About us
“Together these plants – corn, beans, and squash – feed the people, feed the land, and feed our imaginations, telling us how we might live.” - from “The Three Sisters”, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Indigenous wisdom teaches us that in order to thrive, we must be aware of our environment and the impact we have upon it, and we must commit to caring for our environment in ways which create a positive infinite cycle. To this end, Hearterra aims to offer local residents a gathering space where they may learn about zero-waste initiatives and food sovereignty practices, and implement them with regards to their own consumption.
Our social enterprise launched with support from Millworks Centre Entrepreneurship and LAMBAC/NOW grants, and from Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network (WOSEN) and Algoma University business students. Hearterra offers a selection of household cleaning products, beverage products, and personal care products that are either locally made or well-known brands (and effective, yes they actually clean!!). Eco-conscious brands include PURE, ONEKA, The Bare Home, Routine Cream, Rose Citron, Birch Babe and more. You can order online for pick-up or delivery or purchase in-store.
The intention is to provide high quality sustainable, healthy options for consumers, and to work together with local producers and makers to share knowledge and techniques for reducing waste, especially single-use packaging. We also pride ourselves in offering a clean and pleasing space for you to shop.
We hope you enjoy the goods we choose to offer and our efforts to provide a more sustainable, accessible way of acquiring products we use daily. By offering this service, customers are encouraged to reduce their own carbon footprint whilst supporting the local economy through companies committed to shared zero-waste values, thus nurturing an infinite cycle of reciprocity within their community.
One message that we want to convey is that we don't have to go all in. Often the goal of zero waste isn't attainable or sustainable in our current lives. It is important to acknowledge this and to do the best with what we have. Every little bit helps and we need to celebrate the small changes that we implement. We are all learning together.
We are sometimes asked where the name Hearterra came from. It came from combining the words heart and terra (meaning earth). We decided to remove one of the t's to combine the words. It comes from a love of our earth and nature. It can also be interpreted as hear terra or hear the earth. As we strive to listen to what the environment around us is trying to tell us.
Vision & Values
Our vision is to enrich life and revitalize the natural environment. We work to design simple, fresh, and convenient practices for sustainable consumption. We do this through our mission and values:
- WE CARE - Tremendous care is taken to choose products, processes and services that are wholesome, benefit the environment first, are safe, efficient and of the highest quality. We value simplicity and necessities.
- WE ARE TRUE - We are honest, pure, and true in our intentions and actions, and are compassionate, socially responsible and respectful with all our partners.
- WE HAVE WHOLEHEARTED PASSION -We make conscious choices that support the health of people and the planet. We engage in responsible partnerships (organic, Non-GMO, local, fair-trade) that foster environmental protection or sustainability and ethical treatment of workers and promote conscious consumerism in all we do.
- WE ARE INNOVATIVE CURIOUS and FUN - We solve problems using innovative technologies and aim for continuous improvement and education.