Otesha performs at ADHS.
The Otesha Project performs at Almonte District High School on June 15. The group uses everyone on the stage instead of props and sound equipment - a good thing, since they are carrying all their belongings with them on their bicycle tour.
In a world where resources have been sucked dry, daily life would be different.
With no electricity or means to grow food, cities would turn into hungry hide-outs, possibly with people forced to live underground due to extreme heat.
This is what the Otesha Project acted out in Almonte on June 16, as part of their Phenomenal Food tour.
Despite the staggering message, the performance by the 14-person group was upbeat and vibrant.
They played out the story of Billy, a teenager who struggled through a class assignment about what he wanted to do with his life.
Billy got caught up in a dream, where he landed in his life 30 years in the future. Power lines were being cut down because there was no more electricity; there was no more gas for cars.
His neighbours were growing potatoes outside because nothing else could grow in the poor soil, and living underground because no one could stand the sweltering outdoor heat.
The entire cast was on stage for most of the show, using no props, lights or sound equipment. Just their voices and the shirts on their backs – shirts which were purchased at second-hand stores before being turned inside out and screened with the Otesha logo.
The project is founded on individual choices reducing consumption and building a more sustainable future.
For this cast, they use little electricity, no gas, no air conditioning or heating and no imported out-of-area food for their tour.
In Swahili, Otesha means “reason to dream.”
These young performers are living a dream of a sustainable lifestyle as they practice what they preach and pedal from Kitchener to Ottawa, making stops for performances over two months.
They ride their bikes and stay at farms or community centres along the way, where they pitch in with the work.
“We do work shares where we plant tomatoes to potatoes,” said cast member Samantha Tavenor. “At one farm, we built a chicken coop, then transported all the chickens. We literally get our hands dirty.”
The group doesn’t have a designated leader, and works as a team to plan out routes and meals.
The team members, who range in age from 19 to 28 on this tour, come from a buffet of backgrounds and travel experience. Hometowns range from Ottawa to California to Hong Kong. Some are students, others took leave from full-time jobs to be part of the project.
But they all have united to share the same goal and really become a family, said crew member Ian Wearmouth.
Danielle d’Entremont was excited to ride into Kingston, where she attends Queen’s University, as the team wore superhero capes made out of towels. That was one of the better moments, as the group spends most of their time outside.
“It’s laughable, the weather we’re riding in sometimes,” d’Entremont said. “You can just laugh it off.”
After the morning performance at Almonte District High School, principal Laurie McCabe presented the group with a $300 donation towards the project.
Mississippi Mills bicycle month organizer Jeff Mills was on hand to greet the group, as they visited ADHS as a part bicycle month, and were set to perform later in the day at Almonte’s Gemmill Park.
The group planned an eco-Almonte day, and cycled through town to Equator Coffee for fair-trade cup of Joe.
They rested their heads at Almonte’s youth TYPS centre – which several called a luxury after spending countless nights camped out with the cows in the tents they carry with them.
It takes a special type to do Otesha, crew members said, before agreeing “kind of kooky,” was the best way to describe themselves.
Otesha will cycle to Ottawa tomorrow, where they will finish their two month tour that started May 1 with a performance at Heartwood House at 153 Chapel St. at 7 p.m. on Saturday.