and get to know one’s land better and then decide on the most suitable techniques.

Prakash says that increasingly people are losing touch with nature. People are working harder and get handsomely paid for their jobs, but the happiness is lost. People today are more stressed because of the complicated lifestyles they live.

He pointed to the failure of the governments in making us realize the importance of bio-diversity. Mis-information/ no information on climate change is a big challenge ahead of us.

“National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , a US federal agency regularly comes out with environmental data that gives us information about the state of our ecology. James Hansen, a famous activist researching climate change challenged the reports of NOAA. He went on to say that the danger is much closer to us than these reports claim.”

Prakash recommended that big companies can also start small by buying a small plot of land and find employees who are willing to take up such activities. Then these employees can take care of this land turning it into a farmland. He also recommended people should visit farms and see how it works, help around and buy their vegetables and fruits directly from these farms. Only then we will know what we are eating!

This landscape here was barren 30 years ago - just hard rocks and red soil. Now we see a variety of trees, plants, exotic flowers and migratory birds.Even experts in the field are wondering how this is possible, given the climate.

It is truly a Merveille!

Lonnie Gamble Maharishi University of

Management

“The hierarchy of the relationship between the economy, society and nature will be reversed to make the world sustainable and equitable. We will transition to ‘sustainable capitalism’ as the economic model of the future.”

Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.

1980s Lonnie has been interested in environmental issues since he was a student. He then worked in the green electrical engineering industry. He also started building home scale wind turbines in the 80s.

Present

Name: Lonnie Gamble

Co-director: Sustainable Living Under Graduate Program

Closely involved in the conception and creation of the Abundance Eco Village in Fairfield Iowa. Also, taught and mentored students in sustainability.

Co-director of the Under Graduate program on Sustainable Communities at the Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield.2000s

, 1990s

Inspiration: Being a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation for many decades has influenced Lonnie through the direct experience of connections that are the foundation of our world. He feels that the industrial revolution worked on the philosophy of ‘separation’ or taking apart the connectedness of our ecosystem. The sustainability revolution on the other hand works on the philosophy of ‘unity’ or restoring those connections and hence he feels very committed to the sustainable lifestyle movement.

Lonnie explains John Ikerd’s theory of sustainable capitalism. How we will transition from the current form of capitalism (1) to sustainable capitalism (2).

Our current form of capitalism (1) separates the economy from society from nature. There is a small overlap where sustainable business opportunities exist, that work for the good of all three entities.In the new model of sustainable capitalism (2), no activity will be outside the realm of sustainable living. Economy will be bounded by society will be bounded by nature.

1

2

Wind turbine at the Maharishi University of Sustainable Living

Center

Lonnie feels that it is very important to organize communities at a local level and show them what are the small changes that can be made in ones life around food, housing, energy etc.

He also feels that the environmental movement has been found on a negative vision of the future.

People are still enmeshed in the philosophy of the industrial revolution which is about exploitation rather then collaboration and sharing.

People need a positive and compelling vision of the future which is based on principles of sustainability, a vision that motivates them and makes them feel that if they don’t become involved with this alternative lifestyle, they will feel left out.

The challenge, therefore, is to provide this compelling vision through examples of successful people and initiatives from the sustainability movement. This will lead to a shift in world view.

Solar panels outside the building

Food being grown outside the building

Wireless power from the Sun!

“Looking at how the students of the course have fared, the picture looks very encouraging.”

Some examples:• Ideal energy (

http://www.idealenergyinc.com/)• Abundant Biology

(http://www.abundantbiology.com/)• Students are also employed as

sustainability instructor by the Peace Corps, sustainability coordinators by state governments, director of eco village in Fiji.

• Many have become successful entrepreneurs.

• Some have been involved in the project to help the government of Bhutan implement passive solar design so that the schools in Bhutan can be kept warm in the extremely cold winters in a cost effective manner.

Sustainable Living became the first degree course of its kind to be offered in all of the US. This course makes it possible for the students to experience and understand how sustainable living can be taken to the next level, in the world.

The work done on sustainable living (both on and off the campus) has contributed to:

• Fairfield sponsoring an annual Eco-Fair and also having more solar energy homes and green buildings than any other city in Iowa

• Fairfield’s mayor Ed Malloy was named by MSN.com as one of the 15 green mayors in the country, in 2009

Inside view of the building. The structure of the building uses wood instead of steel.

So what is the sustainable lifestyle of the future?

• We will move away from looking at sustainability as just an ‘efficiency and substitution’ issue largely in the context of consumer choice.

• Instead we will look at sustainability as a radically new way to regenerate our ecosystem for renewal.

• The revolution in energy production will lead to incredible drop in price.

• We will move away from centralized planning and control to a more democratized and local way of planning and control.

• Globalization will then be about cultural exchanges while daily needs will be met locally.

• There will be a graceful transition to the new sustainable lifestyle instead of a forced one just because Earth’s resources run out.

• The hierarchy of the relationship between the economy, society and nature will be reversed to make the world sustainable and equitable. We will transition to ‘sustainable capitalism’ as the economic model of the future.

Note: Economist John Ikerd’s theory of sustainable capitalism - http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1565492064

Local sustainability champ, Kanwal Pal Singh

Banga

“For me, cycling is like brushing my teeth. I have to do it everyday!”

Gurgaon, National Capital Region, India.

1980s Kanwal was inspired by an article he read on Paani (water) and very early on started off his endeavors towards water conservation

Present

Name: Kanwal Pal Singh Banga

Sustainability activist

He set an example among his family and friends avoiding all wastage, food, oil, etc.

Living a sustainable lifestyle at home and inspiring others in his community through his personal brand EcoKadam

2000s

Kanwal started cycling soon after school and still continues to prefer the bike as his primary mode of transport

1990s

After graduating in Arts, Kanwal studied Computer Science. He then went on to do his MCA in 2001. He now works at IBM, Gurgaon.

Kanwal’s journey began many years ago with water conservation. He was inspired mainly by his father’s philosophy to do good for others. His dream was to bring to life barren agricultural lands from his hometown Patiala. Today, Kanwal conserves and recycles water at home and uses that recycled water for plants and to clean floors so there is absolutely no water wasted.

1

2

Each day, in the freezing cold or scorching heat, Kanwal cycles to his office for 9 kilometers, which is a 45 minute journey. Kanwal is very conscious about not burning fuel. He does have a car to drop his daughter to school. He places his bike on a bike rack on his car and drops his daughter to school. Then he parks at the nearby Gurudwara and cycles to office. He then changes his clothes in the guardroom. Also, he always wears a tshirt that has his brand “EcoKadam” on it.

• People need a positive and compelling vision of the future which is based on principles of sustainability, a vision that motivates them and makes them feel that if they don’t become involved with this alternative lifestyle, they will feel left out.

• The challenge, therefore, is to provide this compelling vision through examples of successful people and initiatives from the sustainability movement. This will lead to a shift in world view.

At home, Kanwal has taken many big and little steps in leading a sustainable life. His family consumes only organic lentils; they are involved with composting; they do small water conservation events in their building society; they use waste water to clean floors; and spread that awareness to others in their building society.

In terms of challenges Kanwal has faced to lead a sustainable lifestyle, he had to pay a heavy price for wanting eco-friendly water-based paints and furniture at home and also had to compromise on the interiors of his home. He also struggles to convince others, for example, in his society about using solar power as well as to get his friends motivated to cycle. Finally, he sometimes feels looked down on by others because he cycles.

Wind turbine at the Maharishi University Sustainable Living Center

According to Kanwal, there are some changes that a person could make to lead a sustainable lifestyle

• Don’t waste water.

• The next generation of kids should be put into progressive schools. Kanwal’s daughter is enrolled in Shikshantar school inspired by Shri Aurobindo’s philosophy, where teaching is theme-based and there is no classroom.

• Kanwal also recommends to people that they cycle or use public transport. Also, people should switch off their engines at the signal to reduce pollution.

Non-polished cane furniture

Eco-friendly water-based paints Compost pit bought from Daily Dump

Kanwal’s family has been very supportive of his quest to lead a sustainable life. However, his friends tell him that he has put them through a difficult time. For example, even though they have an Air Con in their guest room, apart from guests, no one in the family uses an Air Con no matter how hot it is.

“When my kid tells someone going to the washroom ‘Please don’t waste water’, I feel I have made an impact. Kids mimicry of parents is what will make the change. We need to design ways to put the message into people’s hearts, not their brains.” Kanwal has organized events for kids in his society with the message of saving water.

So what is the future of a lifestyle like Kanwal’s?

He believes that a time will come when we will not have a choice but to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

“I am a dreamer and I foresee a time when the entire world is designed so that the environment is not harmed. For example, you get Green points for the distance that you cycle, and you can do various activities with these points like get admission in a college. I intend to do something in my life along these lines. All positive disruption comes from the heart and from crazy ideas.”

- Kanwal

Sruti Hari: Going Green – The Retail

Way.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

“The biggest challenge to adopt a sustainable lifestyle is seeing it as a continuous process, asking one self every day, ‘How far can I go?’”

Name: Sruti Harihara Subramanian

Restaurateur – Retailer - Film-maker

Founder: Goli Soda

2013

She started a campaign through Facebook called “Eco Alternatives”. It was set-up with a group of Eco-evangelists who wanted to change the mindset of people by helping them use more natural products in daily life and preserve the world. They were probably the first to introduce the idea of “upcyling” in Chennai.

Started Goli Soda. Goli Soda is all about innovation, creativity and conscious living. With a primary focus on Re-Use, Goli Soda is a retail space that brings together inventors, designers, and people who want to make a change.

2011

Growing up, Sruti was always conscious about her surroundings. However, she recalls two instances which tipped the scales in favor of adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. The first, was a summer class during school where she made the traumatizing discovery that ‘chicken’ came from living beings. The second, learning that the famous film star Amala, did not use silk and leather.

Sruti created Goli Soda with the primary focus of re-use. Goli Soda is situated in Besant Nagar, Chennai and the store is all about innovation, creativity and conscious living. Goli Soda strives to give the common man greater accessibility to upcycled products.

The store features products that are up-cycled, organic, environmentally friendly, locally sourced and more importantly are aimed consciously at making our lives better and safer.

In addition to this, she organizes and facilitates community events through her retail outlet in order to improve knowledge sharing and build a community.

Goli Soda Store in Chennai, India.

Sruti believes there is little success or grace in forcing and coercing anyone to embrace a sustainable lifestyle. Rather, she believes in inspiring through action. Therefore, she believes the biggest challenge to adopting a sustainable lifestyle is seeing it as a continuous process, asking one self every day, “How far can I go?”

When asked about the greatest challenges faced in adopting a sustainable lifestyle, she cited the lack of understanding and knowledge among people as an impediment. She believes that parents are not transferring these values related to sustainability to their children. She also raises the issue of government support, saying that even if change is forged by a community, the impact is greater only when the government gets involved and influences powerful lobbies and industries and not vice versa.

A major push is to just start from home, making ones home more sustainable and eco-friendly. Simple ways include using natural products, use of non-plastic materials, composts for gardening, saving energy & water and teaching children by giving them ‘reasons’ to effect a change. A constant push for self education is very important as well.

Sruti uses her store and retail network in powerful ways. For starters, she gives free saplings to anyone coming by her store. A vital practice has been using her café for workshops. She gives a step-by-step guide to people on how to go about composting using a Terracota ‘Kambha’. She also, sells these Kambhas through her store and other retail outlets. Other workshops include Organic foods, Millet cooking, Terrace Gardening and Newspaper Bag making..

Her establishment supports innovative and simple programs like ‘Read To Feed’ that supports underprivileged children and at the same time helps recycling of books and papers.

Through these many interconnected efforts, she believes in creating an eco-system that can support people who wish to lead a sustainable lifestyle.

A popular workshop is the step-by-step guide to composting using a Terracota Kambha.

The Kambha is a 3-tier pot that helps with the segregation and composting of waste. To help people make this a part of their routine, they supply microbes and an accelerator to those who are interested.

Sruti has placed a functioning Kambha at her Bistro named “Ashvita” in Chennai. This acts like a living example of how a restaurant can successfully manage its own waste.

“Everytime I sell a Kambha, there is much excitement, Lot of it is knowing that so much waste will be kept away from the city –my city”

Wine bottle upcycled to create a vase or a simple decorative piece.

Any plastic container can be used to plant small herbs.

CD Tealight holder

Fevicol plastic tub used as a planter. Upcycled bath

tub.

Upcycled pet-bottle plastic hand-painted and handcrafted.

Upcycling at ‘Goli Soda’

Sruti is optimistic about the future, she feels people are changing and thinking about a more ‘conscious life style’. She remarks that this is something similar to our ancestral generations who lived a life with awareness about themselves and their environment.

The biggest threat in her opinion is partial education and education with no emphasis on the underlying principles. She candidly comments “half-knowledge is worse than no knowledge”.

Another limitation according to her is that the concern with sustainability is still very niche and restricted. She believes countries, governments and people are much more concerned with GDP and wealth.

She hopes that drastic innovation or intervention will enable a more sustainable future for everyone.

“Did you know that the plant is the only producer on the planet – all the rest are consumers? It is the small activity of the leaf that is holding the planet. If it were not for leaves, we would have desert-like conditions on the planet and we would perish.”

Julius Rego Urban farming trendsetter

Mumbai, India.

2009

2010 Attended workshops on growing vegetables, using good manure, volunteered with Urban Leaves in Mumbai.

First got interested in organic farming.

2013

2011

2012

Name: Julius Rego

Founder: Green Souls

Conducted an environment course, Nature Nurture, at YMCA and urban farming at Burns Hospital, Airoli.

Founded Green Souls (farm at Tata Memorial Hospital), organic farming in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Green Souls completes one year on June 9.

You know, this is not about growing plants. You have to

look at the bigger picture. It’s about taking away CO2 from the

atmosphere and reducing pollution. Growing 1,000 plants

is like growing 1 tree.

Green Souls is sustained because of volunteers and positive energy. Julius’s work in organic farming is entirely voluntary. On Wednesdays, he conducts workshops through funds raised and Green Souls also runs on donations such as a donation of cow dung. Julius finds that he is increasingly spending more time on the farm than he is on his own furniture businesses.

The organic produce from this Green Souls farm is given to the cancer patients (children) at St. Jude’s Child Care Center at Tata Memorial Hospital.

The quality of food in India is poor. The Green Revolution happened 40 years ago and yet 50% of children in India are malnourished (and not just the poor). The reason for this is that there is something wrong with our food.

Once someone visits the farm, they tend to keep coming back. The farm seems to make people happy as they come in close contact with nature.

Children are especially very happy. Today, a child celebrated her birthday party on the farm and described it as “the best birthday party” she had ever had.

What is needed now is parents being more open to bringing their children to the farm, as children enjoy being close to nature.

Challenges for Green Souls include getting funds and getting more volunteers to work on the farms. Also, a big challenge is the education system itself. Learning is now mind-based; and what is needed is learning that is heart-based. Julius believes we need to feel for the environment and then take action to empower people to do something about it.

Examples of Sustainable Designs

Mosquito-control pond

Self-watering containers

Grey water filter

Grill/terrace garden for those who don’t have space for a garden

Another major challenge for Julius is people’s understanding of the importance of urban farming. Schools and other institutions put their land to all sorts of frivolous use but they are reluctant to use a space for organic gardening or for farming. It is a challenge for Julius to explain the importance of urban farming to them.

Julius suggests that we reach out to the community with this message about organic food and farming. Reach out especially to children, who are our future and can bring about positive change. Also, do composting at home, by which you can reduce waste by 50% and also put less pressure on the waste management system in the country, where 8000-9000 tonnes of garbage is generated everyday. Finally, he once again urges us to spread the word and start at home with one’s own family and children.

Julius explains that the sustainable lifestyle of the future is “local”. Working within the system, rather than going out to get something. Use what you have in your environment. The city produces a lot of twigs, leaves, dried coconut shells that can be used as compost. Green Souls used to bring in cow dung to the farm, which was not sustainable; now they use their own local compost.

“Children are our future and I feel educating them from a young age about sustainability is extremely important. Kids can be of great influence to spread the message of sustainability.”

Mattias Gustafson: Project Manager at EEM

Eskilstuna, Södermanland County, Sweden.

2013

2002

2005-2008

Name: Mattias Gustafson

Project Manager at Eskilstuna Energy and Environment

Mattias joined Eskilstuna Energy and Environment .

He was a part of projects on Biogas Generation from waste.

Started work in EEK as process engineer for waste water treatment and biogas production.

I have always been connected with nature. Since a kid, I used to go for hunting with my father. I love forests! I have always wished to contribute to nature and preservation of the environment and being a part of Eskilstuna Energy and Environment inspires me to do more.

Leading a project to explore fuel generation from farm waste. He is also writing a thesis en route to his Masters in Energy Engineering.

2009

2005 Got Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering.

Became Project Manager at Eskilstuna Energy and Environment.

2011

I believe in Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. This drives me to achieve a sustainable lifestyle.

Established in 1993 and municipally owned, Eskilstuna Energy and Environment provides the community with services like District Heating/Cooling, Waste Management, Biogas Generation, Water Management and Recycling.

Perched serenely on the banks of a sparkling river, Eskilstuna is a charming medieval city in southeast Sweden. The trees near the towering churches boast great puffs of pink blossoms making it a cinematic spring time.

The Ekeby Wetlands

Optical Sorting Machine

Waste Water Management

Biogas generation for Electricity and District Heating

Waste to Fuel conversion

Eskilstuna Energy & Environment has been providing services to the local community for 10 years and have received a lot of accolades from the government and goodwill from people.

“…most of my day goes in interacting with different people in the community, currently I am working on a project where the waste from farm lands can be used as input to generate more Biogas so that we have more gas to convert to fuel. Meeting Farmers and finding out different ways to convert biogas to fuel is my daily routine…”.

“…apart from work, I am pursuing my Masters in Energy Engineering. Post my degree I aim to put an effort to be self sustainable by maybe growing my own food. My girlfriend is working on Solar Panels so one day in the future we aim to be self sustainable! I love to contribute as much through voluntary activities, I was recently a part small project in Indonesia dealing with animal living eco systems.

“Eskilstuna community segregates household waste into 6 different categories which is Papers, Plastic, Metal, Cartons, Food, Miscellaneous (e.g. toilet paper). Initially it was a big challenge to motivate people to sort different wastes into different categories but we were able to achieve the goal to educate people through the spread of information and also benefits of sorting waste at households. We also encouraged people to visit our facility where we installed out Optical Sorting Machine to show people how waste is treated and how the output is again routed back to them in the form of Bio Energy.”

“Our efforts in sustainability have been very well acknowledged by the government as well as the people. Through constant efforts with initiatives like color coded sorting of waste, we were able to create a sustainable ecosystem in Eskilstuna. Our sustainable waste management plant, where we maintain wetlands, have recently been awarded “The Most Environment friendly locality in 2012”.

“Children are our future and I feel educating them from a young age about sustainability is extremely important. Kids can be of great influence to spread the message of sustainability. We have recently launched a project called “Project Ecofriends” that is a platform to educate kids.”

“I see a world where smaller communities come together to exchange ideas and activities around the concept of sustainability. I think if there is a change, it has to happen at a more personal and a community level and then be replicated into different ecosystems. If we take the whole world ecology we will be encompassed with massive problems which you and me cannot solve but if we look for some ‘small scale solutions’ for leading a sustainable life ourselves or within our community, we can say that yes, we have contributed our bit to preserve the environment”.

David Fisher: Founder of the Sustainable Living

Program

“Environmental science was reinvented by the sustainability movement. The term sustainable living that young people could relate to and meant something to them – a street smart way of putting it. So it caught on.”

Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.

Taught Botany for about 10 years

Present

Name: David Fisher

Chair, Department of Sustainable Living

PhD in Botany from University of Wisconsin, Madison

Founder and Director of the Sustainable Living course at the Maharishi University of Management, Iowa

One-year post-doc at University of Wisconsin, Madison

One-year post-doc at University of Göttingen, Germany

Faculty at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu for 6 years

It was a challenge to draw people to the course. Initially, the department had always had 5-7 students actually majoring in biology. That number is very small. Most other faculty started leaving for various reasons and I remained the only one to stay on. Then, in the fall of 2003, I decided that biology was disappearing and I thought “I am going to reinvent biology.” Over 10 years, the number of students rose from about 6 to about a 100, making this the largest course on campus. That’s a larger number than many state universities.

The purpose of the program is to give students the skills, knowledge and development of consciousness they need to help design, build and maintain sustainable communities. Sustainable communities can be local or regional in a state or province and that goes to the national or global level. David wanted to reinvent biology. If the course was called “Environmental Science”, David reckons that they would have not gotten anyone on board. According to David, “Sustainability” is more positive, solution focused, engaging, cooperative, egalitarian than the old environmental science movement. Environmental science was reinvented by the sustainability movement. The term “sustainable living” was used at MUM so that young people could relate to and it meant something to them – a street smart way of putting it. So it caught on.

http://www.mum.edu/sustainable-living

David has his own garden. He grows as much as he can there. He takes all the garbage out and puts it into a compost pile. David grows his own food and eats as much as he can from there. He goes to the farmers market to buy any other food that he may need.

He has a car that gives 30 miles to a gallon – it’s pretty much one of the best on the road. He bicycles to the campus, which is not to far from where he lives. He goes in and out on the bicycle trail in Fairfield. He says cycling saves a lot of gas; plus it’s good exercise. It works out for him as he goes through incredibly beautiful scenery.

David uses plants that he see along the way for his course – basic botany. So it’s also a source of inspiration. He also conducts his classes along those stretches sometimes, so it has multiple benefits.

Of course, building the MUM building occupies a major part of his day and his classes.

To make the shift to a sustainable lifestyle, according to David, you first have to make the transition in your mind. David’s grandmother was an inspiration, working at a cotton mill at a time when it was a difficult time to unionize an un-unionized mill in the south. His grandmother lived by the philosophy that “you always have time to do what you want to do.” She just lived it.

David suggests that individuals can do their bit too. He arranges his garden fairly intelligently so that he can spend just 15 minutes a day on it. Playing around with the soil itself is a powerful antidote to stress, meetings, etc. It connects you with living things and also with yourself. So it has multiple benefits. David suggests people start out with a pretty small garden, e.g., 4x4 ft, and then move on to a big garden and still only spend 15 minutes a day on it.

http://www.mum.edu/sustainable-living

David explains that he made a transition from a Modern to a Cultural Creative, one who is living a sustainable lifestyle (from the book Cultural Creatives). It took about 20 years to make that transition. David wasn’t alone in this. In 1971-72, 4% of the US population were Cultural Creatives, and by 2001, when the study was done, about 25% of the population were Cultural Creatives. By 2008, a follow up study showed that 35% of the population (also European) were Cultural Creatives. Today, David is sure the number is about 40%.

The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World by Paul H. Ray Ph.D. and Sherry Ruth Anderson (Oct 2, 2001)

According to David, the MUM building is pretty much the most ambitious environmental building on the planet. There are many sustainable buildings in the world, but in terms of what it set out to accomplish, this building is like no other. They are trying to meet certification criteria for four different building philosophies: 1) LEED platinum, 2) Living Building Challenge, 3) Building Biology, 4) Maharishi Vedic architecture. Going off the grid has already been done for water and the waste water treatment. Again, going completely off grid is what the original technical designer said about the building plan “This is something that the whole building industry will be waiting for. They won’t do it until they see somebody show them its possible.” It takes more than money; many changes are constantly being made. Further, the aesthetics and beauty of the building is considered just as important as any other environmental feature. Totally, they are off the grid 95% of the time. There are back ups like a veggie oil burner when it’s peak winter; also, there is a solar water heater. There are extremely thick walls that keep excess cold and heat away. Changes are constantly being made, the building is a living laboratory.

http://www.mum.edu/sustainable-living

The Sustainable Living department is a bit like California, which is usually ahead of the rest of the country in some ways. They have environmental laws that are far ahead of the rest of the country. Similarly, David says that at the university, they are the ones who pioneer things. For example, one of the Sustainable Living’s six core courses is called “Critical Thinking” that was started seven years ago. About a year ago, the university decided that the course should be taken across other programs, so they’re having that kind of effect.

• ??

http://www.mum.edu/sustainable-living

Principles behind the ‘sustainable living’ building

“You use the same principles in an urban environment that you would use in a self-sufficient eco-village. You could start a farm in the countryside OR in an urban area. Backyard, rooftop garden, even agriculture on the 30th floor. I’ve heard that urban agriculture in Cuba and even in Russia produces a huge amount of food that people eat. They grow in their own backyard. It can be done organically, cutting out some of those middlemen.” – David Fisher

What is the sustainable lifestyle of the future?

David claims that it is the cultural creative world view. This is a major future trend. The entire US and Europe and the whole world is going in this direction, towards the Cultural Creatives. There are people who think of sustainability and there are people in the other groups, who have a different worldview. They have a worldview which when put into action, is not sustainable for the whole world.

David also believes that in the business world a lot of the desirable changes are being made in a sustainable direction and that’s also good for the business. But it’s not easy for everybody to see that.

Manu Gopalan: An Architect with a

Difference!

“I love the joy of using my hands to create designs and materials - it is very satisfying.”

Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India.

Manu graduated from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi in 1998 specializing in Urban Design & Housing.

First Big Project - During college Manu got involved in a project with street kids to visualize their ideal village through drawings, since many were village kids. Using these forms of imagination his team created a model ecosystem.

First Experiments with Alternate Materials: Manu worked with Poorna School, Bangalore to design & create houses using waste materials. Kids from a village in Wayanad had also come to school while this activity was going on, so a lot of ideas also came from the village kids trained in handling bamboo. This was the first project where he started his experiments with alternate materials.

First Tryst with Auroville: Manu worked on various projects around India, always focusing on his ideology of using alternate materials for construction and sustainable architecture. In early 2004, he visited Auroville and found that people here were more receptive to his ideas and willing to embrace them in their lifestyles. He also got more opportunities to experiment in Auroville.

Auroville is an universal township in the making for people from around the world. The concept of Auroville - an ideal township devoted to an experiment in human unity - came to the Mother (http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/mother) in early 1930s. The concept was put before the Govt. of India, who supported the vision and took it to the General Assembly of UNESCO. In 1966 UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution commending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity, thereby giving their full encouragement.

On 28th February 1968 Auroville was inaugurated. Currently there are over 2000 people from 45 countries, belonging to all social classes living in Auroville.

The Auroville community focuses on growth that integrates social, spiritual and environmental consciousness. Aurovillians- residents of Auroville- explore various dimensions of sustainable living, practices and planning processes.

By highlighting the innovations and sustainable processes of this experimental community, policy planners, non-governmental organizations and socially conscious individuals can integrate applicable practices into sustainable and green practices at all levels.

About Auroville

In 2004, Manu established his firm- EarthHauz Architecture and Design in Auroville. EartHauz is located at the International Pavilion in Auroville. The firm was set-up with a focus to develop Intermediate Technology in construction using 100% natural and recycled/upcycled materials, participatory design and self-help construction. EartHauz has over the years been committed to the conception and construction of built environments that are essentially ecological, site specific , climatically responsive and respectful of vernacular traditions.

Manu’s Office in AurovilleManu’s Current Team

“I love the joy of using my hands to create designs and materials - it is very satisfying. And then people keep coming as volunteers to help us construct and their enthusiasm inspires me even more!”

Every morning Manu meets the team over a cup of tea. We could see them all jostling together; excited to exchange ideas. During this get-together the team members put down their agendas on the board and discussed those agenda items. Milestones, deadlines, concerns and issues are taken up and discussed. Manu also gets to know what each person has on his/her mind. He believes this time is very important, as it also helps to build a strong team.

Manu’s team was gifted a mini van sometime back. So, in the afternoons the team generally ventures out in this prized mini-van in search of waste materials.

Most of the time they pick up things that people have discarded. They get a lot of material that they use in their daily work to create something new or they just experiment with them in construction.

“We learn a lot from our experiments.”

This building was the first construction in this community. It was constructed in 2005 with a budget of $30,000. It had an innovative design of a high roof covering the rooms. Solar panels were used to power the building requirements and a water treatment plant was installed to recycle the water being used by the residents. But, to make this high roof, a lot of steel was used – Manu pointed to the steel pillars on all sides. Also, the construction technique was found to be very expensive. Considering that just 10 people lived there, the investment was huge!

View from inside View from outside

5 years later Manu had to build a housing complex for 50 people. So, he put up a challenge for himself and his team – he reduced the budget to $26,000.

“We had great learning from our last project. And we consulted a lot of local contractors, artisans, carpenters, plumbers – basically every local person with skill and knowledge. We found that we could use a lot of locally available material to build our housing complex. This building is a result of this approach.”

The building constructed in 2005.

Dry Toilet

Washbasin made of mud pots

Waterfall shower system made of Bamboo.

Normal shower system made of Bamboo

Tap system made of Bamboo.

“Mirror piece discarded by shops can be easily used”

Discarded tires used to make windows.

This is how Manu faced the challenge:Innovations In The New House

Manu’s team used a lot of alternate material in this project and the team also came up with a lot of innovative designs. The doors of the rooms were made of local wood. The furniture inside each room is a shelf that can be converted into a table, when required. The walls were made of a mix of husk, bamboo reinforcements, Styrofoam and a little cement. This technique came from North India. And it was found to be really good in keeping the walls insulated from heat & noise. So, there is more privacy and the rooms are cool as well!

The power for this housing is sourced from the older building’s solar plant. So, the team was required to be very cautious about the power consumption. Therefore, they used low profile LED that is surface mounted to a PCB – it consumes less than 1Watt per LED! Roofs were made of old tetra packs processed into hardened sheets. The railings were made of old electrical wiring.

The biggest cost saving came from using wood instead of concrete pillars. The team used wood from a locally full grown tree. They did use some concrete but that was necessary to create a base – to save the wood from termites. A concrete pillar of 5ft. height costs close to USD 80-95 whereas the same height of wood costs us less than USD 12. “This idea of using wood for pillars came from a local carpenter. So, research of local knowledge came very handy and that's why I feel it is very important!”

Manu’s team believes that the farms are very important part of homes as well. So, they spent a lot of energy in building the surrounding farms. One can see vegetables and fruits growing in the farms around the houses. In the future, Manu visualises building a full-fledged farm to feed the residents.

“My effort is not just to make a home self-sustainable in terms of electricity and water- farms should be an integral part of a house.”

A wall made using construction rubble- it was tested to be much stronger than the usual concrete walls and much cheaper to construct. Manu has also been experimenting with old electrical cables – donated by a company that works with them.

“I believe we have to take these alternate solutions to contractors instead of forcing them to stop mal-practices. Once they see their own benefit in using alternate materials, they will change!”

“We face a lot of challenges as well!”

According to Manu, there are no proper regulations for construction in India. In the west, the construction debries and rubble on a site have to be kept inside and recycled to use in different forms. But in India, the builders are free to dump construction waste. He informed us about the big rackets in the construction industry where the construction waste is dumped on marsh lands or wetlands in open spaces that leads to huge amounts of pollution. It results in drop of ground water levels. By dumping waste the water source gets choked, creating a shortage of ground water; and because of the shortage people are more dependent on the grid for supply of water.

“I see a lot of people embracing these alternate materials. I think if we design keeping people in mind, people do adopt and adapt.I believe multiple approaches will work in the future of sustainability. A mix of top down and bottom up approaches will be the way forward. Governments will take their own time in coming up with regulations. People need to get proactive and creative. A lot can be done using things that we think are not useful anymore. Every time I see youngsters coming over as volunteers and throwing up brilliant innovative ideas of using waste material, I believe we have a brighter future.”

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04/10/2023 95

Thank You!

This report has been prepared by the team at Institute of Customer Experience, a not-for-profit initiative by Human Factors International: Ankush Samant,Kalika Sharma , Mathivanan Rajendran& Prashant Vutha..