eggsWe all know the benefits of choosing free range eggs, for ourselves, for the planet and of course for the chickens sparing us their eggs for breakfast! And if you want to throw in climate change as well, I was interested to learn at the Africa Climate Reality with Al Gore earlier this year, that factory farming is one of the greatest contributors to the global warming phenomenon. Eeek, solutions please!

So, who wants to miss out on a yummy breakfast (that you don’t have to cook for yourself!) because you’re not sure of the origin of the eggs! You don’t have to, here is a list of ten South African eateries who are committed to serving free range eggs. Do you know of one that’s not on the list? Share the love and recommend them on Eco Atlas, click here. Or, even better! Take a selfie at the restaurants and share them with the #iLoveECO competition and you could win a luxury weekend for 2 at an eco star lodge in the Drakensberg (where, of course, your breakfast eggs will be truly free range!)

 

bramonBramon is the only Wine Estate Restaurant slap bang in the middle of The Garden Route! Enjoy an afternoon of local wines, cheeses, oysters, meats, pates and more all served with freshly baked homemade breads and polished off with a decadent dessert. Set in the vineyards and overlooking the Tsitsikamma mountains, this family run estate offers organoleptic fare for the entire family. Besides serving free range eggs they have made many other ethical commitments. Find out more.

 

 

dear meDear Me is a brasserie, pantry and event space in Cape Town CBD. They are committed to using local, ethical and sustainable produce as far as possible. They also accommodate many specific dietary requirements, such as vegans, food intolerances and allergies. Their menu changes on a regular basis and showcases artisanal methods & produce. Dear Me is committed to serving free-range meat & eggs, and only use sustainable seafood as well as Fair Trade coffee and chocolate. Could it get any better? Find out more.

 

 

fynbos estateNatural beauty and outstanding cuisine combine to make Fynbos Estate near Malmesbury an ideal venue for all kinds of gatherings and celebrations, as well as workshops and retreats. Fynbos Estate caters for up to 20 people in the farmhouse and up to 90 in the Pavilion. They use all their own vegetables, seasonal fruits, fresh fish and free range birds, as well as farm sourced meats. The small winery runs on organic principles, the olive, honey and lemon products are also all organic. Find out more.

 

 

grand cafeGrand Café in Plett, for alfresco dining in a grand style! They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a unique style and magnificent views of the bay . They strive to follow as many green initiatives as possible to minimise their carbon footprint and to help create awareness to preserve the planet for future generations to come. Find out more.

 

 

 

la cafeteriaLa Cafeteria is a cool & casual eatery situated on Plett’s main beach. They offer a simple menu of breakfast and lunch with focus on quality and freshness. You have to try their thin based pizza smothered in rocket! They also serve Fair Trade coffee. Find out more.

 

 

 

le fournil2Le Fournil de Plett, Bakery and Café offers a wide variety of slow-risen artisan breads baked daily using organic stone ground flour, as well as pastries, desserts and croissants. They use fresh, simple and local ingredients wherever they can and their almond croissants are to die for. Find out more.

 

 

 

 

the kitchen2The Kitchen is a bustling eatery in Woodstock, Cape Town. Open during the week, they serve their legendary Love Sandwiches (possibly the best sandwich you will ever have), a host of exciting salads and all manner of delicious things for coffee or lunch. They are particularly proud of their salads. They are fresh and unusual and excite their loyal customers with new, fresh flavours daily. They are committed to sourcing local products wherever possible and many of their ingredients are organically grown. Find out more.

 

 

the tableThe Table Restaurant is all about simple food with serious taste. Everything they make from their thin-based, crispy pizzas, handmade pastas and signature dishes, to their lunchtime  Harvest Table, is lovingly prepared using only the freshest ingredients for a whole lot of yum. Simple, warm and modern – a place for families, friends & foodies alike. They use salad ingredients from their own veggie garden when in season and otherwise support local growers. Gluten free pastas and pizzas are also available. Find out more.

 

 

thyme and againThyme & Again on the Garden Route offers its customers a variety of scrumptious savoury and sweet home-made delights from its very own bakery as well as carefully selected, local delicacies and an excellent collection of fine wines mainly from the Western Cape. You can browse around the farm stall or relax in the garden cafe whilst enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee, accompanied by their treats or home-cooked meals. Kids can explore the magical castle and furry friends are most welcome too! Find out more.

 

 

holaHola Café in Plettenberg Bay is a friendly family-run business and a great local hub with a Spanish flair. They are famous for their gourmet coffee and they cater for those in a rush with mobile coffees to take away. Delicious health and freshly squeezed juices are available and kids and dogs are welcome. Find out more.

 

 

 

Know of any more great green restaurants serving ethical produce? Suggest them here.

 

Cobhouse in Muizenberg

These days, an increasing number of my life decisions just don’t feel complete unless I’ve taken into account the factors upstream and downstream that relate that decision back to the earth and our place on it. And when building our eco-friendly cob house, as well as completing the portion that now runs as an organic B&B, my partner Carey and I did our best to choose sustainable options in as many areas as possible. But without compromising on this, there are still plenty of ways of saving costs too!

 Most obviously in our case, the building material itself didn’t cost the earth – literally. ‘Cob’ is not something you can buy off the shelf from your local hardware store; it’s an ad hoc mixture of sand and clay that varies in its proportions according to what’s available locally and even what the weather is like on the day you’re building (hot dry ‘bergwind’ days needed a lot more moisture in the mix, for example!). And the clay isn’t the high-end stuff used for making regular baked bricks: it’s best if it’s got a decent amount of sandy grains in it as you want it to bond nicely with the sand. Most of our sand came from our foundation digging rather than being pulled out of sensitive dune systems; and the ‘clay’ was reclaimed and recycled from the municipal landfill site nearby, where other builders were dumping it (as “useless” material!)

We searched around for the straw – some of it being shipped in wholesale from an out of town farmer, at a fraction of the cost of the animal feed places. And our gum poles, which form such a distinctive feature of our house, were being cleared as aliens. They were treated by Somerset Timbers (in Somerset West) who were the only wood-treatment plant we could find that would use an organic/eco-friendly treatment process that was acceptable for building standards. We relied somewhat on our excellent structural engineer, who erred on the side of caution in all things – too many well-meant natural buildings have crumbled through lack of care or knowledge in either construction or maintenance.

Sure, our costs crept up somewhat again, after the huge savings we’d made on the wall materials, because of the length of time our labourers needed for a building process that wasn’t conventional – though we still saved compared to regular building methods. And the time taken in itself meant we gave men steady work for longer rather than wasting our money on bricks. And if we come back to the all-important question of the costs to the earth, it’s clear that the energy saving from building in cob, not only in production but in the ongoing heating and cooling savings for the house, are well worth it. Of course, cob is not the only natural building method out there, and you can compare the costs with straw bale, timber frame, adobe, sandbags, to name a few of the more popular options. The main problem we face at the moment in South Africa, though, is that these options, while often traditional building methods here, are not understood enough by financial institutions to make financing of alternative building technology straightforward. Given our housing shortage, that’s a great pity.

But have no fear, if you’re rather looking to refurbish or renovate an existing building, there are still plenty of options for going green, more of which I will share about in future columns!

 

About the author:

Simric grew up alongside the green movement in the UK but has lived in South Africa since 1996. That year, when working for an environmental NGO, he discovered natural building technologies, in particular cob. With his partner Carey he co-built the first modern cob house on a suburban street in a South African city; and now co-manages it as an organic B&B, in Muizenberg, Cape Town.

Simric has written and spoken both poetry and prose on a range of topics, often with a holistic/ sustainability theme but with a positive and uplifting perspective. He is also an accomplished teacher in the holistic Waldorf/Steiner system of creative education, and he runs conscious/green day tours of the Cape Town region.

The Cobhouse on Eco Atlas

www.cobhouse.co.za

simric.yolasite.com

lucidfringe.blogspot.com

 

 

 

ID-100198110

A guest blog from Environmental Manager Carlene van der Heiden. See her page on Eco Atlas.

In a world where there are so many ‘green’ products, ‘sustainable’ practices and ‘environmentally friendly’ options, it is often difficult to tell which ones are taking you for a ride. I think that’s the most important job that Eco Atlas plays in this constantly changing and ever emerging field of environmental management. I’m an environmental manager by profession, and although the basics of ecosystem functioning, biological diversity and pure science stay the same, the things I’ve learnt since leaving university have boggled my mind. This makes making the right choice a complicated thing to say the least!

Not only does the ethical directory provide you with peer reviewed places, products or services for you to choose, but the blog provides you with tips, which you can implement to get up there on the list too!

To me March will always be Water month, because World Water Day falls within it, and all of South Africa is bound to get some rain falling from the sky in March! It is also the most important resource we have, and we should protect it at all costs. Water is life, and acid mine drainage and pollution of rivers is destroying our life source. Excessive water use is wasteful and unnecessary and should be curbed by promoting better planning (such as watering your gardens before 10:00 and after 16:00, so as to reduce loss during the heat of the day). Water is scarce in South Africa, with a low average annual rainfall of 464mm, so we should use what we get from the skies at any opportunity, as pumping municipal water to your taps costs electricity too (which is a whole other kettle of fish).

For those wanting to reduce their water use, I would suggest a water audit as the first point. You can’t manage what you can’t measure and so you will need to see what you are currently using, compare it to industry standards, and then see how much you can reduce it. Once you have this data you can then set yourself a target, and put objectives in place to achieve these targets. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is true water saving a quick fix, so give yourself a realistic time frame. A huge requirement for this type of change is that everyone is on board, and, most importantly understands what their responsibility is. Education is key and should be an integral part of your strategy.

If you would like more information about a water management system within your organisation or assistance with a water audit, please contact me on carlenevdh@ncc-group.co.za.

 

(as per the article in the Steenberg Talk Newspaper)

~RECIPES~

harvest day

Bottled Tomatoes

 4kg tomatoes

4 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons oregano, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

4 tablespoons lemon juice

 

Wash and dry the tomatoes, then chop them roughly. Put them in a large pot together with the rest of the ingredients, except the fresh basil and lemon juice. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add the fresh basil and lemon juice and stir through until mixed. Fill sterilised bottles (by baking in the oven) and seal well. (from Jane’s Delicious Kitchen by Jane Griffiths)

 

Curried beans

 

2 kg sliced beans

1 kg sliced onions

5 cups water

4 cups vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons curry powder

3 tablespoons cornflour

1 ½ cups sugar

 

Cook beans and onions in water, 3 cups of the vinegar and salt until tender and liquid is greatly reduced. Mix curry powder, cornflour, remaining vinegar and sugar and add to beans. Stir well. Cook for 5 mins and then bottle. (from The Old Cape Farmstall Cookbook by Judy Badenhorst, et al.)

 

Cajun Mustard

 

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup mustard seeds

¼ cup cider vinegar

 

Bring the wine, garlic, allspice, salt and nutmeg to the boil in a saucepan. Immediately reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 2-3mins. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool, uncovered for 2 hours. Lightly dry-fry the mustard seeds over medium heat and then coarsely crush in a mortar and pestle. Combine the crushed mustard seeds and vinegar in a bowl. Put saucepan back on the stove and bring to the boil over high heat. Stir, then remove from heat and add the mustard and vinegar mixture, whisking to combine. Spoon into sterilised jars. (from The Vegetarian Kitchen by Mellissa Bushby)

 

Carrot and Coriander Relish

 

500g carrots, coarsely grated

3cm fresh ginger, very finely chopped

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime

50ml apple juice

Good pinch of salt

8 garlic cloves, chopped

150ml cider vinegar

175g soft light brown sugar

10g coriander leaves, chopped

 

Mix everything except the coriander leaves in a saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then reduce heat and simmer for 10mins, until the carrot is soft. Increase the heat a little and cook for 15mins, until you have a soft mixture in which the carrots look almost candied and the liquid has really reduced. Stir to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan. Take off the heat and stir in coriander. Pot in warm, sterilised jars. (from Salt sugar smoke by Diana Henry)

 

 Harvest Day Bounty

For me ‘harvest day’ conjures an image of neighbouring farmers wives congregating in a steamy kitchen and cooking, bottling and laughing whilst preparing for the barren winter months. It hearkens to times of old when neighbours needed to join forces to ensure that nothing of the summer’s plentiful harvest would be wasted, to a time when waste was unforgivable…  And so it seemed fitting that in keeping with our ‘old times’ mode of communal living (three family households spread over two hills of forest and fynbos) my mother, the matriarch, would call for a harvest day.  The idea was to make use of whatever was plentiful in the garden, to work together as neighbours and bottle as much as we could in one day and then share out the day’s yield. Because as anyone who has ever grown their own knows, when you have tomatoes, you have TOMATOES and when you have beans, you have BEANS! My mom also brought in a whole lot of raw milk, as she no longer keeps a cow or goats, so that she could make cheese and yoghurt for us all and thereby impart her cheese-making skills. It was to be a day of plenty and productivity.

Harvest day dawned and my sister-in-law and I arrived with recipe books under our arms and grins of expectation on our faces as we literally dived into the main house kitchen and started chopping, boiling and bottling. We were perhaps a bit ambitious with all we planned to make to ensure we used all the garden’s bounty and perhaps we should have researched our recipes beforehand instead of on the day… but the result was just as I imagined harvest days to be. Kindred spirits together in the kitchen. Laughter, chatter and the sharing of ideas. And the ever-present scents of delectable new flavours bubbling on the stove and filling the kitchen with the steam I envisioned would envelop and bind us together in the act of making.  Wholegrain mustard infused with allspice and nutmeg. Carrot and coriander relish with ginger, chilli and lime.  Good old South African curried beans. Fresh basil and oregano imbued bottled tomatoes. The satisfaction of making our own bottled tomatoes instead of buying tins under the supermarket’s fluorescent glare is almost indescribable. Not to mention the bliss of knowing the true ingredients of the food in my pantry!

Suffice to say our grins were even wider when we left the kitchen later that day with baskets overflowing with bottled goods and a satisfied sense of exhaustion from productively using our hands and all our senses. Now we just need to do it all again, with different ingredients, next month…

 

Children love to harvest in the veggie garden

Children love to harvest in the veggie garden

I always dreamt of having a veggie garden where the vegetables would tower over my children as they walked down the paths, enticing them with a smorgasbord of flavours and smells. And there really is a lot of power in the mantra of choosing the life you would like to lead. Although my children are growing rapidly and the new veggie garden is not as yet towering over them I still garner such satisfaction from watching my fussy ‘I-don’t-eat-vegetables’ 4-year-old picking fresh mange tout by the handfuls and happily crunching all their sweet nutritious goodness right there in the garden. My reasons for wanting to leave the city with my first-born and lead a simple country life with an emphasis on fresh air, open spaces and healthy living are coming to fruition and I’m realising that we’re living the life I’ve chosen and dreamt of.

Eating our own home grown veggies is such a vital element of living the good life because it covers so many bases, it’s the ultimate manifestation of thinking global and acting local! By growing your own veggies you cut out the whole string of events that finally allows a pesticide sprayed and well-travelled veggie from landing up on a supermarket shelf. I was so amazed to find out from a local organic farmer that, although it was great that a huge national supermarket chain was buying her produce to sell at the local store, the poor veggies had to travel 300km to the nearest city and its distribution depot and then back again before landing up in the local store’s display fridge. Instead of travelling 15km from farm to shop they were travelling 600km just because they had to be part of the formalised distribution process! Crazy, but true. Especially when those lovingly grown organic veggies would have lost most of their nutrition on the journey. Veggies only have a set amount of nutrients and begin losing them the minute they are harvested as they consume their own nutrients to stay alive. So, the shorter the distance between farm and fork, the better. Which multiplies my joy when I see my children eating straight out the garden because the distance the nutrients are travelling is literally from hand to mouth! And I would far rather wander down the paths of a veggie garden with all its interesting diversions than down the aisles of a supermarket and ITS diversions with two small children. Any young mother will know what I’m talking about! Never mind the actual effort of getting them in the car, out the car and into the shop. I’d choose to walk down the garden path any day…

But, I hear you say, you don’t live in the country, so how can you grow vegetables? Well you can grow them on a stoep in a high rise flat, all you need is a few containers and a sunny spot. And, if you remember your school biology, all the plants will need to grow is good soil (preferably enriched with your own home made fertiliser from your earthworm farm), sunlight and water, and what they didn’t mention in biology was that plants thrive on a whole lot of love. So whether you live in a flat or a sprawling suburban home, growing your own veggies in the city is all about your choice to do so. And the benefits to your family in terms of nutrition and less exposure to pesticides will be phenomenal. Not to mention the fact that you’ll be doing your bit for the planet by not supporting the pesticide infused agricultural system which takes its toll on local ecosystems. So what are you waiting for, go dig out those old gardening gloves and try out your green fingers.

The reality is, though, that we don’t always eat at home, what about when we are on holiday or eating out, how can we ensure that we’re getting the freshest and most nutritious food. Luckily, there are establishments around the country that have committed to growing organic food not only for themselves, but for their guests too. Let’s take a quick tour from Gansbaai to Hoedspruit for a virtual visit with some veggie growing guest houses.

Farm 215 is a private nature reserve in an undisturbed valley between Stanford and Cape Agulhas in the Overberg. In the reserve is a small-scale sustainable and strictly laid-back guesthouse offering tranquility and an overpowering sense of space. And besides their many ethical practices which include planting trees for tourism and empowering the local community, guests will also be treated to fresh organic produce grown right there on Farm 215. Sounds to me like a truly healthy break from the city.

Further up the coast in the heart of the Garden Route is Fynbos Ridge Private Nature Reserve with a guest house and self-catering cottages set in the fragrant fynbos and spectacular views of the Tsitsikamma mountains. Delicious dining and alfresco breakfasts are available or they invite you to pick your very own salad from their organic vegetable garden. A holiday treat that is indeed good for the body and soul, to be enjoyed with a clear conscience.

And from there we skip straight to the bushveld where you will find Garonga Safari Camp, an eco friendly oasis for the discerning visitor. Situated in the greater Makalali Conservancy west of the Kruger National Park, this unassuming sanctuary promises an intimate wildlife encounter in an unhurried environment where you can unwind, sleep deeply and be yourself. And yes, you better believe it, they too grow their own organic vegetables in that dark red soil and serve the bounty to all their guests.

With Spring finally in the air may you feel inspired to grow your own food, eat your own food and support the places that do the same.

Ever been to a restaurant or guest house and wondered what happens behind the scenes? Are your breakfast eggs free range or is your special bottle of red wine going to be recycled when you leave? Wouldn’t it be nice to kick back, enjoy your freshly grown salad and sip on your glass of Chardonnay feeling assured that the establishment you are visiting has practices in place that are good for people and planet? A new concept in conscious consumerism has emerged which allows you to find out just that, and more.

Eco Atlas is a pioneering online directory which empowers you to make ethical and environmental choices when choosing where to eat, where to stay and what to buy. It marks a move towards a more consumer driven market. Through a series of twenty clear eco icons called Eco Choices you will be able to see at a glance which places are recycling, serving sustainable fish or empowering their staff, enabling you to make informed decisions about which places, products and services to support, with a conscience. The unique search function also enables you to source locally produced and earth-friendly products.

This new directory is the first of its kind in the country in that it provides consumers with both the socially and environmentally ethical achievements of places and highlights businesses that are making a difference. The website features accommodation, restaurants, outdoor activities and goods providers. Featured places include a full spread of photos, write-ups, maps and of course their full list of eco ethical practices. Importantly, you as the visitor are able to review the places online and give them an eco rating based on your experiences. There are so many people and places creating positive change and walking the ethical talk in our remarkable country and Eco Atlas provides you with the map to find them.

Rhian Berning, Eco Atlas founder says, ‘If you want to change the world, start with your wallet and change the places you visit and support. We so often underestimate our power as consumers, but we are in fact extremely powerful.’

So, you may well be asking, where are these places and how can we find them and start putting our money where our hearts are? Well, all the information is available online, but let’s have a little explore and discover some gems.

Bartholomeus Klip Farmhouse is a charming small hotel for only 16 guests on a working wheat and sheep farm just over an hour away from Cape Town – ideally situated for exploring the winelands. There is a 4000 hectare fynbos nature reserve, with a spectacular backdrop of mountains, to be explored on game drives or by mountain bike, and beautiful gardens. The food is renowned, with lavish brunches and high teas, and a gourmet three-course dinner. Ah, but what of their eco and ethical practices? Well, you can enjoy the sumptuous food secure in the knowledge that much of the produce is organically or locally grown, the meat is from predator friendly farms and nothing will be wasted, the worm farms process all organic leftovers into rich compost for the gardens. In terms of resource use there are water saving and energy saving practices in place as well as  solar geysers for both guests and staff. Not only that, but Bartholomeus Klip is also Fair Trade accredited, an international stamp of approval for responsible travel. And it doesn’t stop there, the farm is also recognised with the Biodiversity Eco Choice for its management of the one of the largest remaining tracts of the rare Swartland Alluvial Fynbos and Renosterveld plant communities, and includes the largest remaining habitat of the geometric tortoise – the world’s second most endangered tortoise. So have you booked in yet?

Next stop, how about a truly real experience for both locals and travellers? AWOL Tours offer bicycle township tours on recycled bicycles. The tour allows guests to interact and engage with the local community from the bicycle seat rather than from an air conditioned bus. It has a profound influence on stimulating the local economy when visitors support the small businesses, also fostering improved relationships and creating a personal insight into how local urban South Africans live. Besides the obvious health and environmental benefits of cycling, AWOL Tours are also Fair Trade accredited and provide ethical choices by visiting wine farms that are members of the ‘Biodiversity Wine Initiative’. This is an outdoor activity that you can feel good about from your head to the tip of your cycling toes.

Back in the MotherCity where can you eat out with a conscience? There are many restaurants that have joined the slow food movement and have shifted to serving organic. The Kitchen is a bustling eatery on Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, renowned for their legendary Love Sandwich and a host of fresh and unusual salads. Owner Karen Dudley has made a point of providing free range and organic options and is passionate about supporting local suppliers and the empowerment of women staff. And even in Woodstock your leftovers will be transformed into liquid gold by the hardworking earthworms!

If we are to go by the billion dollar online behemoth that is TripAdvisor, a study they did last year stated that 71% of people surveyed would make environmentally friendly choices this year. But without the relevant info how can they make the choices! Put the power of choice back in your hands and become informed about where you choose to eat, play and stay by using tools such as Eco Atlas and the Fair Trade website. And don’t forget the clout you have as a consumer, simply ask all the questions you would like the answers to. And then, put your money where your heart is. www.ecoatlas.co.za

Eco Atlas will soon be featuring guest bloggers sharing best practice on responsible tourism and other eco choices that our ethical directory encourages and recognises. Watch this space for reviews, eco tips and the sharing of best practices in the eco and ethical movement.