Here at Bamboo Mod we are always on the look out for amazing people putting the planet first. Here is our first ever interview with the amazing Monica Rosquillas from San Diego, California.
She recently embarked on an 8 month journey through SE Asia. (Our favorite region of the world) On this trip her plan was to volunteer and not dispose of any plastic along the way!
Could you please briefly introduce yourself, describing where you are from and your current mission.
My name is Monica Rosquilla, I'm 30 years old, and born and raised in San Diego, California. I love being outdoors and care deeply about our planet. I try to live my life in a way that helps conserve our natural resources for future generations. I hope to inspire people to do the same by sharing my lifestyle.
Was there a specific moment or epiphany that made you decide to move towards a more mindful/sustainable life?
I wouldn't say there was a defining moment when I decided to make a change, it happened gradually. I was working as an environmental educator at the time, teaching young students about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling, and how to protect our watersheds. I used a lot of reusables to reduce my waste, but when it came to grocery shopping I was still making a lot of trash, and buying a lot of processed foods. When I started @girlforacleanworld it actually provided me with a lot of inspiration from other accounts to reduce my use of plastic and waste in general.
What does the word sustainable mean to you?
It means protecting our planet for all beings, for current and future generations. It means conserving natural resources, using renewable energy sources, and generating zero waste.
(This was the little plastic she gathered throughout 8 months through SE Asia. People can easily throw away this much plastic daily!)
How do you deal with naysayers or negative people who think that living waste free is unreasonable?
I understand their point of view, after all I haven't always had this mindset. And I understand that for some people perhaps it is unreasonable due to their situation. However I think it is our responsibility as humans to take care of our home and live our lives in a way that doesn't harm our planet. I do what I do, not because I think I will change the world, but because I don't want to contribute to the issues.
What advice do you have for individuals wanting to move towards a more sustainable lifestyle?
Don't try to change everything all at once, that can be very overwhelming. Make one change at a time, no matter how small it is. It could be taking shorter showers, eating less meat throughout the week, shopping at farmers market, or signing up for a CSA program.
What was the funniest moment on your travels?
It's really hard to pinpoint the funniest moment! I'd have to say it was really funny visiting the Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali and having lots of monkeys climb on top of us for bananas. I loved the place, it's so beautiful and the monkeys are very well protected but it was also so funny to see them interact with each other and us humans.
What was the craziest moment or event on your travels?
Seeing a wild elephant in the jungle! We were at Khao Yai National Park in Thailand, we knew there were elephants there but hand't seen any. Then, our last night there, through the thick jungle we heard and saw an adult elephant just standing there, eating. It was really impressive! It was literally 15 feet away from us.
(Monica learning to weave coconut leaves to create shelter - we can't like this enough!)
We want to thank Monica for answering all these questions, don't forget to follow her on instagram @girlforacleanworld
You can also check out her blog here: https://girlforacleanworld.com/
