Sustainability Is Not a One-Size-Fits-All.
A Story of Learning and Unlearning
Patricia Korir
Over the past two months, I’ve been sharing glimpses of my journey with recycling and upcycling, the small but intentional steps toward living more sustainably. This exploration began as both curiosity and necessity. I found myself navigating unfamiliar systems and adjusting to a lifestyle shaped by different values and expectations. And in trying to make sense of it all, I’ve come to realize something that now shapes how I see everything:
Sustainable living is not a one-size-fits-all.
1. Context Shapes Our Definitions
Where you come from shapes what sustainable living means to you. In one place, using cloth bags might be considered a conscious act of environmentalism. In another, it’s simply what people have always done, not out of concern for the planet, but because it’s practical, affordable, and long-lasting. There’s no moral badge attached to it. It’s culture. It’s a necessity. It’s normal.
Different systems and cultural values influence how we understand and practice sustainability. In some places, sustainable living is guided by policy and public campaigns. In others, it emerges from daily life and lived experience. And sometimes, it’s driven by the need to stretch every resource and make it last.
None of these approaches are better or worse; they’re just different. And that difference matters.
2. What’s Branded as “New” Might Just Be Tradition
We often talk about sustainable living as if it’s a fresh concept; a movement gaining momentum. And in many ways, it is. There’s a growing push for organic food, locally sourced materials, plant-based diets. We’re encouraged to cycle more, embrace nature-based solutions like green roofs and urban gardens, and to share transport. But in many cultures, these solutions” aren’t new, they’re just life.
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Take the “farm-to-table” concept. In countless rural and agrarian communities, food is grown at home or sourced locally because it’s the most natural and accessible way to eat. Likewise, plant-based diets are being adopted as an environmental choice in some regions, while for others, vegetarianism is a deep-rooted cultural or religious practice.
The same goes for nature-based practices. Shade trees planted around homes, rainwater harvested in reused containers, natural remedies passed down through generations aren’t innovations but inherited wisdom. Even what we now call “low-carbon transport” — cycling, walking, shared buses, cars or minibuses — is common practice in many parts of the world. Sometimes it’s a choice, other times a necessity. Either way, it’s sustainable.
What we now frame as climate-smart or low-carbon living is, in many parts of the world, just… living.
3. Privilege, Policy & Possibility
Sustainable living is deeply shaped by the systems we live in, the education we receive, and the access we have to resources. In some places, sustainability is made possible by infrastructure: waste separation bins on every street, composting systems, clean and reliable public transport, incentives for using renewable energy. These systems make the sustainable choice the easier one, not necessarily because people are more eco-conscious, but because the environment around them is designed to support it.
Education plays a big role, too. Where climate change is taught early in schools, children grow up with language and frameworks that shape their worldview. They’re more likely to connect their everyday actions with global impact.
But elsewhere, these systems may be missing because other priorities are more urgent. When basic needs like clean water, shelter, or safety are not guaranteed, sustainability understandably takes a back seat. And yet, people still reuse, repair, repurpose. Their actions are no less valuable.
Even secondhand shopping, often celebrated as a conscious fashion choice in wealthier regions, has long been a necessity elsewhere. What’s presented in one context as mindful minimalism might be, in another, just how people have always gotten by.
Still, scarcity can foster creativity. In places with fewer resources, people often invent ingenious solutions: turning discarded materials into furniture, creating vertical gardens, building water systems from everyday objects. There’s innovation born out of resilience.
A More Personal Kind of Sustainability
Sustainable living doesn’t look the same for everyone and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s easy to assume there’s a universal checklist: recycle, bike, eat less meat. But when we zoom out, we begin to see just how layered, cultural, and context-specific it really is.
This season, we’ll explore the emotional, cultural, and deeply personal sides of sustainability. We’ll reflect on the values and identities that shape our choices, the silent guilt we sometimes carry, and the small acts of care that make this journey our own.
