Have you ever experienced having limited access to healthcare? Worried about your ability to easily use public transport? Struggled balancing a career and childcare? Been treated as an outsider to the culture you live in? This game will get you there.

Let’s Play Equal is a light-hearted yet powerful board game designed to break taboos and ignite meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion. It challenges you to reflect on what you know, think, and feel about yourself and others. By stepping into someone else’s shoes, you’ll experience firsthand how privilege—or the lack of it—affects life’s opportunities. Become aware of what you (don’t) know, think, and feel about yourself and others.

Let’s see how (un)fair life is

The differences that shape us can be beautiful, but they can also create barriers. Not everyone starts life on equal footing. Some face obstacles because of their ethnicity, disability, religion, or other aspects of their identity. And not everyone is so lucky to have a supportive family, friends, or a boss, and that everyone can be anyone. You will never know about the struggles of others, about their thoughts and feelings, until you ask and try to understand. They will never know about yours until you open up and speak up. As it is said in relationships, communication is key. Let’s take this key in our daily life and use it.

Let’s play, talk, and empathise

The social board game Let’s Play Equal is facilitating a safe and creative space to talk about life’s struggles and think about how we would react if we were in someone’s shoes when a life event occurred. How would you deal with first love in Sander’s shoes? How is Coco dealing with expectations of society after transitioning to be a woman? A normal day for us can feel like a struggle for Marja, who has a paralysed arm, don’t you think so?

These personas provide your team—up to 8 people—with a safe space to reflect on justice, (in)equality, diversity, and inclusiveness. Let’s break taboos and make eye-opening insights that can change lives. With a lot of self-reflection in oneself, as a team you can solve life struggles in creative and empathic ways. Nothing is controversial here. It is life and its situations.

Let’s Play Equal

Imagine a world where freedom of speech is really free, where everyone has the same opportunities, and differences are only making us glow. With the learning experience of “Let’s Play Equal”, you and your company can be one step closer to that world. By using the most unfair game in the world for a fair future for all.

The post Discover biases in the workplace and start breaking taboos with Let’s Play Equal appeared first on Sustainaway.

In the busy everyday life, many people have a constant sense of rush. In fact, there is always more to do than there are hours in a day and we fly from here to there. Although the current lockdowns slow us down somewhat, we still seem to have too much to do.

A trend that opposes this is slow living. Instead of to-do’s, the emphasis here is on mindfully and consciously living in the moment. Not when you are still finishing that one task with your mind already on the next thing to do, but more often standing still and being aware of the moment. What does this bring you and how can you apply it in your own life? We zoom in on it in this blog.

What is slow living?

Slow living is a lifestyle that is about ‘being’ instead of ‘doing’. Not just in your spare time or when you have time to spare, but as a mindset. It makes you aware of what you have and allows you to enjoy it, also to be summed up under the term ‘conscious living’.

Although the origin of the slow living movement cannot be fully attributed to an event, the story goes that it originated from Italy. When McDonald’s opened a branch in Rome at the end of the 20th century, many saw this as a mismatch with Italian cuisine, which revolves around attention to preparing tasty food. Slow Food was founded in response to this, which has resulted in various slow living initiatives over the years.

Tips for a more thoughtful life

Do you also want to get started with a slower and attentive life? Surprise: you don’t necessarily need more time! It’s about being aware of the time you have and the things you do in it. How thoughtful life takes shape is different for everyone, because everyone experiences satisfaction and happiness from something else. A few tips to discover what slow living looks like for you:

1. Do you have a day off? Pick a few things you want to do that day and do them with your full attention. Not three things at once, but one at a time.
2. Now and then consciously plan nothing for a few hours – for example on the weekend – and then do nothing. Not cleaning that one closet, watching your series or repotting plants, but just really doing nothing: you’re bored actually. Bonus: this is also very good for your creativity !
3. Take a long walk alone. Without music or podcast and with attention to the nature around you.
4. Make something with your hands. Start drawing, knitting, woodworking or, for example, make pasta or bread yourself.
5. Don’t automatically pick up your phone when you have to wait, but look around you when your table partner has gone to the toilet in a restaurant or when you are waiting for the train. Notice the people around you and say hello!
6. Choose to eat consciously and slowly. Try to taste the different ingredients and focus on the taste of what you eat.
7. Make a conscious effort to travel longer: cycle instead of by car or walk instead of bicycle.
8. Dare to say no to questions and invitations from others, even if you do have time. That way you have more time to do nothing.

Of course, you don’t have to apply all of these points to experience slow living. However, they can help you become aware of what you have and develop a grateful attitude towards life.

The benefits of slow living

Consciously choosing to take it easy can provide a sense of relief. You will notice that you are less lived in today’s society where things often have to be done quickly. Small side note: fast isn’t always bad. However, it is about the balance: consciously think about which things you find worthwhile, think about that and do other things at a faster pace.

When you have a slow living mindset, it can manifest itself in different ways. You may have already noticed that in our list of tips, which vary from conscious eating to going outside and DIY. In addition, you can also express slow living in your interior or in sustainable travel . Want to know more about this way of life? Then read the book ‘ Seeking Slow ‘ or listen to this podcast .

The post Slow living: what does that look like? appeared first on Sustainaway.

At the start of the pandemic, it was a frequently recurring call: support local entrepreneurs! Catering and retail stores had to close their doors for the first time and were at a loss. Support your locals was therefore the kind of movement that received acclaim in all corners of society.

Fortunately, the pandemic became a little less severe and the shops were allowed to open again. Now a few lockdowns further, most entrepreneurs have had to close their doors again. But the society-wide trend to remain loyal to them seems to have weakened.

For the local restaurant, boutique or bookshop, however, little has changed compared to previous closures: every day that the doors have to remain closed, they experience a lack of customers. That’s why in this blog: tips to support local entrepreneurs, both as a consumer and in the position of accommodation owner.

Support local entrepreneurs with your buying behavior

The pandemic and associated measures are likely to disrupt your routines as well. But how nice is it to enjoy a delicious dish from your favorite restaurant, especially when there is little that is possible? Many catering establishments offer the possibility to order food and pick it up or even have it delivered at home! When you are on a sustainable holiday , this way of supporting local entrepreneurs is also the ideal way to experience that holiday feeling.

When you finally have time in the evening to read that one book, order it at the local bookstore. Then you will probably receive it even earlier, because of the longer delivery times around the holidays at the larger online stores.

Tired of the streaming platforms, your daily walk or shopping in one of the few stores that are still open? Discover new things at local entrepreneurs, such as the spice shop where you can scoop herbs from around the world in your own bags or go for a coffee to go at a barista you’ve never visited before. It makes your brain happy when you do new things and at the same time you support local entrepreneurs: win-win!

Do you want to support local entrepreneurs right now that they are closed, without currently using their services or products? Then support local entrepreneurs by buying a gift voucher for a haircut, a three-course dinner or access to the wellness. With your purchase you generate income for the entrepreneur while you yourself or someone else can enjoy it later when the store can open its doors again.

How can you support local entrepreneurs as accommodation owners?

Although you can help local entrepreneurs in various ways as a consumer, this is also doable as a host in the tourism industry. Do you rent out a house and offer your guests breakfast? For example, see which products you can score locally and support local entrepreneurs. From bread, to fruit, jams and dairy products, it is often available nearby and is also appreciated by guests. The same goes for flowers: do you want to surprise your guests with a beautiful bunch of flowers? Find a local florist and avoid large online flower shops. In this way, in addition to supporting local entrepreneurs, you also offer your guests something extra.

Can people book their holidays with you, but you don’t offer meals? Even then, there are plenty of opportunities to support local entrepreneurs. You may want to take the time to redecorate the property or the grounds around it during the low season. Then buy the supplies at the local DIY store or call that private craftsman for help.

Do you currently see no opportunities to help local entrepreneurs yourself? Support local entrepreneurs indirectly by, for example, sharing their posts on social media or recommending their products to your guests!

Why buying local can also be more sustainable

Is sustainability an important aspect for you when purchasing? Support local entrepreneurs and pay close attention to sustainability, then you might just create a win-win situation. Buying or offering local food to your guests helps to protect small-scale farmland, where more genetically diverse crops are generally grown. This is better for the fertility of the soil and contributes to maintaining our food security in the future. Make sure you buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. If you buy your tomatoes locally in the winter, the environmental impact may be disappointing, because they are then grown in heated greenhouses. Curious about what’s in season now? View the seasonal vegetables from the Netherlands .

In addition, products that are locally made travel fewer transport kilometers, usually emitting a lot of CO2 and other air pollutants. In addition, the fuel saved means less consumption of fossil fuels, which also leave their mark on the environment.

For example, local purchases not only contribute to sustainability from a social aspect, but can also have a beneficial effect on the environment. With the tips in this blog we hope to inspire you to support entrepreneurs in your neighborhood. How do you support local entrepreneurs?

The post Support local entrepreneurs: tips for consumers and accommodation owners appeared first on Sustainaway.