20-Year-old, Sahanu did her masters in marketing and HR but didn’t opt for a corporate placement as she was inclined to do something toward the planet’s sustainability. Her interest in sustainability emerged due to her internship during her MBA. Then she researched the Earth, the environment, human consumption patterns, and more about sustainability.
Learning more about all these things, Sahanu realized that sustainability is her calling. Fast forward to 2 years, now Sahanu is living a 90% sustainable life that is not harmful to the planet and creates minimal wastage for the Earth.
ICYTALES is conversing with Sahanu on how she is living a sustainable, safe life for the planet.
Q) What was the driving force behind your perspective on sustainable living?
Sahanu- I believe there were two major driving forces. The first one is my love of nature; I always enjoy myself and my own company and adore the true form of nature, like going out, hugging trees, gazing at the sky when it changes its colours and much more.
This was the first driving factor as I could witness that things were going in the wrong direction; I felt there was a need to fasten the belts and give back something to mother nature. And if I talk about the second factor, then as a person, I like to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. If there is a solution and I know it can be implemented, why not go for it?
Q) What measures do you take to move towards Low waste living?
Sahanu- I have made a lot of changes in my personal life. I have been mindful of my care commodities; I choose plastic-free options. There is absolutely no single-use plastic right from the beginning of my day.
I have a bamboo toothbrush and use a tooth powder for my oral hygiene. Also, I use a reusable pad and menstrual cup. Since this is my care, it is totally in my hand, so I try my best to do it safely for the planet and not generate any waste.
I hardly had shopped, only one or two clothing essentials in these past two years of no shopping challenge as I believe I already have a good wardrobe. On occasion also I prefer borrowing clothes from my friends and family. Additionally, I have been contributing to the awareness part also quite frequently. And I also turned vegan last year, which has impacted me greatly. I am focusing on raw veganism rather than packed food. All these changes can be better for your health and as well as for the planet Earth.
Q) There must be a journey full of ups and downs. Would you like to tell us something about your journey and what kept you going in the face of the challenges?
Sahanu – There are challenges whenever you opt for something new. Some external factors hinder and internal factors like comfort zones, making your journey a little bit more difficult. In my case, I came to know about veganism very early, but I was putting it in the back seat for a long time due to my laziness and a lot of many factors.
I was not internally motivated to do that. But when I turned vegan, in about 15 days, I got adjusted to that and was doing fine. After doing it, I realized It was one of the best things I decided to do for myself. I feel healthier now, both physically and mentally, than before. Externally, my friends and family had been quite supportive and were always very helpful whenever I tried to adopt any new sustainable habit. If you live independently, I guess there will be minimal or no external hindrances.
Q) What is your food philosophy?
Sahanu- I am on a journey to keep myself healthy, and if you can make your environment healthy also with this, then why not. Your food should not be the reason for someone’s tears. It needs to be cruelty-free. Nobody is made on the Earth to be on your plate. Other than this, avoiding food waste is one thing everybody can do.
Q) If you could give one piece of advice to new vegans, what would it be?
Sahanu- I would say take it slow. If you are feeling very low, then take one meal or one day in a month as your cheat day. As it is a part of the process, there is no need to force yourself to those meals since sometimes there are no alternatives available. Don’t be guilty about it but feel okay about it initially.
Q) Is it sustainable if everyone turns vegan?
Sahanu- I don’t think everyone will ever turn vegan. It is a very far-sighted thing to even think about it. But I believe it will be a better and more amazing place to live. With science being so developing and there are options for everything, I guess it will be sustainable. If we see today, then the food chain will be messed up, and there will be several hindrances and challenges, but if there is a will, then there is a way.
Q) What are your long-term goals?
Sahanu- Personally, it will be to have a healthier version of me. I am underweight right now, so I guess my long-term goal is to reach my ideal weight. Professionally, I would say that it is to create more and more informative content that helps people to simplify sustainability and opt for this and also to make good collaborations with mindful brands rather than marketing anything that is ethically so wrong.
Q) What is your favourite thing about ECO travelling?
Sahanu- It’s the feeling that you are visiting a place to adore the beauty and not harm it. It protects the flora and fauna of the place, can help to increase the awareness about eco-friendly travelling concept and most importantly gives you a really good feeling of satisfaction.
Q) According to you, what is the biggest environmental threat today? And how to fight against it?
Sahanu- The biggest environmental threat today is, I believe, the comfort zones of the people, which they are not ready to leave. I understand that parents and grandparents have their default systems set within themselves, which is very hard to change. But the people like us, from gen-z and millennials, should accept the fact of climate change and keep a check on their actions toward nature and the planet to make it a better place to live.
Sahanu is a budding content creator on Instagram and a Youtuber guiding and spreading awareness towards sustainable living to save the planet. Sahanu advises everyone to learn new things and join her in the mission to make Earth a better place to live. She even collaborates with mindful brands to help her audience to make rational decisions about which products to choose.
Dhanika is currently doing her graduation and have a passion for writing.
