Epic development

Sustainable Lens

Natasha Barnes Dellaca is a founder of Epic Westport. Before that she had several roles, mostly in the not for profit sector focusing on conflict resolution and then finding a middle ground in social enterprise. She is driven by the idea of sustainable resilient communities – that don’t have to resort to violence to resolve differences. Epic is a collaborative work environment and is proving that truly world class can be done from Westport.

Creating community and supporting growth.

Talking points

Be mindful that I am interested in making an impact in the place that I am now

Sustainable: Development in this generation that doesn’t affect the future generations ability to do so (UN definition) what I believe is when you break that down there is sustainability in every day actions as well as the a cumulative impact.

Success: I want to say the jobs that we have created on the west coast of New Zealand, but actually the first thing that came to mind was knowing that we are making a positive impact, that small moment when you see the light bulb go on, when you see the opportunities open up, they get really excited about their ability to provide for their families. The buzz I get from having a positive impact.

Superpower: I’m all about making people feel included and heard in the conversation

Activist: Yes, at times. I would love to get out and spend more time protesting, I’ve actively been working on the issues that matter to me, so I’m an activist at heart.

Motivation: Serving my customers and creating a sustainable future for our communities, we have that phrase we have all of human knowledge in our pockets, that really compels me, we have some much information and there are so many obvious social problems so we should do what we can to solve them using the resources available.

Challenges: Some tough negotiations coming up around how we can best use the resources that we have.

Miracle: The ability for every child to grow up without the threat of harm, physical harm or otherwise. I’m not quite a relentless optimist, there is this threat of collapse, of apocalypse, so “apocaloptismist”.

Advice: Be kind and hear each other, see the other person and meet their needs. Find the thing you are passionate about because life is pretty good once you find that.