Sustainable Living: You are what you eat..

In the name of ‘Eating Locally’ a Slow food movement has emerged, with people from all corners of the world planning a wide range of activities and event’s, which are as diverse and unique as the communities holding them. In Addis when a fellow Seattleite, a permaculture enthusiast, and a friend organized a Terra Madre Day at the Taitu hotel in Piassa, Addis, Ethiopia, after we both moved to Ethiopia, I was curious, so I went. It was an eye opening experience about what we eat, what farmers go through to avail the produce we need, and the importance of eating what nature provides, and encouraging being mindful, and in gratitude with the process it took for your food to get to your plate, hence 'Slow Food' movement. 

To be part of the brain gain Africa, I made a conscious choice to Invest my savings into mySelf, I choose to move back to Ethiopia. I knew I did not want to just be doing the same thing in a corporate fast paced Finance job. So I dug deep to figure out a way to pioneering a more aware, holistic and sustainable living, in-touch with not just my intellectual intellegence, but my social and emotional intellegence. Thus in my quest to fully immerse myself in grasping the depth of my African genetics, seeking Eating my Garden practices, holistic approach to Entreupreneurship, and choosing Sustainable living, I had to go to the source, the land that gave life to the world, Africa. It was also time to unveil my life long dream of being a business women inspired by my late father, Deldeyoch, which incorporate my lifelong ambition of how I can best serve, as well as live a balanced lifestyle.

I had also wanted to be part of the movement & community that learns from our African ancestors to create a wisdom & experienced knowledge base, thriving society for the next generation. With that in mind, and my successful career I had worked hard to build, I birthed my holistic Socially Responsible business, Deldeyoch. I wanted to be an Entreupreneur that focuses on providing the tools for future leaders to view policies and leadership in Finance, Banking, Human resource, Technology, Social Responsibility, Natural Resources management, Community building, and Strategic Growth with a responsible and creative approach. I know from experience, if you follow certain strategic principles, your bottom line will eventually grow, you will be successful in life if you are driven, but seeking responsible and creative approaches to your journey in getting there, is what makes inspiring leaders. That is what Africa needs now, leaders that leave a positive all rounded legacy for the next generation, like my father, who is the inspiration for my company, Deldeyoch.

After 30years of schooling, it was baffling to me my limited knowledge of Africa writers, history, trade, sociology, culture, cuisine, politics, customs of the 54countries in Africa. So I committed to traveling not just all over Ethiopia, but all over Africa, to find perspective based strategic solutions of business, with an ethical win win vision, in line with the environment, natural resources and the people. Considering Africas resource, people, history, tradition, and its gift to civilization of the world has been distorted, stolen, or manipulated, I knew the first step was doing my own data gathering, research, and exploring, to find tools to decolonise our mind about Africa, and the resilient citizens that inhibit the lands.

Thus mindfully I set out to define Africa through my own narrative, a conscious African that has excelled in what the world defined as successful in the 21st century. I created my own network, through travel, social life, and work. It was disheartened to witness traveling in Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Africa, that somehow we as Africans, have lost our connection with how our ancestors took care of the land, respected nature, adopted to change, and used sustainable resources around them to sustain their livelihood.

Living between Ethiopia and Washington state, my love of nature, and my awareness of the connection of my spirit, body & mind started at a young age. I gravitating towards loving eating veggies, much to the puzzle of my family and friends, which allowed me to somehow tap into the inner wiring of my body, spirit and mind. Therefore in my research to understanding the science of the food I consumed, and its connection with our mind and spirit, I  discovered Agroecology, Spirituality and Permaculture, a philosophy rooted in working with nature. The primary agenda of Agroecology, especially in Africa, was a way of living to assist people to become more self reliant through the design and development of productive & sustainable farms, communities and gardens. In this 21st century unfortunately there are a lot of large foreign corporation dominating the seed, and commercial agricultural business, for greed and destruction of the biodiversity of our environment, threatening Food Sovereignty in Africa for the coming generations.

Having experimented and been somewhat successful in urban gardening in my backyard. It has been a long journey in not only convincing family the use of the garden for growing Vegetables rather than flowers, learning the soil type & altitude do's & don'ts, composting techniques and such, which has all been an enlightening experience. I had a lot to share about my experience in Ethiopia, but I also had inquires, such as why organic seedling was hard to come by in Ethiopia, water shortage was a concern, and what soil types were better at growing what in the high altitude of Addis Abeba Ethiopia.

Considering almost 85% of the Ethiopian economy is reliant on Agriculture, it was disappointing to discover there was no incentives, stores or institution that encourage urban gardening. Which lead me wanting to be part of an online platform to share, inform, network and create a community of like minded people.

The ultimate goal is to create a Social media online platform that gives a voice and visibility to the rural food producers, especially in Africa who work hard to provide us the food we consume & to raise their awareness of the value of their work; Constructing a global network—with information-sharing tools, the means to learn from each other, and opportunities for collaboration in many ways with farmers, scientists, Artists, advocates, policy makers, gardeners etc; Continue to have fertile lands, lands on which to grow plants and animals appropriate to its environments, rather than needing to be pumped full of chemicals & #GMOfree seeds; Continue to have the people capable of stewarding these lands, to have their know-how, so we can have food that still carries the tastes of our youth; and Find ways and means for those Agroecologists to Sustain their ability to farm, for the good of the planet.

As a person that practices urban gardening, I am deeply indebted & highly appreciative of all farmers that work hard to grow the food we consume. And thus not only have I become a vegetarian, but an advocate of sustainable living, eating your garden, and finding creative approaches to involve the youth in taking care of our one Earth. Lets all be part of the change that contributes positively to the well being of the environment we live in, the community we serve and the backyard we use. Also demand to know & learn about where your food comes from, so as we can all learn from one another & enjoy the joys of Nature. 

By Dutchess@Deldeyoch

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