Jam and preserve have the power to trigger involuntary memory to recall childhood moments. The great combination of fruit, sugar and pectin will always be summer mornings, waking up to the smell of  fresh bread baked by my mom, mixed to fresh coffee for a glorious breakfast before hitting the beach for the day. I associate fruit preserve to winter too; jam tarts cooling where minutes seemed like hours, when my siblings and I waited in anticipation for the goodness to cool down before we could taste some (P.S. I never waited long enough). When my parents moved to their new place, we all discovered that on a corner of the garden stood tall a guava tree. The tree grows naturally; without the use of pesticides, we prune it, year in and year out. The tree thanks us by bearing an abundant amount of fruit. The first few years we ate lots of guava; we quickly reached full capacity though ( and so did our neighbours, our friends, colleagues and everyone with whom we shared our annual harvest)  and felt the need to find a new life for the beautiful citrus fruit.

Our guava tree ©David Peter Harris

Our guava tree ©David Peter Harris

One day, Nonna dropped by with a few bags and filled them up with guavas and off she went without saying much; the next day, we had preserve. Since then, every winter we make our own guava preserve and store it away for summer days. Besides enjoying the cooking process, I love the idea of taking advantage of what is in season for the following months, it makes me feel respectful of what Nature gives us.

Some perfectly round guavas © David Peter Harris

Some perfectly round guavas © David Peter Harris

For this post, I asked my lovely partner in crime David to help me out with photos, so that I could show how easy it is to make preserve with the fruit of your choice. Thanks Dave! The recipe

Ingredient checklist ©David Peter Harris

Ingredient checklist ©David Peter Harris

The recipe comes from Nonna – most recipes I found on the internet call for an equal amount of fruit and sugar, while Nonna puts a little less sugar and it tastes just perfect. Since we mention it, I would like to say that my body cringed a bit when I saw the needed sugar quantity. However, sugar does not only give preserve its lovely consistency, but it prevents spoilage, even after the jar is open. Remember that home-made preserves will never taste as sweet as the mass produced ones; also, you can choose what sugar to use. Without further ado: 1kg guavas (peeled, chopped and after the seeds have been removed) 650 gr sugar (I used organic brown sugar) 1 lemon 1 medium apple or 2 small ones If you have more than 1 kg, you can adjust the sugar/lemon/apple quantity. Follow the 8 steps to delicious guava preserve. And so we begin

I love peeling the guavas  ©David Peter Harris

I love peeling the guavas  ©David Peter Harris

1) This is a fun task: peel your guavas.

Carefully remove all the seeds ©David Peter Harris

Carefully remove all the seeds ©David Peter Harris

2) Removing the seeds is quite a crucial (and a bit tedious) part of guava preserve making.  Try remove all the seeds because once they are cooked they become hard and, therefore, a real danger for your teeth. I throw the seeds away since I don’t have a good strainer. If you strain the pips, put the pulp you get in a little pan and cook it for 10 minutes, then add it to the chunks. Weight it up! 

Weight it up! ©David Peter Harris

Weight it up! ©David Peter Harris

3) Put the fruit on a scale. I was lucky because I got 1 kg on the dot (it never happens!). You can definitely spot some seeds on the chopped guavas, and that’s ok, it’s home-made! Dave left the house for the next two steps, so the visual is missing but my description is painstaking. 4)Pour the chopped fruit in a pot, with the apple cut into pieces and the juice of one lemon, on the stove. I use a heat diffuser, which spreads the fire so that the pot receives equal heat.  Cook it for 30 minutes, until the fruit starts bubbling up. before adding the sugar. Put a lid on the pot and stir every 15 minutes or so for a few hours until….   When are we done?  

Rule of thumb for jam making ©David Peter Harris

Rule of thumb for preserve making is to wait until the jam sticks a little to the teaspoon ©David Peter Harris

6) Cook it for roughly five hours; the golden rule is to cook it until the preserve sticks a little to the teaspoon. 7) Let the delicious concoction cool down for a few hours; in the meantime you can wash your jars (I used three jars for 1 kg of preserve); I wash them in hot water and soap, rinse them, then I dry them in the oven for about 5 minutes. I personally love decanting the fresh preserve in glass jars, and I find it difficult not to eat in between jar filling, right off the stove!

Decanting home-made preserve is my personal favourite ©David Peter Harris

8) Before closing your jars, spread some sugar or a drop of liqueur, that fights water condensation on the surface – water condensation would allow mould to grow.

Guava-Sugaring

Remember to spread some sugar or liqueur before closing your jar, to fight water condensation ©David Peter Harris

I never manage to keep my preserve until summer, unless I hide them in my pantry ; when I make preserve, it becomes the main ingredient of my breakfast. Since the end of the guava season is nearing, I urge you all to spend the coming weekend cooking up a delicious guava storm!If you do, remember to send us pictures of your beautifully delicious jars.

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My time at Terra-Khaya was a little like stepping out of the box where things you thought were just imaginings become reality and the possibilities for living lightly on the earth are endless. It’s amazing how simple everyday elements like a beer bottle top, a horse’s halter and a solar panel can be seen in a completely new light because of the beauty and exquisite experiences they can manifest when put to good use. This is how it unfolded….

The principles of living lightly are evident everywhere at Terra-Khaya, from the characterful cottages made from salvaged wood, road signs and other unique upcycled elements, to the recycling zone which is an everyday changemaker’s dreamland. Absolutely NOTHING is thrown away at Terra-Khaya, everything is sorted into categories in bright yellow old oil drums nailed to the wall so that the lids, bottles and corks can be given new life or recycled. So when it came time to mosaic the freshly daubed inside wall of the  new lodge, built from the ground up on natural building principles, it made perfect sense to use the colourful, shiny metal bottle tops from beers and ciders. They were easy enough to find in the well-categorised drums and while the mud wall was still wet we pushed them in gently to create a glittering tree of life in celebration and in preparation for the reforestation festival that was about to start. That weekend, along with Greenpop, 250 of us planted 2 400 trees on that land and not only did I discover first hand the power of a human chain to move trees up a mountain and how many hands, including little ones, make light work, but I will never again look at an insignificant bottle top in the same way. It really is not something to be thrown away, it can be given new purpose in the tree of life, and it was.

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Being aware of our footprint on the Earth comes down to reverence and respect for all life and Shane Eades, founder of Terra-Khaya, expresses this compassion beautifully through his natural horsemanship techniques. There are no bits and bridles at Terra-Khaya and horses are guided by your body, your voice and your respect for them. I grew up riding bareback on ponies, but I had never before been on an outride without the control of a bridle and so when Jeremy Loops, one of the local musicians performing at the festival and co-founder of Greenpop, was keen to swop out his surfboard for a trusty steed I was glad to get a chance to try the natural riding with just halter and reins. Riding through the tall tree forest and enveloping mist at dusk and feeling the freedom where horse and rider become one was truly memorable and the pure exhilaration was balm for the soul. What we think we know because that is the way it has always been done does not have to be so….

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And of all the out-the-box experiences of my time there, one of the most heartening for the future was the vote of confidence in renewable energy and what it can manifest. Terra-Khaya runs purely on solar power and fire from alien tree wood. This includes cooking, hot water and computers being powered by sun and fire. And while the sun luckily does not have an off button, it seems neither do musicians. Jeremy and James were not going to be held back by our mental dependence on Eskom electricity to make a music video they urgently needed to send to  America. So they proceeded to film it, cut it and mix it using GoPros and their computers fueled by the stored solar energy. So the Jeremy Loops video you see below is made purely on solar power and a whole lot of love right there on Terra-Khaya. Now that is something to get excited about, the innovations, the reverence, the creativity is there and waiting, all we need to do is step outside the confines of what we think we know and create the future beautiful we’re all dreaming of. Who’s game?

 

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Photo credits to Kate Janse van Rensburg, Jeremy Loops, Rhian Berning, Terra-Khaya and Wesley Davis.

If you would like to experience the Hogsback Festival of Trees for yourself, happening this month 24-27 September 2015, then visit their page on Eco Atlas to find out how to book your tickets, and just for luck enter the competition below and you could win two tickets!

 


WIN TWO TICKETS TO THE HOGSBACK FESTIVAL OF TREES

Plant trees, dance to local musos, do yoga in the forest, eat healthy food, attend eco workshops and revel in the magic of Hogsback this September.

Here is how you enter, have fun!

1. Tag the person you would oh so love to go with in the comments of the Facebook post (feel free to add in a bit of poetree)

2. For an extra entry add a photo of a tree you’ve planted or tweet us on @EcoAtlas.

Share the love and share the Facebook post while you’re at it.

The prize includes…

Two three day tickets valued at R1300 from Thursday pm to Sunday lunch.

9 healthy vegetarian meals for two, tree planting, live music & Dj’s on Friday & Saturday Night, eco-workshops, yoga, meditation, discussion groups, upcycle art sessions & share fair. PLUS extra workshops on permaculture, natural building, making compost, building swales, forest hikes, food forest gardening, natural horsemanship & gardening with indigenous trees AND free camping on the Thursday night.

(The prize does NOT include transport to the festival or accommodation on the Friday and Saturday night, camping costs for the weekend at Terra-Khaya would be R200 in total for two people or you could find some magical accommodation in Hogsback village)

Winners will be announced on Friday 11 September 2015.

 

make your own toothpaste (Copy)

Toothpaste! It’s something our family uses everyday and it got me questioning whether there was a more healthy option that wasn’t from a company that tested on animals and also, importantly, didn’t come packaged in yet more plastic. I put the question out there on the Eco Atlas forum and there was much interest and discussion and one of the best options seemed to be to make your own, that way you know exactly what’s in it AND you can use your own re-usable glass jar and cut out the plastic completely!

So, we made our own toothpaste and it may not be white, as we expect toothpaste to be, but it IS healthy and planet friendly. And the bonus is that the children tried it out and approve! It helps that they actually made it themselves.

 

Recipe

 

1 tablespoon coconut oil (warm gently till liquid)
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 Calc Fluor tissue salt tablets (crushed to powder)
1 tablespoon Bentonite Clay
2-4 Drops Peppermint Essential oil (to taste)

 Mix the coconut oil and olive oil together and then add the powders, adjust quantities until it’s a toothpaste consistency (you may need to add more tissue salts and Bentonite Clay but remember the coconut oil will solidify again in winter so keep it a bit sloppy and it will harden). Mix in the peppermint oil then seal it in a small glass jar.

 


 

I used the Sassui recipe as a base but didn’t have Xylitol so didn’t add that or the lemon juice and it seemed to work fine, but visit their Facebook page for the original full recipe. Sassui make the most fabulously sumptuous skin care products, natural and only tested on human bunnies.

If you’re not up for making your own toothpaste or can’t find all the ingredients, but would still like to go the natural route then have a look at Faithful to Nature’s range of toothpastes, they really research their products well and they’ll deliver to you! Just make sure to recycle those toothpaste tubes!

 

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Change Makers is a collection of uplifting people and communities in South Africa who have started with an idea and are achieving great things, because they have put their head where their heart is.

Change Makers is a collection of uplifting people and communities in South Africa who have started with an idea and are achieving great things, because they have put their head where their heart is.

 

“Change” is one of those words that continuously bounces back and forth in conversations nowadays. Grand personalities, from Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Terry Pratchett to Mahatma Gandhi  and the Dalai Lama have produced some of the most powerful quotes to get people going to “Be the change they want to see”.  However, while these wise snippets have always made me inspired, from the inside out, and helped me put a whole lot in perspective, I feel I have struggled so far to constantly keep at the change I want to see in the world. Change is most often perceived as something difficult, like starting to exercise; it is projected into the future, the world of tomorrow and what will be when we will have more time, more money, more and more. The truth is that change starts today, with each and every one of us. My change is different to your change.

“Transformation is our watchword. At this moment in time, we are called upon to lead and act with courage. We are called upon to embrace change. Change in our societies. Change in the management of our economies. Change in our relationship with our one and only planet.” (Synthesis report of the UN Secretary-General on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda). The eight Millennium Development Goals are being reviewed this year, with discussions on how to develop an integrated sustainable development agenda, and for countries to adopt a set of global goals to secure a just, healthy, educated and happy population. Never before has civil society  been encouraged to take global action, for its people and the (one and only) planet.

Change Makers is a collection of uplifting people and communities in South Africa who have started with an idea and are achieving great things, because they have put their head where their heart is. Photographer David Peter Harris and myself (Clotilde) are embarking on this journey of inspiration, together with you. If you know of anybody/companies/organisations who are committed to bringing about positive change, please let us know in the comments below; we would love to chat to them and share their story. In the words of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu,

We may not be capable of changing the world in one fell swoop on our own, but when we swim together in the same good direction, we become an unstoppable force.”

Be curious. Lead and act with courage. Stay inspired. Embrace change.

 

 

 

Honest, inspiring and real life tips from artist and activist Carol Nathan Levin as she documents her journey to live a waste free life…

I have always been interested in recycling and ways to reduce my waste.

 

Recently I have noticed a trend of people who are living “waste free”.

 

So I have taken up a challenge to be super conscious and document how I go about my day aspiring to creating a waste-free life as much as possible, and at the very least keep trash out of the landfill.

 

It is so simple but requires a small amount of thought and planning and is very satisfying when it becomes a habit.


I leave home in the morning with 4 objects, a stainless steel cup, a glass bottle full of tap water, a re-usable shopping bag and a glass container which comes in handy for left overs in restaurants, sometimes I fill it with coffee granules (from coffee carts) for my compost, or it’s useful if I buy fish or cheese.

 

Waste Free Tip 1: Take a re-usable water bottle, coffee cup, take-away container and shopping bag with you whenever you leave the house.

Waste Free Tip 1: Take a re-usable water bottle, coffee cup, take-away container and shopping bag with you whenever you leave the house.

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So I always make sure I have cloth bags in my car or these nifty ones in my bag.
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As I move through my day I am super aware how we automatically bag everything so I have now taken to refusing even the flimsiest of bags where possible, like the ones for fruit and veggies.
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Waste Free Tip 2: Refuse plastic wherever you can.

Next up, food waste: I used to have a worm farm but always had a problem with animal waste and fatty substances. I sold it and bought two Earth Probiotic Bokashi bins instead. These take everything, (including a moderate amount of chicken bones) The liquid that comes off it can also be diluted and used to make a super-nutritious tea for the garden. You have to sprinkle the Bokashi Saw Dust every few layers, so it does have a cost (which the worm farm does not) but it’s not that expensive and totally worth it. After it sits for two weeks I dig it into the compost or you can dig it straight into a bed.
Waste Free Tip 3: Turn your organic waste into compost gold for your garden.

Waste Free Tip 3: Turn your organic waste into compost gold for your garden.

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prefer to plant from seedlings as I’m not great with seeds, so I accumulate quite a few of these trays. I found that when I take them to the woman at my local farmers market she is SO grateful as it saves her money and she loves the “re-use” ethos.
(She sterilises them whether I wash them or not so I don’t even bother anymore)
Waste Free Tip 4: Return used trays and cartons to shops and local suppliers, markets.

Waste Free Tip 4: Return used trays and cartons to shops and local suppliers, markets.

Sometimes she rewards me with free plants, in this case creeping roses that I have had difficulty in finding.
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I also take my egg cartons back to the shop from where they came ….or pass them on at the farmers market to the egg stall.
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Plastic is insidious, it hides in the most obvious places. As each pen gets thrown out I am replacing it with a pencil.

 

Waste Free Tip 5: Write with pencils rather than pens.

Waste Free Tip 5: Write with pencils rather than pens.

Below is not soap. It is actually shampoo. Coconut oil and veggie glycerine shampoo. From the second I rubbed this on my head I LOVED it. It’s from “Ruby Soul” at Old Nick Village and is available online.
Waste Free Tip 6: Use shampoo that doesn't come in plastic bottles.

Waste Free Tip 6: Use shampoo that doesn’t come in plastic bottles.

As a rule I shop at small local business as much as possible. I asked my local  Green Grocer if I returned the polystyrene there and then would they re-use it? the answer was “of course”. Win-Win, they save money, I save trash.
Gives me a spring in my step and a secret grin for the next few hours.
Waste Free Tip 7: Refuse the polystyrene packaging at your local grocer, he can re-use it and you have fresh unwrapped veggies.

Waste Free Tip 7: Refuse the polystyrene packaging at your local grocer, he can re-use it and you have fresh unwrapped veggies.

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Plastic water bottles are the biggest scam (and scourge) of the century. The companies instilled fear into us about the quality of our tap water as a way to market their product to us. The truth is it sits on the truck in the boiling sun leeching poisons into the plastic. Why are we paying a fortune to drink poison? All day I sip this: tap water with lemon, mint, parsley, celery and cucumber or a variation thereof.
Sometimes I use strawberries or blueberries, oranges or grapefruit and its great for dinner parties.
Waste Free Tip 8: Rater drink tap water (filtered if you wish) than water from plastic bottles. You can flavour it with all sorts of fresh and delicious herbs and fruits.

Waste Free Tip 8: Rather drink tap water (filtered if you wish) than water from plastic bottles. You can flavour it with all sorts of fresh and delicious herbs and fruits.

Sometimes it’s not possible to avoid one-time-use plastics. These below are not recyclable. It’s become a trend in our town to compact them into a plastic bottle as tightly as possible. Some clever person is going to make a bench or a wall out of them, in PE they are even building a pre-school!
This alone has contributed to a massive reduction in my garbage.
I have gone from a garbage bag every two weeks (we are a family of 2) to a bag every 6 weeks which means I am sending 8 bags to the land fill a year.
Waste Free Tip 9: Compact all your non-recyclable plastics into a 2 litre bottle to make an Eco Brick which can be used for building.

Waste Free Tip 9: Compact all your non-recyclable plastics into a 2 litre bottle to make an Eco Brick which can be used for building.

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And lastly, throwing out broken objects led me to some creative thinking and some great up-cycling.
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Please check out my Facebook page  The Plight of Plastic for more information on just that and “LIKE” and “SHARE”  if indeed you do .
 
 

Carol Nathan Levin is an artist and Art Activist. She lives in the Plettenberg Bay area.

 

 

My passion about being waste and plastic free began at the age of 18 when I worked in a clothing boutique and was horrified at the packaging that arrived at the store that the customer never even sees. It opened my eyes to packaging per se.

 

Over the last 30 years I have noticed that marketing has become “cleverer” and packaging much more layered. Many of my friends, (some of them directors of huge Ad agencies), have left the advertising world in disgust when they finally realised that they are dreaming up how to sell “stuff” that people don’t want or need.  And then it comes wrapped in 3 layers of plastic and gets shipped around the world. 

 

Now 35 years on from my first “awakening” I see the exponential growth of the affect of not addressing the garbage as well as the unconscious disposal of it. “Out of sight out of mind” and a blind trust of authorities.

 

I believe every single individual has a massive impact through their choices and that each one of us can affect powerful long lasting change.

 

 

When we are confronted with the urge of buying a new clothes, there are so many things we usually ponder; foremost style, then follows colour, size, the occasions you will find yourself wearing it at, and of course, the price. If all these factors pass the test, another successful shopping story is born.

 

What we don’t consider, though, is the indirect impact for the environment of what we are buying. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and National Geographic video, “Make Each Choice Count,” based on water usage in textile production,  it takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one t-shirt (that includes the growing, producing, transporting and washing of the cotton), which is enough water for one person to drink for 900 days. This water story continues after the purchase, with washing cycles and tumble-dryers. It all comes down to a huge water footprint for cotton (The international learning community Water Footprint Network defines the water footprint as the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use). Now, multiply that for all the T-shirts you have in your cupboard, and think of how many t-shirts live under your roof and you get an idea of the impact that our choices make.

The collective pop-up market at Blah Blah Blah, Kloof Street.

The collective pop-up market at Blah Blah Blah, Kloof Street.

 

While we definitely can’t stop buying altogether, we can be more aware of the water footprint in our daily choices. Reusing and up-cycling are two strategies that can turn out to be awesome ways to make your cupboard fun. Cape Town is an upcycling paradise, with an exciting number of vintage, second-hand shops, markets and institutions such as the Milnerton Market, famous for the hidden gems visitors can find. A new addition to the scene is The Collective Collection, a partnership between Philippa Müller and Sara Colle (the other half of Spaghetti Mafia). The Collective Collection is about people and second chances, collecting new and second-hand clothes, with the purpose to find them a new owner.

The Collective pop-up market at Blah Blah Bar, Kloof Street, Cape Town.

The Collective pop-up market at Blah Blah Bar, Kloof Street, Cape Town.

Everyone has some unwanted or unused clothes from some impulse shopping that wasn’t successful. If you are keen to find them a new home, get in touch with the Collective! Following a very innovative formula, they won’t charge you any service fee – name the price you want for your clothes and once sold, you’ll get paid. The outcome is a collective collection of beautiful clothes ranging from brand new to Vintage.

For those hunting down desert attire for Afrika Burn, this is a great opportunity for some unique finds.

Back by popular demand, the Collective Collection is hosting its third market on the 18th April 2015 at Blah Blah Bar, nestled in the heart of busy Kloof Street. And if shopping makes you hungry there is Ferdinando’s Pizza just next door.

 

If shopping makes you hungry, don't miss one of Ferdinando's pizzas

If shopping makes you hungry, don’t miss one of Ferdinando’s pizzas

The market starts at 2pm, continuing into the evening. Follow the Collective on their Facebook page or drop them an email on ourcollectivecollection@gmail.com.

Ferdinando, the mascot.

Ferdinando, the mascot.

 

You can check the Waterfoot Footprint Network, an online platform to learn how to be more water-wise and sustainable, and info on how to make different choices.

 

Win with Eco Atlas

 

We want to reward people like you who are supporting the places throughout South Africa that are walking the ethical talk. AND we want to give those places kudos for what they’re all achieving in terms of people, animal and planet friendly practices. So you shine a light on THEM by writing an eco review and YOU could win one of these fabulous eco friendly hampers, win win, don’t you think? Let’s grow this eco ethic movement, it’s a revolution to vote with our wallets!

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

1. Search for a place or product you know on Eco Atlas www.ecoatlas.co.za
2. Write a review of the place or product on the Eco Atlas website
3. Share your review on Facebook using the share button on the Review page, tag @Eco Atlas and say why it gave you the #EcoFeelGood Factor. You can also tag any friends you experienced it with.

You can enter as many times as you like by writing as many reviews on different products or places as you wish.

All the competition details are on our Facebook Page, click here.

First Prize: A range of SASSUI skincare products valued at R1 000 tailor made to the specific needs of your skin type.The Sassui spirit & skin care range is handmade, preservative free,environmentally friendly, only tested on human bunnies and utterly luxurious and sumptuous for your skin.

Second Prize: A hamper of fully biodegradable and locally made cleaning products with extract of orange peel, they work well, smell delicious and are good and safe for you, your family and your ecosystem.Valued at R300 from the Clean Shop.

Third Prize: Compost all your organic kitchen waste with a highly efficient Earth ProBiotic food recycling kit and turn waste into worth! The kit includes the airtight container and the probiotic Bokashi all together valued at R200, you won’t be sending anymore organic gold to the landfill!

Can’t wait to hear which places and products gave you the Eco Feel Good Factor, get those reviews coming in and let’s make this eco ethic revolution happen, together!

holiday guide

Here is a useful guide to making your holiday in Plett all the more mindful with practical tips on finding places to eat, shop and play that are good for both people and the planet…

 

Eating out….

If you are looking for restaurants that will serve you up truly delicious free range eggs for your breakfast or meal have a look here

If you’ll only eat chicken when you know it’s free range, these are the restaurants to visit

And if organic greens are your thing this is where you should go, or if you’re more specifically looking for organic vegan places to eat out, click here

For a general perusal of restaurants in Plett that have factored in people & planet friendly practices have a look here

 

Getting Active…

Why not go for an eco friendly kayak on the ocean, take a short or long guided hike through nature, explore the birding routes, go on an untouched adventure or an unforgettable kloofing experience?

And if you’re looking for Fair Trade certified activities then this is the place to look

 

Shopping local…

If you’re passionate about buying local, fresh, organic and free range, then this is the market to visit. Or if you’re up for a Saturday adventure then take a short drive to this fabulous farmer’s market.

And if you miss the market days then this is the farm stall to visit or you could get fresh greens directly from this organic farm

You could even have fresh farm produce from the area delivered to your doorstep!

Some of the greatest exports from Plett are these locally made biodegradable cleaning products,  or these exquisite skincare products, all natural and not tested on animals, of course! Stock up while you’re here. Or support a fantastic community project making shwe-shwe hotboxes that will cook your food while you’re on the beach, find where to get them here

 

Recycling…

Recycling is actively happening in Plett, you’ll see the new drop off points on Marine Drive and on the Piesang River, but they’ll even pick up your recycling from your holiday home! Simply put all your clean recyclables (paper, plastic, tin and glass) in a clear bag outside, the day after your usual rubbish collection day. And voila, you can give all those holiday champagne bottles a new life!

Oh and speaking of champagne you’ll need the local variety, or visit this new tasting room to try out the full spectrum of locally produced wines (and craft beers from the Cape).

 

 Footprints in the sand…

Breathe deep on the fresh sea air, stretch your sun kissed body, up the feel good factor of your holiday and leave only your footprints in the sand, taking with you memories of magical moments….

 

(If you have a fantastic experience at any of the above eco ethical hotspots why not share the love and rate & review them? Or grow the planet friendly list and recommend a place that you think should be in the limelight)

 

IMG_20140918_104935There is something very powerful about feeling part of a greater whole, of experiencing a group consciousness to actively use your hands and see the difference you can make. This past weekend was spent up in the hills of Hogsback with my family and 250 other treevolutionaries with the aim of getting 2 400 indigenous trees in the ground and having a seriously good time while doing it. GreenPop, a Cape Town based organisation with a focus on cooling the planet through tree planting, have Reforest Fests in the Overberg and in ZambIMG_20140917_201515ia and decided to branch out (pun intended) and transform the Wattle saturated hillsides of Terra Khaya Eco Backpackers in Hogsback to their former glory, something  JRR Tolkien would have been proud of. After all, a runaway Wattle plantation looks nothing like the rich forests we ogle in Lord of the Rings and that richness speaks of a biodiversity upon which, for one, the endangered Cape Parrot depends. Have you ever noticed the eerie silence of alien tree forests? Our local birds, insects, animals and butterflies are not able to survive or thrive in these barren ecosystems which also effect our water and rivers with their very thirsty roots. But, as Shane Eades of Terra Khaya enlightened us, these alien trees have their part to play in the handover, they provide shade and shelter for the baby indigenous trees to grow and they act as soldiers on the edge of the natural forests, sacrificing themselves for firewood while protecting the natural trees from the same fate.

human chain1 (1)And so, we arrived from all over the country and the world in magical Hogsback, from Joburg to Cape Town, from Botswana to Germany and the US, and were treated to good food, unbelievable local music and the opportunity to become active members of the treevolution! There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a freshly planted tree, with the sense of time and hope stretching into the future it brings. Especially when you are planhuman chain1 (2)ting with your children and envision them as young adults visiting the forest they helped to plant. Goosebumps. And yet it was no easy task, how do you move 2 400 trees up a steep mountainside? With a human chain of course! And that is one sure way to feel connected and effective as a group, you pass to me, I pass to her and we make it happen, a human funicular! Those baby trees were touched, loved and handled with care by almost all of us there! So that by the time we got to actually planting the trees we all had a good sense of the part we play in the greater whole and that what we do, each one of us, matters. The atmosphere was so tangibly positive, there were no masks, no egos, just open faced smiles and the collective sense of we’re doing this thing and it feels GOOD! There was Jenny from Germany planting her very first tree alongside my seven year old daughter who has felt the soil on her hands for many years already. It was beautiful.

Afterwards, we danced the night away until our happily weary muscles could dance no more, then sat round the fire and reminisced with new friends and kindred spirits, feeling the glow of the treevolution in our veins. And as we made our way down the mountain the next day and spread out in different directions to our homes, I hoped that all the passionate people present would hold onto what they had experienced and continue with their everyday revolutions by making conscious choices for people and planet on a daily basis. And my deepest wish is that Eco Atlas will play a part in empowering these conscious choices as we interact with the give and take of our daily worlds and as we awaken to the fact that every choice we make can have either a positive or negative impact. Until we meet again, of course, on a hillside or African plain to feel the might of our many hands and the power of the whole.

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