ReSkilling Edmonton

The Prairie Chapter of the Sierra Club was host of the film White Water, Black Gold. One of their representatives, Chelsea, pointed out that they are aiming to start up an initiative called ReSkilling Edmonton. Apart from reconnecting generations its main purpose is to teach young(ish) people the skills of the elderly such as canning fruit, fixing things in the household, mending clothes etc. Might sound really boring but those are the skills that can prevent a lot of stuff from going to the landfill or food being wasted. I think I established often enough in my posts that there is no need to throw everything out because it's been used a couple of times, does not look new or is out of fashion (at least for the current season). I still fix my socks. My husband wears his T-shirts with holes in them - nothing I approve of but at least he does not simply dump them. Good thing he hates shopping. We wear all of our clothing for many years (which can make for funny deja-vues on old photos).  Actually, I know quite a few people that sew and knit - way to go. But I also know people, my family, who had to knit, sew, preserve, fix for many years, until capitalism took over and brought with it plenty of cheap products. I did not learn any more how to cook because we had convenience food in the freezer. Unfortunately they jumped right onto the train and buy more than they can possibly use, throw out way too much still good stuff and don't seem to understand the consequences of these actions. They (over-)enjoy the abundance. There's a worry of mine. With poorer countries striving to reach the Western lifestyle many important skills will get lost. These people will also consume more, use more, dump more of everything. Will they get the message that this is the wrong way?  Maybe if reskilling initiatives like in Edmonton grow big, they set a new trend and help to send out  a warning to developing countries.