Having arrived in Buenos Aires a year ago, Emilienne Brard, 29, created Sociedad Ambiental with her friend Adèle Pérez. The practical guides, written by the two French girls, aim to help people change a few things in their lives in order to be friendlier to the planet. She used to work as a consultant for a big company back in France and suddenly felt she needed to discover something else. For this reason, she decided to go to Argentina after a four month trip in Asia. This was a well considered choice, and a year after she arrived Emilienne finally looks back saying: “It is here that we found our way in life.”
What drew you into sustainable development?
When we came to Buenos Aires, my boyfriend and I were trying to look back on our lives and find new centres of interest. I quickly found out that I wanted to work in sustainable development. In France, I was not that into it. The habits I had in France were actually common sense. You would not leave your rubbish behind you when walking in the Alps for instance. So, I started to read a lot about it and little by little my way of life started to change. For example, now I clean my flat with vinegar and save the shower water to flush the toilets. I could not find a job in that domain so my first move was to try to organise meetings between businesses and non-governmental organisation. Unfortunately, they did not show much interest. Then, I decided to create my own company and direct my actions at consumers. To me, they have a huge transformation power. When you buy a product, you have got a feeling about it. You buy it because it appeals you and fits in your principles. So if companies were to point out the environmental qualities of their product, people would probably feel more attracted to it.
What potential do Argentines have regarding the environment?
Here, people do not have the same consumer habits as in France. For instance, on Saturdays, most people go to parks to drink mate or have a coffee with friends. They do not rush to shopping malls to spend all their money like at home. In Europe we have been used to excessive consumption for many years now. Here, people’s habits are still quite flexible. One would think Argentina is late in dealing with sustainable development but that is wrong. The country is first for organic agriculture, has some of the rigorous standards and is a pioneer in organic wool. Obviously there are a few scandals here like the mines or the Riachuelo river but you get that everywhere. I think what people need here is more documentation and this is the reason why I started ‘Sociedad Ambiental’.
How did people react to your actions?
They mostly gave me really good feedback. I write for ‘Le Petit Journal de Buenos Aires’, an ex-pat newspaper in French and people left encouraging comments on the website. When I tried to approach companies, everybody was very enthusiastic. However I always had to revive people’s interest and nobody took much initiative. The distribution of the guide is actually one of the main things I need to work on for ‘Sociedad Ambiental’. This means people are interested in it but do not necessarily look at the guides on the website. Sometimes people don’t really want to follow a foreign model but I try to make them understand that before I came here I didn’t know any more than they do. When I was in France I wasn’t really the right example to follow. When I started to tell people about my job, they quickly labelled me an ecologist. I don’t like to use that word. People tend to see ecologists as obsessive freaks. It doesn’t make any sense. It is not much of an effort to pay a bit more attention to what you buy and how you use it. Also, you have to remember that there are six billion people on Earth, which includes approximately one billion major consumers. If each of them were to make a small effort it could have important repercussions.
Are the guides taking most of your time? What do you do on the side?
The guides are totally free, so I don’t make money out of them. To live, I work for ‘Ecosistema’ a magazine that specialises in ecology for businesses. I also organise the “green drinks” in Buenos Aires. They are worldwide meetings were people talk about their sustainable development experiences. Here it happens every second Tuesday of the month. It is an informal way to present projects and connect people around them.
How was your first contact with Argentines?
I had a kind of “love at first sight” experience with Argentina. The first contact was really easy. However it was a bit harder for me than for my boyfriend because he plays football and got to know a lot of people this way. Now, I have made a few Argentine friends, but most of them speak French, which is probably what brought us together. I have been learning Spanish here for four months through Internet courses and I was quickly able to speak to people around me. As a French girl I felt really welcomed. People are usually interested in my culture and have a certain curiosity for Paris, so it helps. Here, I have really learnt to live each day as it comes. After a year spent here we went back to France for ten days and honestly we both missed Buenos Aires. I know I am not going to stay here for years because France is still my home but our Argentine adventure is not finished yet.
For more information, visit: www.sociedad-ambiental.com or join them for Green Drinks: Every second Tuesday of the month at Cursic Bar, El Salvador 6016. Email: greendrinksba@gmail.com