By Emilija Krstevska (2021-2022, North Macedonia, placed by Aspect Foundation in Olympia, WA) 

I consider myself an ecological activist. As a City Representative, I aimed to create projects to help my community become more eco-friendly, internally and externally. Therefore, on September 20, 2022, in Bitola, North Macedonia, I hosted a Sustainable Workshop where participants had the chance to create a carbon toothpaste, perfume with their unique scent, and sugar body scrub. 

At the workshop, community members joined KLYES alumni from Macedonia, including Isidora Stefanoska '22, Sara Stojanovska '22, and Mihaela Miladinoska '20. The participants learned how to make their own cosmetics and how eco-friendly cosmetics could benifit themselves and the environment. 

The workshop was a success, and word reached a teacher from a local high school, Dr. Florida Kulevska, who reached out to me with the interest of bringing the Sustainable Workshop to the cosmetology students at his school. One week later, we conducted same workshop for the senior cosmetical students to promote ecological cosmetics to students who hope to work in the beauty industry. 

The project educated over 50 young individuals on the importance of eco-cosmetics and allowed them to take one step towards having a more sustainable lifestyle. I hope we can continue working together with young people and others to continue making the eco-friendly lifestyle a must rather than a plus.

This project was successful thanks to the volunteers who helped organize it, Eva Gjorgievska, who coordinated it, Angela Tosheva, who was in charge of photography, and most importantly, the participants who took the time to learn about sustainable cosmetology.