Echuca Moama to become a certified slow city!

Echuca Moama looks set to become a slow city through an official accreditation process that highlights the importance of slowing down to appreciate all that makes our town a great place to live.

A passionate group of locals is working towards establishing Echuca Moama as only the fourth town in Australia to become an official slow city, with the concept set for launch this Saturday at an inaugural Repair Café at the Echuca Moama Visitor Centre.

Cittaslow means slow city in Italian and focuses on preserving local traditions as well as working together on a sustainable future.

Put simply, slow cities are towns where traditions and conventional ways of doing things are valued, and where people choose consciously to embrace a more mindful and connected way of life.

Slow cities also encourage diversity, support local culture and traditions, value a sustainable environment, healthy living and locally grown produce.

Importantly, becoming a slow city does not mean opposing progress or technology, but aims to embrace what’s important in a community and celebrate the characteristics that a town unique.

Cittaslow was established as part of the slow food movement in 1990 and is embodied by a logo of a snail carrying a modern-day city on its back.

It’s an Italian based organisation that aims to improve the quality of life in certified towns and is linked to the wider cultural trend known as the slow movement.

It encourages communities to take the time to identify what is important and special about their town and put in place strategies to preserve unique qualities that make life better for everyone.

Cittaslow accreditation aims to provide greater community involvement and town pride, as well as increased awareness and care of our natural environment. It also empowers locals to improve their mental and physical health and reduce disconnection by encouraging people of all ages to spend less time on screens and more time with people in the community. It is essentially an antidote to our fast-paced world and could also be seen as a universal marketing tool for the region.

Local artist Bronwyn Moreton has been engaged to create a Slow Echuca Moama snail for marketing purposes.

Spokesperson for the group Samantha Ferrier said they are excited to be launching the concept at the first ever Repair Café as it aligned perfectly with ideas around reusing and recycling and utilising existing skills from within the community.

“Rather than inventing new ways or events to create or fabricate the slow city philosophy here in Echuca Moama, our aim is to identify the incredible work already happening in our riverside community, which encapsulates slow… and repairing and mending things is a great example.

A repair cafe is a free meeting place of skilled volunteers and local residents who want things fixed. Visitors bring broken items from home and learn how to make the repairs. Volunteers aren't necessarily tradespeople, but they are tinkerers - people with skills who love to work with objects. Visitors make repairs to items that might otherwise end up being thrown out.

This weekend's event will focus on clothing, textiles, mending and sewing. Bring a loved item of clothing or apparel that needs mending or alterations along to the Echuca Moama Visitor Centre this Saturday.

Saturday 21 September ~ 10.00am to 1.00pm

Come in and enjoy a cup of coffee while you repair your items. A boomerang bags workshop will also run alongside the repair cafe.

Christy O'Brien, The Splendid Word