Tag Archive for: recycling

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A Song Made on Solar | and other eco experiences at Terra-Khaya

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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.

 

Change Makers | Amanda Lewis & Saucisse Boutique Deli

The smile of change : Amanda Lewis owner of Saucisse Deli, Old Biscuit Mill, Cape Town ©David Peter Harris.

The smile of change : Amanda Lewis owner of Saucisse Deli, Old Biscuit Mill, Cape Town ©David Peter Harris.

 

Recently, we met Amanda Lewis, owner of Saucisse Boutique Deli, a family-run speciality meat and cheese Deli, located in the heart of Woodstock’s Old Biscuit Mill. When we chatted, Amanda had just returned from three weeks in Zambia, where she headed GreenPop’s Bush Kitchen for the treevolutionaries who planted trees with the team at Zambia Festival of Action 2015. Saucisse is a food hub of handpicked local suppliers, offering a high quality selection of local food. With her personal journey, ideas and future plans (including a sustainable cook book called Eat Food), it was an inspiring chat about her passion for food.

“It all started when I opened my own business. It was the first time that I was in a professional environment where I could set my own rules, buying what I wanted to buy and implementing the system I wanted. Originally, I went into it concentrating on the ethics of my products, which are 100% local and small scale, establishing a platform for small producers to showcase their home-grown products. “

She then went to Zambia with the GreenPop Team in 2014. “Ethically I was very happy with my choices. Then, while running the GreenPop kitchen for six weeks, I had my eureka moment when I realized that I had to concentrate on the waste aspect of food too. I remember wondering “How come I haven’t been thinking about it?” I started being packaging-conscious, and once back in Cape Town, I was overly inspired, and my staff thought I had gone nuts! We started recycling and at first it was only up to me to get the system running; a year on, this has become the way of life at the Deli”.

Saucisse is one of the only businesses at the Biscuit Mill that recycles and, besides using biodegradable packaging and cleaning products, it has teamed with Food for Thought and all food wastage gets delivered to the Night Haven Shelter in Observatory.

Saucisse Deli has teamed with Food for Thought and all food wastage gets delivered to the Night Haven Shelter in Observatory.©David Peter Harris.

Food wastage gets delivered to the Night Haven Shelter in Observatory.©David Peter Harris

Amanda personally chooses all the suppliers she represents:

“This is a process I take really seriously. I meet them directly, I taste everything myself, making sure that the quality of the product is high level, while being produced as ethically as possible, trying to keep everything preservative and colourant free. I mainly work with really small-scale suppliers, from a mother-daughter team making jam to a producer who grows her own Kombucha using spring water from Newlands.”

What are the challenges of spearheading such a strong eco-friendly business ethos?
“It needs a lot of pre-planning to make sure that the system falls into place. It also entails a strong educational role we play with suppliers and customers alike, creating awareness on the reasons why we should put care into producing and selecting food that is free-range, locally made, with just a few ingredients. You might be paying a little more, but you know exactly what you’re getting. For example, our cured meats supplier handles everything himself, from sourcing pigs to butchering so I know exactly where all his meat comes from; he now has to compete with mass-production suppliers who we have no idea what goes into their products, how is that possible? This is the main problem; you need to be aware of what you’re buying.”

 

“We need to create the connection with where food comes from, reconnect with the person who produces our food and the person who is selling our food.”

Saucisse is a local showcase of high quality, small scale suppliers, handpicked by Amanda ©David Peter Harris.

Saucisse is a local showcase of high quality, small scale suppliers, handpicked by Amanda ©David Peter Harris.

“Tips? Open up the knowledge about what you’ve been eating. Go online and find all the eye-opening facts about the importance of vegetables and herbs. There is a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips; you just have to look for it. It is also empowering to learn how to read food labels, don’t pick up your food out of habit and be aware of what you eat.”

While David snapped a few pictures, I gazed around the buzzing Deli and my eyes were drawn to the wall where the Eco Atlas poster was, next to a beautiful quote by George Bernard Shaw “There is no love sincerer than the love for food”. It’s no surprise that Saucisse has adopted such philosophy.

 

Visit Saucisse, Monday to Saturday, or get in touch via their Eco Atlas page .

Change Makers | Florence Chabanel

Florence Chabanel, co-owner of Le Fournil de Plett, Plettenberg Bay. @ David Peter Harris.

Florence Chabanel, co-owner of Le Fournil de Plett, Plettenberg Bay. @ David Peter Harris.

 

On my first visit to Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape, I was pleased to find many stations where people could drop their recycling in the colourful bins. That was just one of the many signs that Plett is not only the ultimate holiday escape, but is a town built on firm eco ethics and awareness. Florence Chabanel, the French half of Le Fournil de Plett, is one of the drivers of this inspiring eco shift.

“Our passion is making our customers happy, in the same way you would treat your friends at home. We believe that you are what you eat, so nothing tops natural food that is chemical and preservative-free . At Le Fournil we are proud to make all our dishes from scratch, from home-made artisan breads to real stock for our hearty soups.  Sourcing and offering free-range and organic products as much as we can is our ethic and neither Jane (co-owner) or myself are ready to compromise.”


“What difference do we make in the world? We actively  participate in educating people’s taste as well as making our staff proud of their skills and their creations. So maybe we are not making a difference to the big world but we certainly do make a difference in our small,  little world. “

 

Le Fournil de Plett prides itself in a business ethos and inspiring eco choices, which pave the way for bigger changes.

Pop in for an almond croissant and a cup of coffee, or visit their Eco Atlas page.