Essay Contest Honor: Living in Current Times with Limited Resources
By Ekoja Solomon
“With Covid-19, I believe its God’s way of telling us only humans can save humans with humanity” — Somya Kedia
As a result of the economic crisis created by the pandemic, almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers representing the most vulnerable in the labour market out of a worldwide total of 2 billion and a global workforce of 3.3 billion, have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living. (International Labour Organization)
The current strain in resources due to the Covid-19 has made everyone everywhere strive for their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing) to keep body and soul together. Many are creatively thinking outside the box to answer the ultimate question: How will we learn to be self-reliant in difficult times with limited resources?
As I pondered over this question, I came to a conclusion that making a scale of preference to separate my wants from my needs is the key.
The average food cost for a US household was $6,202 in 2013. That is roughly $2,641 dollars annually per person based on the average 2.5 people in each household (www.valuepenguin.com ). Establishing a subsistence farm where I can grow maize, yam, cassava, beans, and vegetables will be a priority. I will also raise some domestic animals like poultry, rabbit, goat, sheep, and pigs to meet my meat demand. These provisions will make me food sufficient as I extend a helping hand to the needy around me. I will also cut off my spending in eateries and on junk foods by learning how to cook for myself.
Car pollution is one of the major causes of global warming. Cars and trucks emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which contributes to one-fifth of the United States’s global warming pollution (www.sciencing.com). Employing a bicycle for mobility will help me reduce transportation costs, protect the environment from global warming, and keep my body exercised.
Tugba Sabanoglu reported that an average adult in the UK spends 51-100 pounds per year on clothing. While shopping for my clothes, I will invest in quality, not quantity, buy second-hand wears, and get creative in dressing by rotating my clothes. This will enable me live a balanced life despite resource limitations. Learning how to do my laundry myself during weekends will reduce my weekly expenditure.
According to Joseph Johnson, the average annual spending on cinema in 2012 was 17.40 pounds per head population. Adopting the use of Netflix, YouTube, and other online entertainment services is a wise way to manage the limited resources available to a person.
Shelter is another vital need for existence on earth. The effect of lockdown has made the price of building materials sky rocket. To be self reliant, I willl resort to the use of burnt bricks, thatch, slime, and wood ash to make a temporary abode that will keep me in safety amidst Covid-19.
With these few strategies of mine, I will be able satisfy all my needs, be self reliant, and have enough to spare to others in these times of limited resources.
Ekoja Solomon is an agripreneur from Nigeria concerned about educating humanity and youths on the need for good resource management amidst scarcity. Visit www.writerlywords.com/writers/accessekoja to read more of his work .