Meeting with Lucie Tailhades to talk about her Laudato Si journey!
Who am I?
A 25-year-old entrepreneur, I am developing TrendEthics, a social and ecological incubator for ethnic groups in Southeast Asia. My goal is to help these ethnic groups live off their know-how and culture to escape poverty and maintain their environmentally friendly lifestyle.
My triggers?
I had 3 triggers in my conversion to integral ecology:
- An engineer by training, I specialized in the environment and was thus able to have a scientific approach to environmental and social issues. On the one hand, through the figures 1 in 6 deaths in the world is due to pollution, but also by studying waste treatment solutions, I realized that it was a question of compromises more than good or bad ways of doing things.
- An internship in energy transition, a green business exists and is not necessarily the best solution.
- In 2017, reading the encyclical “Laudato Si”, “everything is connected” and we have so much to learn from the poorest.
So I understood that beyond technical solutions, it was behaviors that needed to be changed: consume less, be more sober, have more moments of spirituality.
What a life change?
After volunteering in Vietnam with Les Missions Etrangères Paris, I worked in a large group and then decided to find a unit of life! Indeed, for several years I felt a strong call to take the example of the poorest and to put them at the heart of the construction of a new ecological and united model. In July 2019, I decided to spend a year meeting ethnic groups in Southeast Asia thanks to the Asia Prize of the Christian Adventure Scholarship in order to:
- discover the link between their beliefs and their ecology
- take their example: ethnic groups represent 5% of the population, but preserve 80% of biodiversity (according to the WorldBank )
- help them maintain this way of life by supporting local initiatives and structuring weaving programs in villages (in conjunction with TrendEthics)
What did I learn about ethnicity?
I met about ten ethnic groups (Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam) and each time I was able to see a different relationship with money: it is not at the center of their lives. Money is simply seen as a means and when we have some, we lend to those in need and vice versa. They live in the moment, which can be a problem (little savings) but also allows them to be satisfied with what they have. A sister told me that when she brought candy to children, they never asked for a second one!
Moreover, it is because they live in and with nature that they know it and know that they need it to live and that they protect it. Animist culture is sometimes still present, a young man from the K'Ho ethnic group told me " if I cut down a tree when I don't need it, the spirit of the forest will not be happy" Of course, the arrival of other peoples who come to help themselves in the forest or present them with plastic without explaining that it is not biodegradable disrupts this way of life.
Finally, this knowledge of the forest allows them to feed on a variety of plants according to the seasons, but also to have ecological agricultural methods without knowing it: fallow land, compost, few pesticides because they do not want to kill insects, etc. The next step is often technical training on new ecological agricultural techniques.
How did those around me react when I left?
When I decided to leave my job to develop TrendEthics full-time and go meet these ethnic groups, I had mainly positive reactions, even envy. Many young and old dream of an activity with more meaning! The main concerns were about the security of such a journey and financial! So I prepared this journey well to reassure my loved ones.
My vision of integral ecology?
In his encyclical, the Pope describes this concept perfectly:
The poorest regions and countries have fewer opportunities to adopt new models to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment, because they do not have the training to develop the necessary processes, and they cannot assume the costs. For this reason, it is necessary to maintain a clear awareness that in climate change there are diversified responsibilities and, as the Bishops of the United States have expressed, there must be a special focus "on the needs of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, in a debate often dominated by the interests of the most powerful."[31]
We need to strengthen the awareness that we are one human family. There are no borders or political or social barriers that allow us to isolate ourselves, and for this reason there is no room for the globalization of indifference." (52)
I believe that we must offer the poorest other models of development while allowing the richest to support this new ecological and united model.
How to Get Started in a “Laudato Si” Lifestyle?
Let us take as an example these ethnic groups who are self-sufficient with what they have, who are creative in using the resources around them while respecting them, and who do not run after time! In France too, our grandparents, monasteries (a typical example of integral ecology), young people and older people develop great initiatives and share them.
Perhaps the first step is to contemplate, to contemplate creation, to listen to it and breathe to better get into its rhythm and be inspired by it.
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