Frontlist | ‘Bare Necessities’: how to lead sustainable lifestyle in India

A new book aims to push people to make a positive change in their life and to the environment in a fun and interactive way. A “one-stop guide” on how to move towards a more sustainable lifestyle in India, Bare Necessities: How to Live a Zero Waste Life, published by Penguin, is written by environmentalist Sahar Mansoor and sustainability consultant Tim De Ridder. It will hit the stands on Monday. Read More: Penguin Random House India named Publisher of the Year “The guide book draws on our experiences running workshops, events and interacting with communities across the country. It presents a broad range of opportunities to the reader that she or he can pursue in a fun and interactive step-by-step fashion. We are really excited to distribute our knowledge of living sustainably in this way,” said Ridder about the book. Filled with activities, insights and topic-specific ideas, the book through its nine chapters and over “80 tips and tricks” help readers move towards a “zero-waste lifestyle”. It also has over two dozen recipes and suggestions of resources that one can use to reduce waste in their life. Some of the tips that the book offers include things like leaving the shoebox at the store while buying shoes, planning laundry days to save water and energy, using cotton napkins instead of tissues and using a neem comb or hairbrush. “We have tried to weave together these intimidating topics in a fun, playful, accessible format; something that has been really important has been incorporating personal stories and lessons from traditional Indian culture into the text,” said Mansoor, who is also founder and CEO of Bare Necessities, a zero-waste social enterprise. “The zero-waste movement has been deeply influenced by a western rhetoric; and we wanted to provide a refreshing and much needed Indian perspective on zero-waste living in India,” she added.