Sustainable Lifestyles: The Trendsetters

Sustainable Lifestyles
Stories 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.

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.

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’.

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’.

Key Findings: What Does the Future Hold?
Most believed that the sustainable lifestyle of the
future is “local”, self-sufficient and close to nature.

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

“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?”
‘Merveille’ of Prakash Patel
Puducherry,
India.

Name: Prakash Patel
Responsible for Merveille farm
1980s
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.
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
Involved in research on the
topography and afforestation
of the region around Ousteri
Lake, Pondicherry.
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!

“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.”
Lonnie Gamble
Maharishi University of Management
Fairfield, Iowa,
U.S.A.

Name: Lonnie Gamble
Co-director: Sustainable Living Under
Graduate Program
Co-director of the Under
Graduate program on
Sustainable Communities
at the Maharishi University
of Management, Fairfield.
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
Closely involved in the
conception and creation of
the Abundance Eco Village
in Fairfield Iowa. Also,
taught and mentored
students in sustainability.
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).
1
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.

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

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

“For me, cycling is like brushing my teeth. I have to do it everyday!”
Local sustainability champ,
Kanwal Pal Singh Banga
Gurgaon, National Capital
Region, India.

Name: Kanwal Pal Singh Banga
Sustainability activist
Living a sustainable
lifestyle at home and
inspiring others in his
community through his
personal brand EcoKadam
1980s Kanwal was inspired by an
article he read on Paani
(water) and very early on
started off his endeavors
towards water conservation
Present
He set an example among
his family and friends
avoiding all wastage, food,
oil, etc.
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.

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.
• 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.

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

“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?’”
Sruti Hari:
Going Green – The Retail
Way.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu,
India.

Name: Sruti Harihara Subramanian
Restaurateur – Retailer - Film-maker
Founder: Goli Soda
2013
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.
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.
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.
CD Tealight holder
Any plastic container can be
used to plant small herbs.
Upcycled pet-bottle plastic hand-painted
and handcrafted.
Fevicol plastic tub used as a
planter. Upcycled bath tub.
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.

Name: Julius Rego
Founder: Green Souls
2012
Green Souls completes
one year on June 9.
Founded Green Souls (farm
at Tata Memorial Hospital),
organic farming in Mumbai
and Navi Mumbai.
2010 Attended workshops on
2009
growing vegetables, using
good manure, volunteered
with Urban Leaves in
Mumbai.
First got interested in
organic farming.
2013
2011
Conducted an environment
course, Nature Nurture, at
YMCA and urban farming at
Burns Hospital, Airoli.
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
Self-watering containers
Mosquito-control pond
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.

Name: Mattias Gustafson
Project Manager at
Eskilstuna Energy and
Environment
2013
2005-
2008
2002
Became Project Manager at
Eskilstuna Energy and
Environment.
Started work in EEK as
process engineer for waste
water treatment and biogas
production.
He was a part of projects on
Biogas Generation from waste.
Mattias joined Eskilstuna
Energy and Environment .
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.
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.

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.
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.

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”.

“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.”
David Fisher:
Founder of the Sustainable Living
Program
Fairfield, Iowa,
U.S.A.

Name: David Fisher
Chair, Department of Sustainable Living
Present
Founder and Director of
the Sustainable Living
course at the Maharishi
University of Management,
Iowa
Taught Botany for about 10 years
Faculty at the University of Hawaii,
Honolulu for 6 years
One-year post-doc at University of
Göttingen, Germany
One-year post-doc at University of
Wisconsin, Madison
PhD in Botany from University of
Wisconsin, Madison

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.

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

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.

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.

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.
• ??

“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
Principles behind the ‘sustainable living’ building

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.

“I love the joy of using my hands to create designs and materials - it is very
satisfying.”
Manu Gopalan:
An Architect with a Difference!
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.
“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!”
Manu’s Current Team Manu’s Office in Auroville

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!
The building constructed in 2005.
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.”

Dry Toilet
Washbasin made of mud pots
Waterfall shower system
made of Bamboo.
This is how Manu faced the challenge:
Innovations In The New House
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.

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.”

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.
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.
We face a lot of challenges as well!”
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!”

“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.”

Address:
No. 184, Mission Street,
Puducherry - 605001
India.
Tel : +91 413 4210583/4/5
+91 413 4210583 / 4 / 5
ice.humanfactors.com/
facebook.com/uxtrendspotting
@UXTrendspotting
Contact ice@humanfactors.com for any further queries and feedback.
9/1/2014 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.
.

Sustainable Lifestyles: The Trendsetters

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Sustainable Lifestyles: The Trendsetters

Similar to Sustainable Lifestyles: The Trendsetters (20)

More from Institute of Customer Experience

More from Institute of Customer Experience (14)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Sustainable Lifestyles: The Trendsetters