When 25-year-old Katie Ramsay left for South Africa in a battered old Land Rover in 2009 she hoped to return from her trip to a country recovering from the recession.

“I came back and it was even worse,” she says. “I thought if I really wanted to do something I was passionate about it was a good time to set something up and do it for myself.”

After struggling to make a living writing for magazines, Katie was keen to create new opportunities for local writers who were trying to reach out to a local audience.

Her partner was already running Pegasaurus Books, an online second-hand book store, so Katie created an offshoot publishing company, Pegasaurus Publishing, and set about putting together the company’s first book, The Eco Guide To Sussex.

So why tackle the environment first? “There’s so much information about eco living and climate change in the news but it seems to be very internationally based. I wasn’t very interested because it didn’t seem relevant to me. I’ve always done my recycling but didn’t think that’s what sustainability is about and thought there are probably lots of people in the same position as me.”

An email went out to a number of environmental projects and people in the area asking them to contribute. There has been no external funding for the project so writers have written free of charge and Katie worked part-time for Brighton and Hove City Council in order to live and put some money aside for printing costs.

The resulting book features thoughts and advice on sustainable living from Brighton and Hove 10:10, Green Minded, the team at Harvest Brighton and Hove, the Mid Sussex Wood Recycling Project, and a host of other interesting and innovative organisations.

Talking to Katie just days before the books arrive, it sounds as though the whole process has gone smoothly from inception to production, but nothing is ever so simple.

“Everything has been difficult!” says Katie. “Everything is a massive learning curve. It’s been absolutely amazing starting from scratch like this. I’ve learned so much about being green and about publishing – how difficult it is but also how there is a lot of space with it for local projects.”

Now she says she goes to bed thinking about Pegasaurus Publishing and wakes up with a list in her head of things to do for the Eco Guide To Sussex. It’s all been a matter of trial and error but it has all come good in the end.

“The big thing I’ve learned is that sustainability is about changing your mindset,” she says. “The more I understand about climate change the more I get how you can live a greener lifestyle and I realise I can do it and I can have fun with it. I’ve really enjoyed walking and cycling. I’m excited because my tomatoes have just gone red after working on them for months. I hope other people can get something out of the book in the same way.”

*The Eco Guide To Sussex will be available from Tuesday, August 10, priced £9.99 from www.pegasaurusbooks.co.uk or £12.99 in book shops.