The Rural We: Amelia LeGare
In late February, Amelia LeGare held a soft opening for her business The O Zone. It’s a “zero-waste station” in Red Hook, New York, a bulk refill market where customers can refill their household and personal care products, as well as pick up plastic-free, reusable alternatives to items like razor blades, food storage containers and toothpaste tubes. But The O Zone is much more than a market. Not only are LeGare’s products hewing to the concept of sustainability, her venture is a textbook example of changing to the times to insure The O Zone’s own viability as a business.
I grew up in Tivoli, and ended up back in the area. I studied nursing (I come from a whole family of nurses) and did it for a brief second. I realized the hospital environment was not for me. I’m more interested in preventative medicine, and the hospital didn’t feel as healing to me. I began working in the garden, and started Avant-Gardens, providing gardening services for residential gardens in Germantown, using sustainable gardening practices.
But then I was missing nursing a little bit and wanted to teach people about healthy living. I got a job as the garden educator at a school in Red Hook, teaching kids about growing food and sustainable living. When I came up with the idea to start my business, Norman Grieg, owner of Grieg Farm in Red Hook, created a space for me on his land to start this venture. He cleared out his barn and renovated it for me.
I had discovered I have a love for teaching and wanted to open a learning center. I had to figure out what kind of business model would be sustainable, and that’s how the bulk refill store idea came about. One half of the barn is the learning center, which I haven’t really been able to use yet, and the other half makes money to support that endeavor. We have bulk household products – like laundry detergents, dish soaps, shower gels — and I try to source the products as close to the area as possible. There’s an apothecary area when people can make their own lip balm and deodorant, and we have essential oils so people can scent their lotions and shampoos if they want to. People bring their own containers, or we have some here if need be. The store has been open on a limited basis.
On the learning center side, we’re starting some events this month. We’re having film screenings — this week we showed “Wasted, The Story of Food Waste.” We’re also offering sunset farm yoga beside the koi pond on Thursday nights, and a weekly “Intro to the O Zone” where we talk about the resources we offer for sustainable living, how to lead a zero-waste lifestyle, and how to make your products from our bulk natural ingredients.
We also have a couple different CSAs. The Community Compost CSA allows people to drop off their food scraps once a week, and then in the spring of 2021 they’ll get a compost load for their garden. The Community Supported Package program enables households to receive quarterly waste-free packages of their household and personal care needs.
I’ve put up local art in the barn, and I’m trying to promote the space to be used for theater events, poetry readings, musical performances. I just want to see people using the space when we’re allowed to do so. The O Zone is taking all of my passions and putting them under one roof.
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