The Sustainability of Self

Two years in the making & the time is now.

When this feature length documentary film project started in 2010, my husband Mike & I had no idea that we would be following a story about finding answers by searching within.  Yet that is exactly what happened.  In order for sustainable design, holistic education, permaculture, or any notable alternative model to work – the people who create these systems must also have developed a sense of what it means to embody these traits.

The film begins in Ethiopia where Mike & I had a wide-eyed vision of documenting a story about successful alternative, grass-roots organizations who were combating poverty and creating true hope for communities through the use of sustainable ideology.  With over 93 million inhabitants, and a reputation for being one of the birthplaces of mankind; we were attracted to the potential to see a piece of where we are headed by visiting where we have been.  We were hopeful that in this country that receives more foreign aid than anywhere else, we would see truly evolutionary models for creating systems of longevity for future generations.

In this film we visit a variety of grassroots organizations and meet with numerous inspired individuals across Ethiopia who have come to see that real change must originate from within.  In a place where everywhere you turn you are faced the harsh reality of poverty, it was refreshing and inspiring to meet people who had empowered themselves to create sustainable alternatives for others through tools of internal transformation.  Getting back to the basics of what it means to create potential for personal long-term well being, before attempting to create larger systems of sustainable endurance with others…we began to see a template for large-scale global change.

One cannot return to the same place he/she left.  And we certainly did not.  When we came back to the United States and were tasked with production, we felt the film was still not complete – our personal story was still unfolding. It seems that once you have begun the process of seeking long-term well being, illusions begin to dissolve and you are left with truly looking at the things that mean the most to life.  We left the city and decided to hit the road, this time searching for places in the Pacific Northwest where individuals can educate and empower themselves and thus become living models for self sustainability.

Follow us to Ethiopia and back, as we interview and visit inspirational individuals and organizations co-creating sustainable alternatives by starting at ground zero – with themselves.