Stina Kerans

I'm passionate about our housing - lack of both affordability and sustainability. It started with a passion for social issues when I was a teenager in the 1960s. Suicides, depression, substance abuse, loneliness, issues faced by the elderly, really concerned me. Then I became a single mum building my own off-grid solar house in the 70s (no pensions then). I realised that there were so many more social issues that concerned me. I really wanted to get to the causes - not just fix symptoms. This lead to my bottom line - it was the way we housed ourselves that was unsustainable, and our dependence on our food getting from farm to fork that created the greatest amount of environmental destruction. Of course there is a lot more to this, but I went on to discover 3 design principles from our sustainable past that were essential to, what I came to define in the 90s as, Social Sustainability. Then 2008 GFC allowed me to unfold the final part of my vision - a new form of home ownership that has the potential to make the affordable housing issue obsolete, and empower people to take charge of their own basic needs of shelter, food and energy. I wrote a book of this journey, and offer free downloads on our website: sunvillages.com.au to inspire, and assist people how to unite financially to create a meaningful and glorious future.