Finding hope after the bushfires

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I wasn’t prepared for 2020. I wasn’t prepared for the heartbreak, for the overwhelming loss, and for the shifting world we find ourselves living in. Like so many, I have felt speechless, powerless and hopeless. But now, I’m ready.

I’m ready to stand up, to have the courage to face these days, and to shoulder my share of the myriad small steps that must be taken to create a cleaner, healthy world for our children.

I’m nurturing and protecting my small spark of hope. I’m reading more, listening more, and learning to make every choice count.

As a maker and small business owner I feel grateful for the larger community that I am connected to, and for the impact we can have together.

Making positive change in our communities and natural world often feels like an insurmountable challenge. But I keep coming back to this quote by Anne-Marie Bonneau (@zerowastechef on Instagram):

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

This philosophy sustains my hope and determination to do better, to use my time and money consciously, and to keep asking questions, sharing solutions and exploring sustainability.

Some of the changes we’re making at A Little Light in the coming months include:

* Installing another 5.5kw solar system, which will take us up to 10kw of solar panels. This should be very close to providing all the electricity we need per year to run my business and our household. I’ll share more about this soon and how the numbers stack up in practice rather than just in theory.

* Inspired by the campaigns #buyfromthebush and #spendwiththem we are connecting with talented makers in regional and bushfire affected areas to expand our range of beautiful handmade gifts and create lasting partnerships to directly benefit more fabulous local artisans.

* Locally, we are very excited to partner with Sketch Group to upcycle their illustrated canvases. Instead of going into the recycling bin, these fascinating illustrations will be cut into unique wrapping paper that will now adorn each order we send out.

I still have so far to go along the journey towards sustainability, but I share these thoughts with you in the hope that we can keep this conversation open and together we can remind and inspire each other that every choice counts and every action has power.