Nothing new | Sash Milne | TEDxPerth

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Sasha Milne spent 12 months buying nothing new.
In her talk, she discusses how buying nothing new for 12 months has built an incredible community of trade and relationships around her and daughter.

Five years ago,
I moved to a remote village

in South West Java, Indonesia.

imagine, a quiet fishing village

surrounded by seas of rice fields
and black sand beaches.

Imagine a place that smells like salt
and tastes like sugar,

a place where time slows

and days roll languidly one into another.

Electricity there was unpredictable,

we had no television,
no air conditioning,

no hot water, no oven,
no washing machine,

I used to walk
the long muddy path to the well,

where local women taught me
how to wash my clothes,

those same women taught me
how to harvest rice,

we stood side by side,
our legs sunk in the thick black mud,

sickle in hand.

I worked alongside the villagers,
I made beautiful friendships,

I was adopted by a local family,

I lived for a long time there
with very little,

yet I felt like I lacked nothing.

For the first time in my life,

I felt like I had community.

I fell in love with a local man
and I got married,

we had a baby,

and for a while,
we lived that simple village life.

But things changed.

In the last year I was there
things became very difficult,

my best friend tragically died,

and my marriage failed.

I returned home to Australia.

It was two years ago now,
and when I returned home

I wanted to live in Perth,
the city I had grown up in,

but I couldn't afford it,

so I moved to a remote regional town.

In Indonesia, my daily life
had been steeped in intense relationships.

I had lived with little,
but I had lacked nothing.

Now, I was a single isolated mother
in a new place,

and I had access to everything,

but I lacked what I needed most:

Connection, belonging, community.

So, I went in search of people,

I went to parks and coffee shops,

but more than anything,

I went to the shopping malls,

because in Australia,
that is where the people are,

I wasn't there because I wanted to shop,

I was there because
I didn't want to be alone!

And it happened on Christmas eve,

I was shopping in a big department store
that was packed full of people,

there was a constant stream of jingles
about joy and happiness,

yet somehow, everywhere I looked
everyone looked miserable.

People were pushing trolleys
piled high full of plastic junk,

I watched these two people
pushed past each other

to grab at the last
of the gaudy Christmas crackers.

I was horrified.

I looked at myself, I looked at my baby,
I looked at my trolley

and I realized that somehow
I had become a part of this.

I was disgusted in myself.

So I stepped out of the queue

and I traced my way back
through the labyrinth of aisles,

and I returned every single item
to its place.

It was at that moment
that the "nothing new" project was born.

I decided I would pay it back
on what I would buy,

in fact, I decided I would buy
nothing new for 12 months,

except the necessities.

Could it be done?
I wasn't sure.

I started by sharing my project online,

everyone had something
to say about it at first.

Some people were really enthusiastic,

though constantly told me
they couldn't possibly do it.

Other people were curious,
many were doubtful.

You know, quite a number of people
took my project as a personal attack,

and instantly defended their own spending.

Everyone thought it would be difficult,

so did I!

But it wasn't.

First I had to get over the fact
that my clothes did get a few holes,

and the soles of my sandals
were stuck on with blu-tack,

but after that, I realized that
my value as a human being

has absolutely nothing to do
with what I own or what I wear.

I realized by living with less
of what we don't need,

we make all of this space
for the things that we do.

But what do we need?

Now, we all know
that we can live happily

without designer clothes
and constant upgrades,

we know this.

But what we can't live without
is each other.

At the beginning of this project,
I was an isolated single mother

in a new place with very few friends,

and now?

Now I have community.

By taking away my ability to buy,

I had to step out of my comfort zone,

I had to borrow,
and when I borrowed, I also lent.

I started exchanging my skills
and trading what I had for what I needed.

I took everything in my home
that I no longer used

and I gave it to someone who would use it.

I exchanged my skills as a photographer
for fresh organic produce.

Simple things like organizing
a pay-what-you-want garage sale

became this amazing opportunity
to connect with people.

People I hardly knew
came and brought coffee,

kids came and played, everyone
stayed longer than they needed.

I watched these strangers
sat in my front yard

and just talked to each other
over a cuppa.

At about six months into the project,

I decided to challenge myself further.

My daughter and I
moved out of our rental home,

and we started experimenting
with transitional accommodations,

such as house-sitting and wwoofing.

We went and lived for a while
on a beautiful organic farm,

we helped with the mandarin harvest,

we painted, we baked, we fed chickens,

and through this very simple transaction,

we connected with some
of the most beautiful people

that I have ever had
the opportunity to meet.

At first, I thought
the "nothing new project"

was a kind of personal activism,

a stand against the culture
of consumerism and waste,

but as it turned out, this project,
it was about something much bigger,

it really was about something
so much bigger.

I know that this project,
that this lifestyle,

it's not for everyone.

But what I have learned is something
that is valuable for all of us,

regardless of the way we live our lives.

I have learned the value
of human connection.

I have learned that the opportunity
we have every day

to make real human relationships

is far more valuable than anything
we could possibly buy.

In Indonesia, my life
was steeped in relationships:

you could find community
in the market place

where every transaction
was an opportunity for conversation.

Here in Australia, our market places
are large, sterile malls,

where there is plenty of transactions,

but no community.

Through this project, I have learned
that every day, we have a choice:

we can choose the kind of world
we want to live in,

we can choose to prioritize
product or people.

If we continue to prioritize product,

we will surely destroy
the social fabric of our communities.

We all know that the way
that we live right now is not sustainable.

We all know that we need an alternative.

The alternative I propose,
I call

"the economy of human connection",

where people come first,

where communities come before
capital gain,

where our human need to consume

serves our greater need
for community and for connection.

But where can you start?

You just start where it's simple.

You can start by getting to know
your neighbors,

by giving someone a lift to work,

you can start by giving some of your time
to a community project,

or to a local school,
or to a retirement home,

organize a street party,

cook someone a meal,

trust each other,

when you trust
in the good in people unequivocally,

you shine a light on the good
that already exists within them.

Buy locally produced whenever possible,

take an extra five minutes to talk
to the people who grow what you eat,

or make what you buy,

make every transaction
an opportunity for connection.

When we extend ourselves,

when we work for
the benefit of each other,

when we share what we have,

we create communities.

Together we have the power
to make great and lasting social change.

Together we have the power to demand
a more human centered economy

that is driven by the people
for the people,

the economy of human connection.

Thank you.

(Applause)