Going outside of the sustainability bubble to impact more people
Manuela Baron (@thegirlgonegreen) is a Colombian-American content creator and artist behind The Girl Gone Green, focused on advocating for environmentally conscious living.
On this podcast episode, Manuela sheds light on how exposing ourselves to different cultures and environments shift our perspectives on sustainability; why she hesitates to promote "zero-waste living"; how we can go against that grain of social media, which tends to promote mindless consumption, to encourage mindfulness, minimalism, and conscious consumerism; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Manuela and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kaméa Chayne
“When you see information on social media, from influencers, or even in books, know that you’re going to have to adjust that for your life and where you are.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kaméa Chayne, a podcast exploring environmental regeneration and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and up to date on our latest episodes.
On her shifting views of sustainability after traveling:
“[Depending on] where you live, [sustainable living] is going to be really different.
So when you see information on social media, from influencers, or even in books, know that you’re going to have to adjust and tweak that for your life and where you are.
There is not a one-size-fits-all for sustainability. Through my trip to Asia and my journey locally, it has really been something I had to learn. It’s going to be something that’s completely different year by year, month by month, and day by day.”
On how to best spark change in others:
“Throwing your ideas on someone else—politically, in sustainability, anything—it’s not going to help. People get defensive. They feel like you're attacking their way of life.
So just say something like, ‘Hey, this is what I do! It’s totally okay if you do what you want to do, but you have to respect me and what I’m doing.’ And people will get so curious from it.
They want to know why you’re doing things. They want to know why you’re going against the grain, and they’re going to start asking those questions.
And it’s going to take years! Most of the people in my life have slowly changed, but they’re not there yet, and that’s okay. I’m never going to criticize someone or think less of someone, because there are a lot of factors for why someone can’t be as sustainable as possible, and I don’t even know all of them.
So my approach is to live unapologetically and live by example.”
Manuela’s final words of wisdom:
“You have to sustain yourself to sustain your mission.”
