Testimonies
Here are a few testimonies from people who have taken workshops.Have you taken a workshop and would like to leave a testimony? Just email me: moniquedupre@gmail.com
“My grocery budget has been going down every month since taking Monique Dupre’s Sustainable Living on a Budget workshop series. Right now my groceries run about $100 a week for all organic produce and groceries and “natural” meat. However I just arranged to purchase a side of pastured beef so that will help reduce my costs while having access to organic beef. My goal is to get down to $50 or less a week during the summer when my garden is producing and $75 a week or less during the winter.I think the biggest change has been how often I go to the grocery store. I buy most of my groceries online and then almost everything else comes from a small natural food store near my house in Oregon City. When I do go to Fred Meyer or New Seasons I am there for something specific. I’ve also noticed that regular groceries stores are starting to become repulsive to me. Bright lights, too many people, too many packages and ultimately way too expensive. This change in mindset has surprised me greatly. When I first took Monique’s workshop, I was suspicious of her claims of getting her grocery bill down to $250 a month and spending very little time in a grocery store but now I get it. Food is also less stressful because I have ingredients on hand versus packaged foods. Not only is this less expensive but it allows more variety. I’ve found that when I suddenly want to make something, I almost always have what I need on hand. Much less time consuming than having to run to the store several times a week for that one thing I need (and end up buying so much more). The food I make now tastes so much better and I don’t crave eating out because what I make at home tastes fresher and generally has more flavor. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I’m able to afford to feed my family well and instill good food habits in my son while he’s young.
Julie, Oregon City
“After coming to your work shops it has inspired me to start cleansing of toxic/plastic toys. This is a slow process but worth the benefits. I see my children playing more peaceful and using their imaginations versus letting the toy scream a bunch of loud noises at them with bright lights going crazy! I feel like our space is just that, ours. More peaceful and harmonious! The incredible ability to make homemade dairy products, buy through our local CSA, support local farmers, teach my kids about where their food comes from and how to prepare it; makes me feel like I can do anything. I am just starting to scrape the surface with sustainable living but continuing to go to Monique’s classes, and glean from her amazing knowledge and gentle ways of teaching encourages me everyday that I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE in my family’s life and others around me. This is just wonderful….thanks Monique for your hard work and perseverance to improve our way of living!”
Korina, Vernonia, OR
“Monique’s workshops truly inspired me in a time we are learning more and more how toxic our “things” can be such as all the lead in our children’s toys. I realized that living sustainably could actually be affordable and fun! Simplifying our lives will surely help us stay of the track of what is important, our families, our relationships, our communities, and our world. We don’t have to be a part of the consumerism that is all around us. We can choose what to buy and actually choose to “not buy”. We can instead create or simply let go of what we don’t need. Making changes step by step is not too difficult and I have found the reward is a feeling of “cleansing” our home, our minds, our spirits from the inundation of advertisers telling us we are not good enough unless we buy their products. Self worth does not have to come from how much we have; we can actually be proud of what we don’t “buy into” and what we do not have.”
Melinda, SE Portland
“I took Monique’s Sustainable Living on a Budget and really enjoyed learning all the ways she lives naturally and affordably! I also got really excited about de-cluttering and not having so much stuff. I am really looking forward to taking more classes from her!”
Amy, Vancouver, WA
“Monique’s workshop has given me great hope for the future, and ideas for reusing the good, and cleansing my home of impurities.Just before I found out about these workshops, I was hopelessly thinking about how the last 100 years have been the most wasteful of all time. I had become very cynical, I will admit. In learning new techniques for taking care of my home and family in a sustainable, affordable way, it has become a comfort to know that there are real ways to conserve and live with less. It can be done. It doesn’t have to be hard, and it can be fun!There are some really wonderful resources out there, and she not only shows you how to find them, she explains them all in depth, and gives you a notebook full of information to take home!I can’t wait to take the other workshops she is offering!”
Hedy, Portland, OR
“Crème fraîche, not only can I now pronounce this French descriptive but I can make it, thanks to a sustainability dairy class taught my Monique Dupre. Monique’s classes are fun and interesting, and one comes away empowered with new kitchen makings.”
Pat, Vancouver