I have always been an extremely curious person. As a child, I was never bored, and I had no issue finding ways to entertain myself, a fact that I am sure my parents appreciated.
That curiosity led me to develop many different interests in my life. I love cooking, dancing, reading, writing, handcrafting, sports, photography and many more….Over the years, some of those interests became real passions and an integral part of my life. I am talking mainly about my love for nature and sustainability and my passion for creating and transforming.
Did I mention that I love frogs?
I have no clue why but I do, and that is for sure no coincidence because frogs symbolise adaptability and transformation and my whole life has been a chain of shifts in many ways. Also, they are a great indicator of the sustainability of an ecosystem.
I grew up in different towns in Spain, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees mountains. Later as an adult I lived and travelled in many countries around the world, falling in love with one incredible landscape and culture after the other.
All those cultures have found a place in my heart so one could say that the world is my home and my home is wherever I am in the world ( which currently is in the middle of the beautiful Tyrolean Alps).
How did my interest in sustainability start?
Something that not many people know about me is that my obsession with nature and the environment started when I was very young. At about 13 or 14, we first heard about the hole in the ozone layer and for the first time in my life, I was getting conscious of the damage we were causing to our planet. Suddenly, an ugly new world of politics, power fights and unfair compromises was opening in front of me. I could not quite comprehend it and that caused me a lot of anxiety about the future.
So I decided to learn
As the curious frog that I am, I started reading everything that fell on my hands about the environment and sustainability, and this time I also felt compelled to act, to do something about it… so I started doing: joining organisations, participating in demonstrations, reflecting and learning new behaviours, becoming a responsible consumer.
It did not take long until I started playing evangelist trying to turn others to the “green side”.
Soon I also realised that being sustainable goes beyond the environment, reaching deeply into social aspects too. That is why I engaged myself actively in a variety of social and humanitarian projects.
Amongst others, I worked with the United Nations on a peacekeeping mission, I was the president of an NGO in Austria for many years, working with refugees and less privileged people, and founded a branch of a non-profit network focused on female empowerment (SheSays Tirol). And now I am working on the biggest projects of all (read on 👇)
I am making a difference (and you can too)!
Over the years, I managed to, eventually, get rid of the negative emotions around not being a perfect green warrior. I have accepted with humility that I cannot solve all the environmental and social problems of the world… But I am still going to try and solve at least a few.
But where to start??
I cannot solve all the problems of the world, but I am happy if I can solve a few problems for a few people
Entrepreneurship is a way to bring positive & sustainable change to the world
I have had a long and successful career in corporate, but I was never too passionate about the industries I worked in. Also, I had always wanted to run my own business (more about that in this blog). Somehow, a couple of years ago the time was right to follow my purpose and I decided to start my company Green Cloud Nine.
Green Cloud Nine is an online marketplace that brings a wide range of sustainable products and services directly to eco-conscious consumers.
Our aim is to make it easy to shop sustainably. Our commitment to transparency means that we bring you sustainable brands and you will know the exact values they represent. We promote fairness, support local producers, and are champions of replacing wasteful, polluting products with sustainable alternatives.
Our motto is to “Make Sustainability Mainstream”
We bring down barriers, and make sustainable living easy and affordable for everyone.
Want to know more?
In the same way, others inspired and helped me to become a happier, more aware and sustainable person, with this blog I offer you my own experiences and the collective wisdom of many others before me.
My collaborators and I will be sharing lots and lots of useful information and real-life tips which you can use daily in your private or business life. Moreover, we will bring some provocative ideas to trigger critical thought and discussion.
Why? Because nobody can force us to do anything and we need to decide what works for us...We make our own luck!