A Different View on Sustainability

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The last couple of weeks of interviews have been hectic, but enjoyable. Interviews have ranged from 25 minutes to 2 hours long, most on the longer side. July, the hottest month of the year, was a far from perfect time to be carrying out these interviews but needs must. I can confirm, I still have not adapted to the Hanoi heat and the humidity, never mind with the smell of fresh meat wafting through the air. Currently standing at 21 interviews, the next step is to try to understand and develop these vendors’ narratives around sustainable food systems. The problem – sustainability as we know it is not on their radar. This, of course, is not a complete surprise. Integrating sustainability into any business practice poses many challenges, not least for the time, money and resource-constrained vendors. On top of this, some had never even heard the term sustainability before. However, in saying that many of their practices tend to be quite “sustainable” anyway. Of those who knew the term, maintaining their business, their income and their customers indicated for them, a sustainable food system. More on that to follow once I develop my results.