One Sunny Morning At Skaha

A snippet from my journal, from spending a weekend in Skaha Bluffs;

“Romantic. Windy. Afternoon sun on my red cheeks is slowly going down. I’ve found my Canadian California. For the weekend I’m free. Free from distractions, limiting beliefs and worries. Not that I worry or limit my beliefs often…

Where is this summer going, that’s what I wonder. I’m craving more days under the sun, like this one. I spend some time in Tofino last weekend and this one under Skaha Bluffs, next to Okanagan lake. What a beautiful countryside. My words are getting lost in translation, in between the vineyards and the apricot trees. The smell of baked potatoes is inviting me back to the villa, indicating that our dinner is ready, but I want to stay outside a little longer. I only need a couple more minutes here, in the sun.

The house of our friends; Chris and Richard, is overlooking the beautiful Skaha lake, located in the middle of endless vineyards that grow delicious grapes, producing the famous BC wine. Trees around the house are big where the branches reach out like arms towards the sky. And when the wind blows through the valley you can hear those trees, mourning in the distance. The driveway to the villa is magical, going down the cute gravel road while passing pear trees in their early summer season and lines of grapes and vineyards.

Tuscanian style villa has recently been renovated into a beautiful modernly designed and open house with a big kitchen, a pool overlooking the lake and a huge garden, where they produce all their food for the summer. Dinner time started to wrap around the golden hour, which seems longer on this side of the province for some reason. Enjoying the bites of wild-caught fish and rosemary roasted potatoes with the wine from a neighborly vineyard reminded me of a slow-paced lifestyle I love to live in Argentina.

Peace and tranquility. Climbing with my friends at Skaha Bluffs, taking the boat out to the lake. Long hours under the sun. Long hours writing, reading and sun tanning.“

I have recently stumbled upon a very interesting website that was recommended to me, by my friend Chris. Behind The Change. I have found myself wandering and reading through the articles and their thoughts on sustainability, zero waste communities, and slow-paced living.

Please read: https://www.behindthechange.org/stories/why-we-want-make-handson-impact/

The story of STUFF ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=658&v=9GorqroigqM

As there are more people who are becoming aware of their impact, living more consciously and staying present in the moment, I wonder how can we connect, where can we find each other and how can this grow!

I want to keep it as my mission for the future to stay a conscious entrepreneur, investing in the community, collaborating with locals and doing good. I love what I do already. I think it’s important. We want to go do our work and feel like it’s meaningful. Feel like we are making an impact, a difference.

How can we take these writings and articles and make sure information gets well spread and reaches as many people as possible? Luckily, in this world of social media and instant connection, it’s not that hard!

Sharing this article over Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Reading and sharing the articles on evolutionary pages like, Behind The Change, zero waste bloggers like Trash Is For Tossers and similar! Spread the word, watch documentaries and educate yourself and your family. We are in this together and it is the only way to change the way people think and act.

As for the weekly highlights, I’d like to feature some amazing brands that I have recently partnered up with. Businesses that are making an impact, doing good in this world and really changing the game.

Wild Bamboo Straws

A young start-up, by friend Hagen. Hagen is originally from Germany but has been living in Bali for a few years now. Just like many other expats in Bali, he realizes the issues of plastic pollution. Which is exactly what inspired him to start distributing around the bamboo straws. Every pack comes with a cleaner and I recommend using it for as long as possible when you think it’s past the point of being used even more, simply compost it!

Buy the straws here (click)

BeeBees Wax

The last thing that I have added to my zero waste kitchen household! I love those wraps, they work like magic and they smell delicious! After each use, I simply wash the wrap and store it in my drawer until the next time I need it.

Get the beeswax wraps here! (click)

As I’m learning to live less materialistically, I love to keep less STUFF around my life. Fewer clothes, furniture pieces, bathroom things, and electronics. Rather than buying things mindlessly and visiting Winners and other good-deal shops on a weekly basis, I like to invest in something that will last me for as long as I take care of it. Like the laptop that I need for work, a good water bottle (Hydroflask team over here!!!), my sports equipment, good kitchen stuff, and sustainable or second hand bought clothing.

On the other hand, it feels kind of crazy when I even think about the number of things we put in our bodies, without realizing where they came from or what’s in them! Ever since I came back from my travels (in May), I have made a deal with my self to shop mindfully! And I mean, really mindfully!

I get most of my produce from my garden, which is the best thing ever, I grow zucchini, tomatoes, kale, herbs, squashes, lettuce, peppers and more! Since I’m eating pretty much plant-based ever since I don’t have any issues with worrying about buying animal products. As far as my bulk section of legumes, whole grains, rice, superfoods, and proteins goes, I get them from Nada grocery store. Nada is the first zero-waste grocery shop in Vancouver and I’m more than happy to support an awesome place like that.

Kambucha, yogurt, sour crout, cookies, bread and those things – I make them all at home. Making things at home from scratch was always very familiar for me since my mom has been doing it all my life. It’s so easy to make homemade jam, pickles, hummus, sauces and similar. Way easier than I thought. And whenever I get stuck, I simply google a recipe or a process I want to do. Doing all of that from home minimizes my waste to a bare minimum pretty much. I avoid plastics and packaging at all costs, but nobody is perfect. Sometimes buying something from a local grocery store isn’t available in any other form but packaged, at that moment I’m not complaining. I do make sure everything gets rinsed and put into recycling afterward.

Some of the things, like the CBD oil that I take, can’t be made at home. At that point, I like to make sure the CBD oil I use is produced organically and packaged sustainably. I like to take Nuleaf Naturals CBD oil.

I think more than ever, now is a very good time to start caring about where we get our things. As consumers, we are given an enormous power to drive our economy in the right direction. Sustainably sourced and produced items, organic produce, and food, most importantly ~ locally made.

I have written an article in which I described how important it is to shop local and support the local businesses. Super important and more significant than you might think.

You can read more here: https://www.alenkamali.com/shopping-local-squamish/

More about Alenka

My name is Alenka and I’m a Squamish based photographer. I love shooting nature, sports, sports in nature… underwater shots, adventures in the mountains and days on snow! I’m stoked. Very simply put, I am a stoked girl, ready to get up at 2 in the morning and hike for sunrise, ready to go to the airport and take a random flight… I’m stoked on living and I love what I do for work.

Photography, web design and digital marketing have been things I’m proud to call my job! Very flexible, lots of traveling and even more adventures than when I was a kid. Here, on my website I share tips on photography, spreading awareness about the zero-waste lifestyle and sustainability and crazy stories from my travels. Welcome.