The primary reason for setting it up this website at this time is in advance of the publication of my new book - #futuregen: lessons from a small country which is being published by Chelsea Green on 4th June this year. You will find all the information you need – indeed with the zealousness of a new, untried and untested author, undoubtedly more than you need - on this site.
Under the #futuregen banner, over time you will have the opportunity to read the full text of all the wonderful contributors to the project. They may have proved too numerous to include in the book itself, but all of whose contributions will be published in full on the contributors’ page. I cannot thank people enough for their enthusiasm to contribute to making the act work, not just for Wales, but as the title of my book says, to offer up such lessons from a small country more widely.
You will also be able to view images from the community art-work of Artstation whose images were often in my mind for the writing of the book.
The writing of the book has also been an opportunity to look back at my own journey to living as lightly as I can.
I believe fundamentally in the importance of living sustainably – to quote Gro Harlem Brundtland who has kindly endorsed my book – sustainable development is ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. Wanting to bring about a more sustainable world should be seen not as a sacrifice, but as an adventure, a journey to a better world than we have today; a world which does not suggest that our non-material needs – identity, community, self-esteem, love, joy – can be met by buying more stuff. A world where the Earth Summit ambition of humans living in harmony with nature is realised. At this time in the 21st century, reeling globally from the effects of COVID-19, we have a particular opportunity to consider what kind of future we want for ourselves and our children – and decisions politicians take as we come out of our current restrictions will have impacts for generations to come.
I remain a strong believer in evidence-led policy, so the absolute, conscious realisation that the actions I take as an individual as well as those I contribute towards collectively can make the lives of future generations worse is an absolute nightmare. For me, the political has always been personal and the personal, political. What became abundantly clear to me in 2007 when I was asked to take on ministerial responsibilities for sustainability, environment and climate change was that I could not continue to be part of the problem. As a human being and as a minister, how could I promote a different lifestyle if I wasn’t prepared to live it myself?
I can honestly say that this journey of ours to live lighter on the planet, contrary to the perceived wisdom of ‘sackcloth and ashes’, has been the absolute opposite. We have embarked on a wonderful adventure: adding purpose has improved the quality of our lives and our well-being. We have met extraordinary people along the way who provide collective support and with whom we swap goods and services. We eat food grown without pesticides fresh from our land; we see on a daily basis the Nature contrast between our organic holding and the wildlife-free, intensively farmed fields that surround us. Our lives and our land become richer as we carry on our annual commitment of being greener than the year before to this day, not least because we are consciously acting in the interests of our and others’ children and their children. We are trying to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Surely, that is the least each one of us should do.
The site is populated by photographs of produce from our land. We did not start with great soil but with determination, our own compost, seaweed and horse-manure it turns out you can grow food for your own consumption and I hope some of the photos will inspire others to begin their growing journey.