Entrepreneurship from Ecology: Moon Essence is one of the brands that make up the Compra Sin Plástico community. It is a brand that we admire very much for its commitment to the environment, as well as a creativity that inspires us to imagine a sustainable future in harmony with nature. Its creator, Patricia Noguera Ruiz is a woman who demonstrates that economy and ecology cannot be divided, but can (and should) work together.
However, although today Doña Patricia has a very beautiful and productive urban garden, and is an example of #ZeroWaste mentality and circular economy, she was not always so closely linked to nature:
"As a child of the city, raised in the concrete jungle, between block walls and cement patios (except for a guava tree and a few "chinas" plants), I grew up with the vicissitudes of the city: buses, smocks, car horns, hawking street vendors and pickpockets".
How do you take the step towards sustainability?
However, these circumstances did not limit her. Rather, they would later be used as the driving force behind her enterprise, in a clear effort to change the greyness of the concrete for the green and life that plants bring. How did the change come about? It was not immediate, but matured over time:
"Immersed in the daily hustle and bustle of 'modern' life, without contact with nature. That's how my first decades of life were... No rivers, no pools, no trees, no land... all cement and pollution. It wasn't until my adulthood that I got to know other contexts and was amazed as a child at the wonders of the countryside. Together with my three children I began to get to know the land, the river, the coffee plantations... Hand in hand with them I explored other places far from the city and my amazement grew year by year".
Like her, many people are strongly influenced by experiencing for themselves the incredible feeling of wholeness and connection to the earth that only closeness to the environment can bring. However, the most incredible thing of all is that when we discover nature, we realise that we have always belonged to it and that it is often there that we find everything we need: physical, mental and spiritual health.
Entrepreneurship from Ecology is the answer...
Sometimes, the sophistications of modern life cause us to take our eyes off the natural, disregarding ancestral practices and knowledge, or forms of artisanal creation. However, our connection to the earth is undeniable, and the earth itself demonstrates this. In this sense, the case of Doña Patricia is very special:
"When I was a child I was forbidden to play with dirt because I would get nail beds... At the age of 57 I 'discovered' that I got them anyway... And because of the dryness caused by industrial soaps! What a discovery! I lived more than 5 decades suffering from dry skin and hives, medicated with anti-allergics, unaware that the solution was simpler".
She discovered that what comes from the earth is often healthier than many of the products we find in conventional supermarkets (with a lot of chemicals and plastic packaging that are harmful to the planet and to our health). In this way, Doña Patricia began to learn that self-cultivation and proper waste management are key to a healthy environment and to our health. Today, she has learned to produce many of the products that she used to buy, and that she did not feel so good about.
What makes artisanal enterprises different?
Once convinced of the importance of our relationship with the environment and the impact of our consumption habits on sustainability, only a small change was needed to make the venture we see today a reality:
"Being out of the labour system 3 years ago gave me the opportunity to explore new horizons. It was then that the little door of the cage I had inhabited for decades opened, unaware of the delights of the scents of essences, the textures and colours of vegetables that I now enjoy making soaps with. Life is making amends with this daughter of the city, giving me the opportunity to explore my senses, to melt my soul in each soap, which for me transcends the merely material of a product, of a commodity... My Coquitos de Amor are the expression of the unknown during my childhood, they are the realisation of adventures and dreams left behind.
This is what makes Emprender desde la Ecología special, that they give us a part of themselves in their products: the true love they feel for the planet. This translates into an ecological alternative that allows us to participate in this lifestyle away from the system in which we live, in tune with the planet and its wonders.
Esencia de Luna's motto is "reconciling ourselves with the environment with eco-friendly products" and we think it's a nice mantra, which can certainly be adopted by our community. We have spent enough time disconnected from nature without realising that this is precisely what we are.
What did you think of the Entrepreneurship from Ecology story? Tell us about your experience on this sustainability journey, the changes you have implemented and how being part of an ecological community has influenced you.
