SustainabilityC: Queen of sustainability

ProPlate interview: Carmen Fourie

Have you ever thrown a rock in to a river and watched as the water ripples away far beyond the point of impact?

Today on the ProPlate series we interview Carmen Fourie, a female entrepreneur, Masters student and fitness lover who is the absolute embodiment of sustainability. She experienced this very ripple effect in her own life after having the stunning realization that, although her life might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, there is something far more important: “My life will always be the most significant thing I do.”

Trough that rather strange and deep realisation she started to evaluate the life she was living and how she can impact the world in the time she spends on earth. She realised that her lifestyle choices were creating waste that will stay here long after she is gone and that her lifestyle choices were having a negative ripple effect on the environment.

She deliberately chose to start living in a way that will enhance the positive ripple effect that her own life will leave on the world, and started making changes.

She “forced” her company at the time to start recycling. She bought stainless steel straws. Making those changes felt great and it motivated her to do more, and over time the ripple effect of her knowledge and motivation kept growing, and with that, her impact.

Her life’s message is that ANYONE, ANYWHERE can make a difference in the way that they live. This woman is no different from most of us; what makes her impactful is the daily choices she makes. In her own words:

“I am by no means perfect on my eco journey, but I am committed to continuously learning and growing, and sharing that with other people in a positive way so that they may, if they want to, also make changes.”

I know that this interview will have as much of a positive impact on your life as it did on mine.

1. Give us some background about yourself – where are you from, age, and in what work do you do, and what are of sports/fitness are you interested in?

I originally come from a small town in the Eastern Cape of SA called Komga. I lived there with my family until I was 13 then we moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I stayed in Dubai with my mom for High School and moved back to Stellenbosch, South Africa to study 9 years ago. I studied and lived in Stellenbosch for 5 years and then moved to Somerset West.

Aged 27.

I am an Employment Relations Practitioner and a small business owner (I own my own employment relations company). I am also completing my Master’s degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Stellenbosch. My research is about the behaviours that make small business owners successful and what success means to them. As an employment relations practitioner, I combine my research on small businesses with my knowledge of the employment relationship and the South African labour legislation to assist other small businesses to be more successful. I mostly work with workplace conflict, disciplinary issues, retrenchments and union negotiations. I also do contract lecturing when needed to facilitate the learning and development of others. On the side and as a secondary business venture- I source and sell products that I believe help others to live a more sustainable lifestyle (like stainless steel straws).

Sports and fitness – I am interested in all things movement. Throughout my life I have actively participated in various different sports, fitness styles and different types of exercises. At school and university I played numerous sports.

My focus now is on movement that promotes a good quality of life now, but also in the future- by that I mean I focus on ensuring that my fitness choices help me to build a strong foundation for movement in the future. I.e. focusing on the correct posture, using the correct muscles, developing the necessary skills and techniques, gaining a better understanding of my body.

My focus now is on yoga and cross training.

2. According to you, how big a role does nutrition play in health and fitness?

Nutrition is an extremely important, fundamental part of both health & fitness. No amount of exercise, movement or fitness can make up for poor nutrition. In order to move, and for overall health and quality of body functioning – you need good nutrition.

3. What is your go-to pre-workout or pre-race snack or meal?

Fruit – usually a banana.

4. How do you refuel after training?

Since I mostly train in the evenings – I have supper after training. Otherwise a glass of milk (unpasteurized, A2 dairy – grass fed, free from hormones). /p>

5. What are the top 3 foods you can’t live without?

Potatoes, oranges and popcorn.

6. You are very passionate about sustainable living. What does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability is focusing on meeting the needs of the “now” in such a way that you do not compromise the “future”, but rather enhance it. Although the definition of sustainability usually focuses primarily on the (natural) environment. For me, it is so much more than that. For me, it encompasses both an internal and external focus.

The internal focus is me – is it about my physical health, fitness/movement and my general well-being, including psychological health. We all need to prioritize our own, individual well-being before we can give anything back. Replenish your own resources, so that you have some left over to give. We need to focus on building our best lives, but in such a way that it can be sustained to create an even better future. Here are some personal examples of what I mean:

– Living your best life doesn’t mean a life free of hardship. I employ self-discipline to work on the tedious aspects of research to achieve my long term academic goals. That self-discipline does not feel “good” in the moment, but it builds perseverance, learnt resourcefulness and resilience. The achievement of my long term goal and building positive personal characteristics are important for the future I want. I spend time working on my personal development to grow into the person I want to be in the future. That work does not always feel pleasant in the moment, but it is worth it.

Another example:

– For my well-being I need to have constructive positive relationships with the people in my life. To build those types of relationships sometimes you need to have uncomfortable conversations, you need to work on your communication, you need to open yourself up to vulnerability, etc.

Last example:

– Sometimes we are so tired we don’t want to cook and that fast food take away looks very appealing. Short term it might seem like a good idea, but long term it isn’t. It is about constantly asking yourself what do I need/want now and what do I need/want in the future and how to I go about achieving that. It isn’t about “I can’t eat that” or “I must gym” – it is about “I don’t want to eat that” and “I want to gym”.

The external part of sustainability is threefold.

1. The natural environmental:
   It is living in such a way that you minimize the negative impact you have on the natural environment & natural resources. It is about respecting the importance of the ecological system in which we operate – understanding the impact of our choices and our behaviours.
2. Economy & Community:
   We don’t function in isolation, but as part of an economy and a wider community. I believe that all individuals we have a responsibility to participate in the economy and the community in such a way that we do meet the needs of the now (earn an income to support yourself, etc), but also focus on the future. For me that personally means the following:
   SA has an unemployment rate of 27%, it is plagued with poverty, income inequality and a lot of racial and cultural conflict. Small businesses account for 60% of employment, but have a failure rate of 90% in the first 3 years. My contribution is to attempt, through my work, to aid in the success of small business owners as a vehicle to alleviate unemployment, poverty and income inequality.
   In my line of work I can facilitate conflict management sessions, assist with the development of empowering leaders in organisations, help organisations with diversity training and interventions to promote constructive workplace relationships. The hope here is that this spills over into the community to promote co-operation and respect of individuals and their differences.
3. Acting as a role model
   Furthermore, I attempt, through my actions, to role model behaviours that advocate for equality of opportunity, a genuine interest and respect for differences in terms of race, gender, sexual preferences, religious beliefs, etc so that I can be more respectful to the people with whom I interact.
   In both my professional life and my personal life I attempt to always role model behaviours of inclusiveness and respect to others. I focus on my personal development, but I also genuinely focus on the facilitation of learning and development in others.
   To conclude – sustainability has been incorporated into every aspect of my life. Rather than being a word that describes my choices. It has become a value that guides my choices and my decision making.

7. How did you become interested in sustainability?

Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t see a photo or a video of a turtle or animal hurt by pollution or plastic. I don’t think that negative triggers (fear/guilt/shame/disgust) are good when attempting to implement positive, lasting changes. That is also the reason I don’t share any negative images of plastic or pollution on my social media.

My interest came from a strange but positive place. I started reading up a lot about “where we come from” and the history of humankind. Through that I came to a rather deep realization – In the grander scheme of things, when looking at the development of the world (both humankind and otherwise), my life or any one life, is quite insignificant. I have been alive for 27 years, while the Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years. Although it may be a depressing thought to think that one life, or rather my life, is insignificant, I also realized something more important – that is -that my life will always be the most significant thing I do.

8. What does a typical day of fitness look like for you and how do you incorporate sustainability into your health and fitness routine?

A typical day of fitness is squeezing some orange juice in the morning.

I buy organic oranges from a local farmer, without any plastic. I squeeze my own juice, so no additional waste. I make an ice coffee to take with to the gym. I make my own ice coffee to ensure that I know what goes in it (making sure the ingredients are good for me and sustainably sourced). I buy my coffee from a small business owner who runs a zero waste online business. I just order it online and take my jar to be refilled. I then spend between 1.5 – 2 hours in the gym with my partner where I do yoga and general movement. We then either do some strength exercises or we practice handstands together.

After training we do breakfast – soaked oats, with natural yogurt, berries and collagen powder. The oats are also bought zero waste. The natural yogurt is from a local farmer and the berries I buy in bulk to minimize the packaging.

In the evening we might swim, play squash or just take a walk.

The above is a typical Saturday for me. During the week I either do cross training or yoga or both.

I used to run, but I am currently working on my posture and activating the correct muscles when I move because my incorrect posture caused knee problems.

I also train barefoot. I do have barefoot shoes from Vivobarefoot, but I usually just train without shoes on. The focus here being on ensuring that my body moves as naturally as possible.

9. Where can people find out more about you and follow your sustainable lifestyle story on social media?

I document most of my sustainability lifestyle on Instagram – @sustainabilityC

I also have a blog: https://carmenfourie.wordpress.com/

And a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sustainabilityC/

If you live in or around Somerset West, I run a FB group for individuals and businesses who want to live more sustainably – Sustainable living (Somerset West & Surrounding)

More about my business: www.employmentrelations.co.za or follow my LinkedIn / Twitter accounts.

A massive thanks to Carmen for opening up and sharing her wisdom and passion for sustainability with us!

PS – Keep your eyes peeled for a future post where Carmen gives some practical tips on things YOU can do to make a positive ripple effect in the world.