Michael Kalmanovitch – Owner and founder of Earth’s General Store

Michael Kalmanovitch is the owner and founder of Earth’s General Store which opened in 1991 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He politely agreed to give me an interview at the Whyte Avenue store on a Saturday morning, and let me tell you that he is the most interesting person I have ever met!

You can talk to Michael at either of his stores as he is usually there to help customers be more conscious about their buying habits. There are two stores in Edmonton: the Whyte Avenue store  located at 9605 Whyte Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, T6C 0Z9, Phone: (780) 439-8725 and the Downtown store located at 10150 – 104th Street, Edmonton, AB, T5J 1A7, Phone: (780) 757-3274.

Earth’s General Store’s mission is to offer Edmontonians information and products to help them reduce their impact on the environment and improve our society. Prior to opening his store Michael was giving workshops that made him realize that we are all consumers, and if we as consumers were given better options we might make better choices. The store sells eco-friendly, organic, fair-trade, local, and healthier food options.

Michael grew up in England when you needed to drop shillings in a machine that resembles a parking meter, and rotate a dial to have electricity. Nowadays, we tend to flick the lights on, and leave them on without thinking too much about it, but the “pay-as-you-go” mode stuck in his head from an early age. When he was around fourteen years old, he was living in northern Manitoba, and one day while coming home he realized that all the lights were on inside his house and felt embarrassed that they weren’t being very efficient (even though he used to stack snow around the house to insulate it during winter). Michael also believes that we live in a luxuriousness of space in our modern culture as teenagers get their own bedrooms, there are separate rooms for different family members, people take more than one shower a day, the heat is cranked up, the lights and electronics are on all the time, whereas in England in the early seventies there were brownouts where people were left without electricity or were given just half of the electricity which made the lights be half lit as the English power grid was not producing enough electricity for the needs of the people.

 

Michael went back to England to live with his uncle who lived on a farm and was quite frugal. They used an auger iron stove driven by coke to heat up the house and the water, and they also had a supplemental copper water tank that had to be turned on two hours prior to use so that they could have their twice a week baths. Michael feels very fortunate to have had the experience of living with his uncle as he understood the value of resources, and there was much more conscience about using resources during those times as there was a high price attachment to them. His uncle also taught him about gardening, and later Michael started composting and has been doing it ever since he was fifteen years old. All unsold items at Earth’s General Store get composted. They don’t hire anyone to do it for them; they compost all items themselves as they understand it’s a valuable resource.

All these childhood experiences raised a finite sense of resources and capacities to make Michael become the environmentally conscious man that he is today. In the sixties he was taking a language remediation class for a learning disability that he had related to reading and communicating, and he used to read stories and discuss them. The only story that impacted him personally was about some people who would drive to the countryside in search of beautiful meadow flowers that once removed from their natural habitat would die. Still, people would remove them, and take them back to the city where they would instantly die, which illustrates how poor thinking causes the degradation of the environment. He also owes most of his knowledge to a book he read in 1977 called “Canada as a Conservative Society” produced by the Canadian Society of scientists where he learned about efficiency, conservation, and living within limits.

Michael is part of the active transportation world (cycling and walking), and has been cycling in Edmonton since 1982. He used to hold a sign at the high level bridge every morning that said: “Our excessive driving habit is destroying the planet; please drive less” to teach people to be more conscious about their driving habits. To him, unconscious idling is the epitome of unconscious driving habits, so people need to be reminded of how their excess driving habits can impact the planet. To explain what he means by the unconscious use of a vehicle, Michael gives the example of his neighbour who lives two blocks from a Safeway, but gets in a big truck and drives there, only to come back a few minutes later with a new plastic bag, packaged food, and more mileage.  He clarifies that people have every right to do that, but it’s not a very wise use of a precious resource such as petroleum (in this case used for the gasoline in the truck, and to make plastic bags). He still receives feedback about the sign from people who tell him that they decided to take the bus, or walk more often due to his advice, so the idea that if we put healthier messages right in front of people the ideas will start sinking in better is what made him do it. He believes that if people walk around their neighbourhoods they will appreciate it more and quotes Jane Jacobs: “Eyes on the street make the street safer.” Michael states that we must use vehicles, energy, people, and resources while taking the environment into consideration, and that’s why Earth’s General store sells fair-trade products, and that why he got involved with the anti-slavery campaign even letting presenters come to the store to give some presentations about these issues. Michael also started the Activist Toolkit in Edmonton where he lends equipment such as megaphones, sound systems, coffee pots, vests, LCD screens, etc. to people who want to start a campaign and need to borrow equipment.

Michael has been a vegetarian since 1989, and a vegan for the past six months. He believes that diversity and efficiency is key for a healthy diet, and that people should look for the best alternatives in the spectrum of food that is available to them. He believes that animals should be respected for just existing.

He mentioned that the Whyte avenue location is doing fine, but that the downtown location is failing. As a person who does most of her shopping at his stores I was surprised to hear these sad news. I wish more people would understand the benefits of investing in good food today in order to save on medication tomorrow. His plans for the future include opening stores in what he considers “food deserts” where Edmontonians are in need of healthier and greener options. Michael affirms “I’m not here to run a business; I’m here to change the world”, so I hope that the Edmonton and area community is able to appreciate all his efforts to teach and save us.

Michael ends the interview giving his tips for a greener world: “Consume less, consume wisely, consume locally, consume fairly, and love lots more.” We must shift from a culture of disposables and unconscious consumption to a culture with common goals that include the environment and the animals living in it.

I recommend that you visit one of his stores today to start changing your habits, improving your health, and help saving the planet!