My Little Solar System

Just in time for World Environment Day and my upcoming birthday, a dream of mine has been realised... On 31 May 2012 we had two solar panels installed on our roof! The fact that I was able to achieve this is proof that renewable energy solutions are becoming more attainable. I earn a meager income every month but have managed to save up enough money to have this installation done. Okay, so it is not powering my whole house, but it will be powering most of my office operations. I've now only worked one day on the new system, but it was a sunny day and I managed to go through the whole day without resorting to grid power. Currently just my computer and monitor is plugged in. The system is set up in such a way that when my batteries are discharged to a certain level, the grid power takes over (it is not good for the batteries to discharge entirely). Basically, I now have a 'green plug' in my office. From next week I will also plug my printer in to this connection and will monitor to see how things go from there. Because I don't use my pc over the weekend, on sunny weekends (like this one), I can charge my laptop and my cellphone on the green plug, not to mention other things in the house such as rechargeable batteries for our remote, toothbrush, etc.

I've had some people say that it will take a long time for me to recover what I spent on the system in electricity savings. To me, getting this system installed is about soooo much more than that! My business and home is now greener and I am no longer 100% reliant on Eskom. I can also rest assured that the amount I spent on this installation would be 100% recovered in an increase of the value of our home if we decided to sell with the system included. Also, this is just the start of my plans for expanding on the system when finances allow. To top it off, no monetary value can be placed on the satisfaction I get out of knowing I am receiving clean and renewable power direct from the sun.

From here on, it is only going to get cheaper to do such installations. As for me, I cannot get over how AWESOME it is to FINALLY have my own little solar system! :)

Thank you to Peter Burden of Solarsells for helping my dream become a reality!

Solar-nic

How's this for a picnic? Last Sunday, a wintery but sunny day, my hubby and I had a solar cooker picnic in the backyard. We made toasted cheese sandwiches. It was after 3pm and shadows were long and it was cool, but despite this we made some awesome toasties that came out golden brown on the outside and steaming hot on the inside (just as hot as if we had done it on a conventional stove top). We made two batches and it took us only 40mins and all the while we enjoyed the beautiful outdoors. So here is to the start of a solar picnic ("Solarnic") revolution in SA! :)

Old music records and CDs

Today at the Meerendal Farmer's market a bumped into a lady who was selling old records and cds which she had upcycled to make into clocks, coasters and bowls.  Here is a pic of her table full of her products. What a great idea to re-use records and cds instead of sending them to the landfill.

Solar Soup for the Soul

Thanks to a donation received from Keren in Hong Kong, FLOE has been able to purchase a solar cooker to experiment with and demonstrate at fairs/markets we participate in.  Crosby from Sunfire Solutions generously offered to provide us with a cooker at a very special price.

I could not wait to get the cooker assembled and bravely tackled the task on my own.  It was not too complicated and I only needed a little extra guidance about 3/4  of the way through the process. The whole process took about 45 minutes but I reckon someone more technically minded can get it done in 20mins or less.

The very first chance I got, we set the cooker up outside in a sunny spot and I quickly prepared some ingredients for our first test run.

At first I was worried about what we would use to cook the food in because, from what I heard, suitable (non-aluminium) black pots are hard to come by and a friend of mine who had a solar cooker managed to only find a small black aluminium camping pot which cost R700! I was not prepared to spend any money so decided to start digging around in my kitchen cupboards.  I came across my old broken "Sunbeam"  wok (think the name is a coincidence?!).  This thing broke on me after about the 5th use (electrical connection problem) and this after I already had it replaced once before due to the same fault. The wok 'dish' part was still in perfect nik and luckily I hadn't thrown it out. I turned the pot upside down, unscrewed the plastic base and was left with a great "solar wok pot"! :)  The only little issue was the electrical prods that stuck out of the side of the base.  Although this made the pot stand slightly skew on the solar cooker base, it was secure enough to work (I'll figure out how to remove those prods later).

So, the wok pot is now on the solar cooker base and my sunglasses are on (a word of warning, never look directly at the sun's glare from any reflective surface as this could damage your eyes).  We now positioned the cooker so that it faced the sun and the focal point of the sun reflection was situated underneath the pot.   

In goes my chopped veg, veg stock, water and other ingredients. As the Cape Doctor would have it, there was a bit of a breeze blowing, but I made sure everthing was secure.  I put the lid on and took note of the time.  It was 10h20. 
So, I went back to my work.  When I checked on the pot about 20 mins later, I noticed that the sun's reflection was no longer pointed directly underneath the pot so I repositioned the cooker.  15 mins later and again the cooker had shifted.  I finally realised that the wind was moving the cooker 'face' from side to side.  It turned out that we had forgotten to fit the knob which allows you to tighten the setting to prevent this side to side movement.  So now, about 45 mins later, we have the cooker properly set up.  The contents of the pot had warmed significantly by this point and was already steaming and tiny bubbles were forming. Not even 10mins later, the contents started to boil.  For the next 2 hours and a bit, while the pot simmered, I checked on it about every 20 to 30 minutes and would slightly adjust the settings to the movement of the sun when needed.  I also stirred the pot from time to time and added other ingredients when and as needed. 
At 13h30, I carefully took the very hot pot off the cooker and brought it inside my kitchen. I then moved the solar cooker into a spot safely away from the sun.  I went back inside and opened the lid to a steaming hot pot of delicious sun cooked soup.  I served the soup immediately and actually had to blow on it to prevent myself from burning my tongue!  The veggies were cooked to perfection!

So, on our first try, perfect solar soup in 3 hours and that included the 45mins in which we did not have the cooker set up properly.

Day 2 - I decided to try and boil 1.5 litres of cold tap water at 08h30 in the morning.  It was a sunny day and there was no wind.  At 09h03 the pot was boiling!  The pot was not even black! It was a standard silver pot with a glass lid.
Immediately afterwards I decided to try and cook some brown rice.  1 cup of brown rice with 2 cups of cold tap water.  Start time 09h10, finish time 10h20.  Cooked to perfection in 70mins!!

I was getting so excited that I decided to make our brunch, a standard breakfast fry-up, at 12h30 using the solar cooker.  It was ready in 20mins!    

What a fun and exciting experience! I could not believe how well this cooker worked and came to the realisation of just how powerful the sun is.    I can't wait to get cooking again, so will keep you posted regarding how my other solar meals go and will also report back about the successes and possible failures during the winter months to come.

[Note: Although a lot of fun, solar cookers are not toys and should be treated with a similar level of caution and respect as one has when operating a conventional stove/oven.]

Gift Idea that keeps giving

This Christmas I gave all my clients strawberry plants.  I decorated the pots with recycled wrapping paper and ribbon, used bamboo skewer sticks for making flags as name tags/message cards and added little round pieces of office paper (recovered from my office punch) as 'confetti' for decoration.

Wrapping

There are no rules and so many things you can do. For what goes inside the wrapping, opt for 2nd hand / renewed goods, home and hand made goods, local products and (vouchers for) local services. 

Taking a Holiday: A Dream Green Getaway Close to Home

It feels like I have just woken up from a dream, but evidence shows that what I experienced was actually not a figment of my imagination.

Me booking space in a cob cottage, off the grid in the most magical town I have ever been fortunate enough to visit, was real. My husband and I spending four nights and 3 days in a land where pedestrians and folk on their bicycles outnumber fossil fuel modes of transport, was real.  A place where we could freely walk or ride about without a care in the world, any time of day or night, fully taking in our surroundings, awakening all our senses to the glorious natural world we live in, was real.  Where starry skies were the jewels in our crowns and the passing breeze, the sweet deliverer of floral perfumes that made every breath we took, a deep dose of well being.

I'm in two minds about telling you the name of this place as I suspect many of you have not yet paid attention to the well camouflaged turn-off leading to it. 

Beyond the fact that it is such a hidden gem, it is less than 2 hours drive from Cape Town, no need for flying or extended driving trips and once there, driving is no longer necessary (save, perhaps, for the odd wine tasting trip around the town's borders).  Because our visit was during Spring, we took advantage of a Spring accommodation special. In addition, we saved money on travel costs, our carbon emissions were limited, our health benefited  and as an added bonus, our welcoming and parting gift was a free roadside display of fields filled with breathtaking bright-coloured Spring flowers! 

But that is not the half of it (sorry, this might start sounding like an advert, but I can't help it!).  The Cottage, the sweet little cottage - gifting us with the opportunity to experience sustainable living full-on!  Built using mainly local materials and cob, the cottage is well appointed with a cozy lounge and fireplace, master double bedroom, a second bedroom with two single beds and a small loft above the kitchen that can sleep a fifth.  The entire cottage is built out of cob with reclaimed wooden beams and local stone for trim on windows/door frames.  The thermal and noise insulating effect of cob is amazing!  The cottage stays cool in summer and warm in winter.  There are lovely views from all angles and the outdoor verandah offers the perfect spot for a braai or lazing about in the afternoons and for seeing the sun on its way out, ...or in, if you are an early bird!

All the cottage's lights are powered by solar power, the garden by solar garden lights, with the fridge, geyser and stove running off gas. To top off the 'greening' experience, we were able to experience the use of a completely odourless and easy to get used to waterless compost toilet.  Yes, you heard me right... I am talking 'humanure' and no, I am not talking an 'outhouse'!  If you have not yet heard of this, it is time for you to read the Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins.  Humanure is a resource that if properly managed produces a completely odourless and safe compost-type soil (also known as 'humus') rich in nutrients for use in agriculture, small scale farming and general gardening.  For those of you cringing in your seats as you read this, don't be alarmed and keep in mind that sewage (from waterborne sewege systems) and humanure are two completely different things.  But don't take my word for it, read the book/research it yourself; book the cottage or, if in Cape Town, visit Soil for Life who also have such a system set up at their premises.  All I know is to have experienced the use of this system has totally opened my eyes to just how much we waste precious resources such as water and humanure in our every day lives and how this is completely unnecessary.

There are recycling bins for paper, plastic, glass and tins and a composting tub is also furnished in the kitchen for your veggie/fruit scraps.  There is no 'normal' bin as one is not required, although there is a small one in the bathroom for tissue and miscellaneous waste.  As big recyclers back in Cape Town, we found it a great learning experience to separate the recycling because back home our recycling is collected mixed.  What we discovered from the separating experience is what type of packaging we mainly use. To our surprise we discovered that most of our waste is plastic.  This is an important and helpful discovery for us as we are going to try and reduce the amount of plastic packaging we consume from now on.

Another discovery we made during our stay was how the experience made us more aware of our electricity consumption patterns. It made us realise that it just takes a simple mindset shift to become more efficient and cost effective and that, by doing so, our energy requirements are reduced resulting in a lower demand for it!

Because the cottage owner follows organic gardening principles, organic and eco-friendly liquid handsoap, dishsoap and cleaning supplies are furnished and visitors are asked not to make use of synthetic/toxic chemical products that might find its way into the water system or gardens.

In addition to everything we learned from staying in the cottage, it was such a pleasure to meet Jill our hostess who was most accommodating throughout our stay.  Jill built the cottage, together with the assistance of her staff and also lives in a cob house just up the hill from the cottage.  We were given a hardy and personalised welcome on our arrival with a grand tour of the Cottage and all its "ins and outs".  Jill also had fresh organic eggs for sale to guests as well as organic veggies, depending on the season and availability.  It was such a pleasure to meet and chat with someone who has such firsthand experience in off-grid living, natural building and sustainability.

Anyway, as much as we would like to keep our secret, I have to share it with you for an important reason.  If we have learned so much from it, if we were revived so much by it, inspired so much by it and it made us reconnect to nature and the wonders of life again, what will it do for you?  If everyone had the chance to experience this type of living, as I recall one guest wrote in the Little Cottage visitor's book, then "there would be no problems in the world"!

p.s. Oops!;) Almost forgot to mention the name: Little Cottage at McGregor Alternative Technology Centre (MAT) in beautiful McGregor, South Africa. www.mat.org.za.