Millions of people work ungodly hours to earn less than a dollar a day. This small salary must feed not just the worker but also their family. Fighting starvation and disease, these families manage to live on and continue working in dangerous conditions. This of course is not by choice.
In North America, there are labour laws protecting us from unethical work environments and low incomes so it’s hard to empathize with labourers in 3rd world countries based on our own personal experience.
There are people in the US and Canada that are willing to undergo dramatic changes in their lifestyles and diet in order to understand what it feels like to live with next to nothing. On a humanitarian level, people partake in the 30 Hour Famine and other similar fundraisers that educate people on the limited resources poverty stricken countries have. Our very own Sir Richard Branson fasted to raise money for and to support families of victims of the genocide in Sudan.
Others, like Daniel Suelo, are making long term commitments to living without spending or earning any money while Social Justice teachers Christopher Greenslate and Kerri Leonard challenged themselves to eat on a dollar a day budget for a month while recounting their day-to-day experiences on their blog.
The blog, One Dollar Diet Project, is what inspired me to write this post in the first place. Their reflections on our culture and diets challenges us to think about how much we have and how much we use (and waste!). I am definitely not asking you to reduce your food budget to a dollar a day but I am suggesting that you become more conscious of your food consumption. The blog even has a recipe page so you can see what kind of meals one can make for under a dollar. There’s a surprisingly varied list of dishes!
Take what you will out of Christopher and Kerri’s experience. Perhaps it’s motivation to use less to create more, or reason to fight for better living and working conditions worldwide. Their motives were never outlined fully leaving the significance of their month of minimalism to our interpretation.
Maybe it’s better that way.
Today, a social experiment. Thursday, an art installation.
Stay tuned!
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Tags: 30 Hour Famine, Budgeting, Christopher Greenslate and Kerri Leonard, Daniel Suelo, One Dollar Diet Project, Recession, Romi Levine, Screw You Recession, Sir Richard Branson
