Story
ANYTHING YOU CAN SPARE WILL MEAN THE WORLD TO US!
TARGET 1: £1,000 will pay for repairs to the shed/roof & complete the single solar panel set-up which will power a light and hot drink facilities.
TARGET 2: Reaching £3,500 will fund a compost toilet and disabled access.
WHAT WILL IT ACHIEVE?
Countless ecosystems are being devastated by the impact of 21st century life - throwaway consumerism and industrialisation, in general. We are determined to create a surge of action that helps Leicestershire to push back in the opposite direction!
That push - a surge of action - will be created by the creation of our sustainability hub at the Ekojoe Community Space in Blaby, where we have been permitted to develop an area of green land by the council.
This space will be used for community growing, the sharing of food stuffs (to ensure nothing that is grown is wasted) and the training/upskilling of our community in sustainable living.
If you would like to help us create such a place, which will used for free by anyone who shares our outlook (zero-waste, sustainable, ethical, natural and community-centred living) and to grow this space for larger groups of 'curious' people to use and develop then PLEASE MAKE A SMALL (or enormous - ha!) DONATION TO OUR CAMPAIGN.
Thank you so much for your time, help and passion for the survival of our planet,
The Ekojoe Team
#Refill #Reuse #ReduceWaste #BuyOnlyWhatYouNeed #CommunitySpace
FOR MORE DETAILS - SEE BELOW.
OUR STORY...
Consider this a nibble of who we are and what we are trying to achieve. Hopefully a nibble is just what you need. If you want a huge bite visit www.ekojoe.biz or come and see us at our first community space off Enderby Road in Blaby or at one of our shop locations
THE KEY...
We used to hate seeing how the world was being devastated by the careless, arrogant and selfish disregard of man, which showed no sign of ending. We hated that we knew this was happening... and loathed it, but still didn't have a way to make strangers, politicians, business care or seriously change their ways. We hated (and hate) that this will impact on so many stunning parts of the world, remarkable wild and marine life our children and grandchildren.
We felt like that for a long time and that feeling spurred us on to launch Ekojoe 18 months ago. A shop with a focus on enabling customers (as simply as possible) to cut some of man's most devastating and wasteful elements out of their lives. Plastic, over-farmed stock and unsustainable products. But, also, to show the world that there are affordable alternatives to the plastic-wrapped products on every supermarket shelf.
The response we have received from Leicestershire and beyond has been truly life-affirming.
The shop has gone from strength to strength since launching, evolving from carrying an initial stock of almost 100 products to a range of in excess of 200. All sustainable, all ethically produced, all free from the shackles of future pollution aka packaging.
We have also discovered a dedicated customer base that shares our passion for wanting to do more, and remove waste from our lives.
With all of this said you must be wondering why we are distracting ourselves from the shop and taking on a piece of land... AND A COMPOST TOILET?
Facebook: What came first - green space or refill shop?
The truth is we are doing this because the shop is making a difference, but we think we can and must do so much more.
The challenge we have is to reach new people and open the conversation, in the way we speak with our customers. To see if others do care in the way we think they do. We are hopeful that developing a base and being able to welcome you all to come and see what we do and how we do it will mean we reach many more of you. And for that... we need shelter, power and compost.
WHERE WE ARE NOW?
Our first community space in Blaby. It's a piece of land in a rough state, but which we have already started to transform. This space will be the home a community growing plot where all who are interested can come, grow, harvest and swap. It will also have training opportunities, a covered space for workshops and - importantly - a compost toilet, for when mother nature calls.
Currently only the vaguest impression of a shed exists, but we will start to work on this. Not for a shareholder or property magnate, but for the CIC that is Ekojoe... And anyone else who wants to be involved! Then, if/when we receive some funding we will upgrade and enhance the facilities to mean many of you will fancy coming in to spend time and consider the powers of sustainability at The Ekojoe Community Space.
Hopefully it will prove popular - a success - and we can take this model on quickly to further sites and communities across Leicester and Leicestershire. We are already in conversation with four additional sites (one north, one east, one south-east and within Leicester itself, so this could be the start of something big... And a movement that means mother nature, community and team-work seize the power (and the pounds) back from the supermarkets, and force them to cut their packaged focus and change their ways.
Anything you can donate will be amazing and will mean the world. Let's see what we can do,
The Ekojoe Team
Page Opened: Thursday, January 14, 2021
A FOOTNOTE ON WHY ACTION IS REQUIRED.
IT'S MISERABLE, BUT SOMETIMES MISERY/REALITY IS NEEDED TO REMIND US WHERE WE ARE.
The world's in the middle of a pollution, climate and resource depletion crisis. 'Crisis' is a strong word, of course, but we don't know a word that describes the current situation any better. Millions of people are trying to stop it from getting worse by reducing their use, reducing their waste, buying sustainably and focusing on ethical and local alternatives, but it's not enough. It's not enough because we all need to play our part and work together to get more people involved in our collective movement and in living less wasteful lives.
This is why we are moving Ekojoe on from being a mobile retailer with a truly fantastic community of people who want to change the world,. for the better.
