The world through Eden’s eyes
Eden Ghebresellassie comes across as an open-minded person. After a conversation with her you start seeing things from different perspectives. As we speak, she is in America and I am in Italy, «I am also Italian, but of Eritrean origin» she clarifies explaining the different cultures that have shaped her. We talked about sustainability for garden of curls, recognizing the organization she's a part of as a beginning place for those who want to take a more holistic approach to life. This interview put in a word for the potential of African land and emphasizes an aptitude with the environment that we must all learn to accept. Eden comments, «I like to work on projects that benefit young people and assist educate others» and is really excited as she explains why. But it's also clear that all she's gone through is a result of her life path.
Certain choices inevitably result in a person's work and principles. Where did you start from?
I am Afro-Italian, and I was born in Milan in the 1990s, where I was raised in a recycling culture. I decided to continue my education in America after high school, and I observed a significant difference in the concept of environmental sustainability. In fact, it was here that I discovered about the phenomena known as a food desert, which is defined as a region with limited access to affordable and healthy food, as opposed to a food oasis, which has more access to supermarkets or vegetable shops with fresh vegetables. This ailment assisted me in comprehending and increasing my knowledge of how the environment affects your human being. The importance of living in a sustainable realm. This is the reason why I approached what is now the purpose of the group I am a part of, Project Tsehigh, which is to encourage individuals to make more sustainable lifestyle choices, based on this premise.
Project Tsehigh (PjT) is a nonprofit organization that was created to help decrease global energy poverty and improve the quality of life for families currently living under such conditions. What is the story behind the organization and how does the Project work?
Grace Mahary and I started from personal beliefs and shared long-term perspectives. I was working in marketing, social media, and communications, when my cousin, the founder and the executive director of PjT requested me to join the board in 2017. Internally, our board is made up of specific people who cover the social, legal, and engineering aspects. On a local level, we occasionally receive aid from local governments, like in Eritrea, or we initiate programs because of personal relationships, as in Tanzania.
Everything we do is absolutely tied to eco-sustainable logic. We take a holistic and organic approach. Our job has never been to deliver solutions to issues when they're needed; instead, we've been tasked with giving people the tools they need to develop the solution themselves. If we bring solar panels to a city with which we wish to work, we will train them how to provide for themselves the next time. One of my favorite quotes that best encapsulates this purpose is: «If you give a person a fish, they will be able to eat themselves for a day; if you teach them to fish, they will be able to feed themselves for a lifetime». Our mission is to educate for long-term sustainability.
Six projects in five years are unquestionably a significant accomplishment, as well as an extremely difficult work route. What is the status of each of your initiatives?
Our primary business is to bring energy and solar panels, as happened in Eritrea where we work in the town of Maaya to bring electricity, and in Tanzania where we built solar panels in a school. But we also deal with any other aspect of sustainable production. Project GROW is our response to the Covid-19 pandemic restriction: with a limited ability to work overseas, we fought against the Food Desert phenomena I previously mentioned. We provide sustainable food and energy to the BIPOC community of Nashville, TN. But as I specified our mission is to teach how to provide eco-systems by themselves, so thanks to the help of our partner Trap Garden Volunteers, now the households could use the distributed GroBoxes to grow their own source of healthy food. We also like to let our life experiences interact with our projects. I've worked and continue to work in the social and sports entertainment industries, the basketball courts project is strictly linked to this personal path. Grace Mahary has also worked in the entertainment industry, which is why the collaborations with Sheep Inc. have turned into serious ventures now. Every company or institution that interacts with our operations embraces our organic and holistic approaches from every angle, adhering to our goal and values to the letter. As a result, we don't have a set schedule for deadlines; instead, our initiatives begin with research and study time. Covid-19 pandemic, like everyone else, has slowed down and adjusted our operations, which are based on in-person fundraising events. For the time being, we're content with the fact that we've advanced six projects in five years, two of which are supervised remotely.
Renewable energy is now a focus of research in both Europe and the United States. But what about research in Africa? What is going on across the continent when it comes to renewable energy sources?
Africa has a lot of potential for renewable energy. It is effectively free ground that is well-suited to the development or establishment of facilities of this sort since it lacks any electric lines or huge electrical energy plants. In terms of research, I can state that it is primarily Western sources, rather than local entities, that are active on the ground. As a result, our project feels it is critical to educate and train people on how to function in the field rather than simply supplying the bare minimum. Project Tsehigh currently functions mostly with solar panels, but I am hopeful that new initiatives will begin shortly.
This dialogue gives me the impression that Eden's sources of inspiration are limitless.
