Imagine this moment: You’re dressed in your hand-made, trashion fashion outfit, dancing to a brass band with your Moab community on Leap Day at Woody’s World Famous Tavern. You’ve just been chosen to walk the runway which is about to start, after the break in music, and you’re hoping to win the title of Trashiest costume. You stand there, soaking it all in, and wonder, “Could this moment be any better?” Then you remember that this all feels so good because you know you’re supporting a good cause, with all proceeds from the $10 cover going towards Moab’s sustainability nonprofit, Resiliency Hub.

Maybe you’ve been to the Trashion Show and have been saving your shiny cast-offs and funky ephemera since last February to create this year’s trashion fashion outfit. Or perhaps you’re wondering what in the world we’re talking about. Trashion is the combination of the words “trash” and “fashion” to describe art, jewelry, and fashion made from thrown-out, found, and repurposed elements. The term was coined in 2004, however, people have been reusing and repurposing for eons. Lately, as more people are interested again in the practice, Trashion and upcycling have again gained popularity as a fun and meaningful contribution to rethinking our high levels of material consumption. We don’t expect people to wear these sorts of outfits everyday (although feel free), but rather to remind us all that we have an abundance of materials around us and that we are all creative beings that can piece together one of our basic needs, clothing!

Speaking of basic needs, that is something on our minds a lot. At Resiliency Hub, that is part of our passion. Resilience is the ability of an individual and a community to work with available resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from change. This lies at the heart of our work. Our practice is to grow abundance, model healthy stewardship, make connections, and promote access to basic needs, some of which are food, water, clothing, shelter, and community. Resiliency Hub, has the mission to, “To steward a dynamic public learning hub to inspire community resilience initiatives in Moab.” We do that through our three main “spokes” or programs; Food and Farming, Holistic Waste Management, and Permaculture Development. Through Food and Farming we have our new community gardening program Moab Community Gardens, where we provide community garden space for all interested Moab residents. This helps gain access to fresh, healthy food. We also donate fresh vegetables from the garden to the Grand County Food Bank. We are in the process of expanding our gardening space from 10 plots at one garden to many more plots at three new gardens. We also collaborate with other organizations to increase food access. For instance, we are working with the Moab Valley Multicultural Center to install an international nibble garden with perennial food from shrubs, herbs, and trees.

Our Holistic Waste Management spoke includes a recent project that built an Ubuntu Blox Press, a human-scale and low-tech press that turns post-consumer plastic trash into stackable, usable building blocks. This press is available to anyone who would like to upcycle their clean trash into a resource.

Finally, our Permaculture Development program exemplifies ways of living that benefits our community and the intertwining ecosystems. Permaculture is a set of ethics and principles that lay out a system of design that works with nature to improve life.

Whether you’re interested in skill building, raising chickens or bees, designing a backyard garden, or improving quality of life, it has something for everyone. We are currently managing a community permaculture pocket park in downtown Moab called the CommuniTea Garden, located at 100 West and Walnut Lane. In the growing season, you’ll find many edible and medicinal herbs, fruit trees, native bee habitat, places to gather and relax, and an innovative water harvesting swale system that feeds the garden irrigation water.

If these ideas pique your interest and you want to support this work, then please join us on February 29, from 8 pm until late, at Moab’s World Famous Woody’s Tavern. Please note, this event is 21+ and costs $10 at the door. We have more information online at our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/resiliencyhub/.

Have fun, be creative, and love each other.

Contact resiliencyhub@gmail.com for more information
Claire Core is on the Resiliency Hub Nonprofit Board of Directors.