In 2002 Jocelyn Land-Murphy and Jessica Lax set up the Otesha Project: a youth led charity with the aim to promote sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices through creative ways. Since then, their organisation and their message has inspired others not just around them, but rippled across whole continents.

Jocelyn and Jessica met in Kenya in 2002, both aged 21, as students of sustainable development on a field trip away from their native Canada. With great resentment they encountered the material inequalities between the lives of Kenyans and those of North Americans.

Frustrated with the excesses of their own society they sought to re-address the manner in which other Canadians looked at their own lifestyles and to question how sustainably they were living. What particularly annoyed them was the fact that they were used to living in a society where material goods are as readily disposed as they are consumed; and the things being consumed were responsible for unfair labour practices and the over exploitation of resources in places like Kenya.

Their mission was simple: if they could alter their own lifestyles and encourage others to do the same they weren’t powerless to readdress these injustices but collectively a reckoning force of change. The idea is that choice by choice, step by step, conscientious changes in mentality will incrementally seep in to the mainstream.

In October 2003, the first 33 members of the Otesha Project completed their 164 day cycle across the whole of Canada. In between cycling they stopped off at various communities to make over 250 presentations to over 12,000 young people. To convey the issues in a fun, creative manner that would engage with young people, the tour members used theatre. These performances and workshops have run every year since then and have now reached over 73,000 people in Canada. It has also won several awards for its innovative activism.

In 2006 the Otesha movement spread to Australia and by 2007 the movement had reached the UK. Last year I decided to hop on a cycle tour with 15 strangers. Needless to say, the journey itself had to be a sustainable one. Every single aspect of the tour was considered to make it as low impact as possible.

The tour really made me think about things I never had before. Never had I spent so long pondering the Carbon footprint of my food, or what it was packaged in. When you’re sharing a food budget with 15 others passionate to generate change through their lives, deciding what we would and wouldn’t eat (along with every other aspect of living in a mobile community) was a painstakingly long process.

600 miles and countless performances later, my attitudes towards sustainability had changed dramatically. Having spoken to audiences young, old, and in between, I know that the Otesha Project was the driving force for others to make changes in their lifestyles too. And to think that it all started when two Canadian girls found a calling in 2003; the Otesha Project really is an inspiring testament to how far your ideas can travel.

This summer, the Otesha Project UK are running a tour from Lands End to John O’ Groats and will be carrying their message with them. If you fancy getting involved or want to find out more, visit www.otesha.org.uk.

If you’re looking for the Otesha Project in Canada, you can find them at www.otesha.ca. There’s also an Otesha Project Australia up and running – their online home is www.otesha.org.au.

Written by Jun Taoka – IYP Web Editor

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