About Rooted
Why should we care about living sustainably and how can we do it in a way that’s accessible to everyone? How can the average person not marching in the streets or writing to the government contribute to healing the planet?
These were the driving questions behind Rooted: Our Journey to Local, Sustainable Living. We all can work toward living locally to make sustainable choices, but sustainability is not just about the environment. Living sustainably encompasses our economy and our health. These three pillars—environment, economy, and health—formed the basis of the Rooted book. Then the question became, How does living locally strengthen our communities in all these areas?
One person’s voice was not going to cut it for this book, however. A book about community needs stories from the community, and so Rooted demonstrates why living locally is so important through all of our experiences. But why stop at a book? To help communities go local, there are opportunities to spotlight the voices of so many and the initiatives of inspiring people making positive changes. And so Rooted has become a platform for all of us to connect, share ideas, and model what living locally looks like.
Photo by Michelle Kolacz
About Me
I’m Daphne Yuille, and I love local. I can point you to your nearest local coffee shop or farmers market, and I live to find new ways to connect with my community. What started as a journey toward minimalism and zero waste has evolved into a life supporting my community and local businesses. After earning my bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing at Champlain College, I moved to Houston, where I witnessed both the destruction wrought by climate change and the incredible strength of the local food movement. I joined the Houston Climate Alliance and contributed to the development of the Houston Climate Action Plan.
But it wasn’t until I moved with the love of my life and our two cats to Alexandria, Virginia, a small business haven, that I connected the dots: living locally addresses climate change, economical inequities, and the lack of meaning and purpose so many people feel in today’s society. I’m a storyteller on a mission to reconnect people with the sense of community we’ve lost while healing the planet and our economy. When I’m not asking small business owners and community members to share their stories with me, I’m usually wandering the neighborhoods in Old Town or Del Ray with a latte in hand.