Growing up in a slum and spending some time in the US has given me an insight into how our economic status affects our environment. Poverty tends to make one resourceful and abundance finds ways to use itself, which you might argue is a different kind of creativity.
I tend to be more creative with food only when I have limited resources to cook with. I fail to come up with new ideas in the kitchen when I have my pantry full of stuff that I think I would need but don’t always. Not to imply that poverty is what we need.
I did not think I needed toilet papers before because in India you wash with water not paper. At least that was the norm when I was a kid and where I grew up. Now a days people are aware of hygiene and sanitation. Education shifts mindsets, shifting habits and it affecting the way we use resources around us. Money and education allows me to buy sustainable products, whereas lack of it would stir me the opposite way.
Equilibrium between humans as well as resources seems far from reach and it seems a long way before we reach that, however there are things we can do do bridge that gap. Doing so will ensure that all of us irrespective of our economic levels is able to buy sustainable products that respect resources. We want to be resourceful but not poor.
We need the wealthy to be resourceful too, not by cutting down their consumption but cutting down the part that screams conspicuous consumption. May be it is the other way round too. Can our environments help reduce the gap between rich and poor people and help us reach equilibrium? The way we may start is by interaction between all classes of people and interaction with nature. Interaction is the aunt of all inventions.
Be poor or rich, ownership and responsiblity is very important part of finding solutions to conserve materials and waste less. Here’s leaving you with a video where Raj Thackerey explains his vision for Maharashtra, where he calls for a responsible, ethical, and aesthetic growth. Because……. we share the same cheesecake!
anujasawant.com 