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.

Bread tags, cork bottle tops etc

Don't throw them in the bin.  Here's an idea for using bread tags and cork to decorate a mirror frame.

Recycling

Struggling to get the fam to take part in your recycling efforts? Try putting a sign on the bin to remind everyone to think before they throw something in it!

Local Farmers Markets

Explore your surroundings a bit... you might just find a gem like I did!  Just a few minutes drive from my home I came across a farmer on a smallholding who sells locally grown organic produce, free range eggs, honey etc.  It is located just outside Kraaifontein just around the corner from the Cape Garden Centre.  Find out more about it here.

Cardboard Solar Cooker

This solar cooker is fairly easy to make and costs next to nothing!  This soup was ice cold out of the fridge.  I put it in the solar oven at 11h45 and at 13h30 it was piping hot and ready to eat!  The temperature was perfect... nice and hot (hot!.. not lukewarm) but not to the point of burning your tongue.  On request, we provide a manual for how to make this solar cooker free of charge to all Free Life on Earth members.

Decor

The possibilities are endless!  All it takes is your own creativity! There are so many items you can re-use and turn into decor.  I saw these empty Marmite jars displayed on a window sill at De Kaap Country Restaurant just outside McGregor.  If you want to be inspired, visit this place!  They use apricot pits in their driveway, old tools and weathered wood as art on the walls, tables made out of floorboards, etc.   Use whatever you can find locally or in your recycling and go wild!

Those thin clear plastic bags used to weigh your fruit/veggies at the shop

Where ever possible, use reusable shopping bags or shop with your own basket.  Plastic bags can be reused to shop with and as bin liners, etc.  As for those thin clear plastic bags you weigh your veggies in at the grocery store, try to do without where possible although often the grocery store insists you do use them.  I reuse these bags for freezing stuff in instead of using zip lock bags/cling wrap and also use it in place of cling wrap for covering bowls in the fridge, etc (as long as they are 'clean', i.e. dry with no traces of dairy/meat).  They can also be re-used for throwing your bones / dairy / meat & other non-compostable scraps in to freeze and dispose of later. [Note: reason for freezing meat/dairy scraps - once you start recycling it takes forever to fill your 'landfill' bin therefore it is more hygenic to freeze non-compostable scraps such as meat and dairy - especially in summer].  Remember when weighing your veggies in these bags at the grocery shop, don't tie the bags too tight!  This will enable you to open them at home without having to damage them by tearing them open.

Grow your own food (organically)

It's not necessarily as hard as you think and there are not enough words to describe just how rewarding it can be!  There is nothing like eating food that you have grown yourself, food that you know does not contain harmful pesticides and chemicals.  As an added bonus, you can save yourself some money and possibly even make yourself a little extra by selling excess to neighbours.  If others in your neighbourhood are also growing, it becomes fun to trade, compare and learn from one another! So, maybe you don't have a lot of space?  No excuse! You need very little space and if all else fails, use pots! [Here we used an old bathtub]

Buy local

In most cases, buying local has less of a negative impact on the environment than buying imports or items from afar.  This "Made in SA" blog features just some of the many 'Made in SA' products out there.  And remember, supporting local is also good for South Africa as a whole!

Eggshells

Don't throw these in the bin! Store them in a dry place and once they have dried out, crush them in a dry cloth or newspaper then throw them into a (recycled) container.  Once you have collected enough, use them in your garden in veggie or flower beds to help deter snails, grubs etc.  It is also apparently good for the soil! DID YOU KNOW? Egg shells are 95% calcium carbonate, a mineral that is very important for nutrition and agriculture. Note: When handling eggshells, remember to wash your hands (and cloth) afterwards and do not store eggshells in large batches for long periods of time.