One of the main purposes of Slow Food & Yoga Festival is to increase awareness about Responsible Tourism. Our dream is a Zero Waste Gili Air, which is why we are proud to announce that Silvija Rumiha - Founder of Zero Waste Bali - is making her way to Gili Air to join our festival.
Silvija has been living in Bali since 2011. She is originally from Melbourne, Australia, and she lived in England before moving to Bali. The past 7 years she has been living in Bali, and she has enjoyed the stunning nature and awesome marine life during her years in Indonesia. But one snorkel trip changed her life:
“Zero Waste Bali was born in July 2018 as a result of a family snorkeling trip. I couldn’t believe the amount of plastic there was in the ocean and on route to the snorkeling location. From that point, I decided to make a difference with my existing business, Mini Muncher, by making changes to the plastic packaging and immediately changed to glass and banana leaf and went label-free too. I questioned myself what else I could do to make a change and reduce the amount of plastic and waste in Bali, and from that very thought Zero Waste Bali was born - Bali’s first bulk food store.”
Previously Silvija’s business, Mini Muncher, which is selling organic baby and kids food products, were packing their products in plastic containers that they encouraged to be reused. But that quickly came to an end, when Silvija realised the amount of rubbish that is found in the rivers along side of the roads and in the beautiful mountain regions of Bali. She has now transitioned to glass jars and gone label free too.
Our choice can make a big difference to the Earth and our future
Today, Silvija is the proud owner of Zero Waste Bali - Bali’s first bulk food store. The goal of Zero Waste Bali is to assist and guide people to change their lifestyle and practices. Zero Waste Bali has a simple to use self-weighing system, that allows you to bring along any container to fill. Watch the video below to see how it works in the Zero Waste Bali Bulk Food Store:
Silvija tells us that living a zero-waste lifestyle is not about ending with a zero amount of waste and trash. But the essence of the zero-waste lifestyle is to change the mindset to reduce the amount of waste we create, that is bound to end up in the landfill and in the ocean.
”Everyone's zero-waste journey is unique. Do not compare yourself with others. Rather than trying to change every aspect of your life in an instant, I always encourage people to start small. For example, in the course of a week, concentrate on reducing 1 item or key area that you are comfortable with. Try an easy area in your life - like bathroom and kitchen. The number of plastics you can generally find in these two areas is actually frightening, and yet there are so many natural and plastic-free alternatives already available for you to swap it with.” By following some of Silvija’s advice, we can reduce plastic, remove harmful chemicals from our home, and reduce our waste. But it’s all about taking it step by step and not rush into the zero waste lifestyle. Zero Waste Bali wishes to provide and educate others to reduce, reuse, and recycle wherever they can, but in their own speed.
”The key is not to put too much pressure on yourself and try to be mindful in making decisions, especially when you are about to make a purchase. I am not perfect and have a long way to go to be totally zero waste, however if we don’t try to make small changes, the problem will continue to grow.”
Plastic-free alternatives at SFYF
Among others, you will be able to meet Silvija at Slow Food & Yoga Festival in October 2019. Silvija will be sharing her tips and offer solutions to some easy changes that you can do if you want to begin your journey towards a zero-waste lifestyle.
“I will be sharing about plastic-free alternatives that you can find rather easily now, which are natural and will not harm the environment at the end of its life cycle.”
Meet Silvija during the days of October 17th-20th, 2019.
