Archive for the ‘Good Causes’ category

The Green Revolution theatre performance

March 14th, 2011

It’s on right now; The Green Revolution theatre performance is being staged at the Catalina Theatre in Durban. The show will run from 14 to 23 March and you should book your tickets now.

Described by What’s On! as “infectious, outrageous, full of the unexpected,” this performance is aimed at surprising, educating and enlightening its audience. In a world where eco-friendliness is key and reducing one’s carbon footprint is becoming as important as working, this refreshing live performance gives audiences a taste of environmentalism at its most fun.

The show encompasses aspects of living in Africa with rhythmic gumboot dancing, fast and energetic raps and the “Walk Out of Africa” by the very first inhabitants. The Green Revolution is an exploration of the fight against the deteriorating environmental state of our country.

Anti-eco-villains celebrate their take-over of the world, there’s a tumultuous ride out to sea to track the Blue Whale, a heroic escape from the Funny Farm, an inside look at the ins and outs at the landfill; the narrative includes pressing issues surrounding the state of our ecology. The show also looks at how reforestation can transform a community. What’s wonderful about this show is the way in which the performers deal with those issues.

Instead of being blasted with news of melting ice-caps, or scanning headlines about the newest extinct animal, the audience can enjoy learning about these eco-issues in a way that is relaxed and comical.

Pubmat says the eco-production features the talents of three local performers and was devised by Gisele Turner (director) and Chantal Snyman. This show will give you everything: dancing, singing, acting, crazy props, rap and even a few puppets. This is a great excuse to take your family to the theatre; not only will they enjoy themselves but they’ll learn about the current issues that endanger our planet.

It’s easy to just disregard the call to save energy and natural resources because most people are set in their ways. Hopefully a fun and educational production such as The Green Revolution can convince South Africans to take a look at themselves and how they treat their immediate environment.

Being eco-friendly can be fun; you can grow your own vegetables, get into making your own presents, plant indigenous plants in your garden, car pool and cut down on the amount of meat you eat. Many people believe it is too much work or too expensive to live a completely “green” lifestyle but they don’t realise that it’s the small actions that count; if a thousand people started using public transport or showering for a few minutes less a day the effect would be quite substantial.

If you get a chance go see The Green Revolution at Durban’s Catalina Theatre. Call Gisele Turner (031 464 5871 / 083545 8546) or Chantal Snyman (031 564 6783 / 073 653 0067) for more information.

Image via Stock.xchng.

The children of India in search of solutions

March 2nd, 2011

We have world leaders, government representatives and UN members who all supposedly work towards creating a better world, but sometimes it’s not the officials who have all the answers. Sometimes kids can teach us a lot more than we realise.

Last weekend Cape Tonians got to enjoy the fruits of months of hard work by creatives and artists for the Design Indaba. I spent some time walking around the colourful and innovative products on display and felt really inspired by the work that a lot of individuals do. Some architects designed buildings that would be eco-friendly and some craftsman created chairs and stools out of recycled goods. It’s refreshing to see so many innovative minds working towards a better planet.

And that’s exactly what the children of India are doing. Delia de Villiers reports on Design Indaba that the premise of the Design for Change (DFC) competition, “feel it, imagine it, do it and then share it” has inspired kids to participate in the search for ways to solve the planet’s environmental and social problems.

The contest asks participants between the ages of six and 18 to acknowledge a problem in their community, come up with a solution to alleviate it and then implement that solution over a period of a week.

The “I can” attitude that the contest inspires in children has been adopted all over the world. There is even a project currently underway in South Africa; you can watch the YouTube video.

In India there are a number of projects that kids are working on, including the collection of plastic bags for a week, solutions for transgender discrimination, a Stop Spitting Campaign, pressurising authorities to ban child marriages and a child-friendly zebra crossing.

Design activist and educator Kiran Bir Sethi told de Villiers that the campaign is an attempt to fight the “don’t know, don’t care” attitude that many Indian youth adopt. The DFC movement makes use of the creativity and eagerness in kids to combat real issues that dampen a society’s sense of community. The project originated in India in 2007 at the Riverside School in Ahmedabad. De Villiers comments that the school’s approach to education is not an average curriculum system but rather it is “built around a system that employs aspects of design thinking to nurture curious, independent, competent and forward-thinking learners and citizens”.

With the pressing issues that require solving around the world it’s not surprising that this project is appealing to schools and children worldwide. Projects have been implemented in Pakistan, Australia, Mexico and Thailand, amongt others, and the eco-design bug is spreading like wildfire. Perhaps some of our world leaders could take some notes on the way the next generation are working together to better their future.

Image by Stephen Eastop via Stock.xchng.

Anti-whaling in Japan

February 21st, 2011

Last year in December Greenpeace reported on the steps that Japan was taking in curtailing the corruption in its whaling industry. The issue of whaling in Japan has long been a sore point for environmentalists who are determined to see the end of this cruel and barbaric industry.

In what Greenpeace saw as a significant victory, the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) admitted to certain corrupt occurrences between its officials and the company that was hired to perform the task of whaling. The agency stated in a formal apology to the public that the corruption did not fall within its ethics code and announced plans to discipline the officials involved. This action meant that Japan was seen in a positive light in the fight against the anti-whaling industry, but it was a light that would be short-lived.

In an article published via Hosted News by Google it was reported that Japan has called for the anti-whaling movements to curtail their work. Last week Japan reportedly told the Australian, Netherlands and New Zealand ambassadors to act against the group called Sea Shepherd.

The Sea Shepherd group apparently managed to cut short Japan’s hunt in the Antarctic by one month. Now, of course, activists and environmentalists will see this as a victory against such a heinous industry, but Japan was not impressed. According to the Google article, the Japanese harpoon ships were called home early for fear of the whalers’ safety on board.

Whaling in Japan has been a long-time industry for the Japanese, according to Wikipedia. It has been dated as far back as the 12th century. The commercialisation of whaling was rife in the 20th century until the moratorium on the activity came into effect in 1986. The Japanese found a loophole in the system and continued to hunt the large sea-creatures under the agreement’s provision for scientific research. Against the International Whaling Commission’s wishes, the whale meat obtained during the “scientific research hunts” is then sold to restaurants and shops.

There is an ongoing battle between Japan’s whaling industry and the environmental activists who view the act as cruel and unnecessary. It’s a difficult case to get your head around because the Japanese argue that whaling is a part of their culture and that whale meat is a traditional dish in their country. However, the fact that the whales are in danger of extinction weighs heavily on the hearts of most animal-activists who see the continuation of the industry as selfish and ignorant.

What are your thoughts on the issue?

Image via Stock.xchng.

Cape Town Launches “Meat-Free Day”

August 24th, 2010

1182863_saladCape Town you beautiful city! Sunny CT has recently launched a campaign to encourage the Cape Town people to eat less meat – at least once a week. They are encouraging people to do this for the sake of our environment and the welfare of our farm animals.

The announcement was made by Cape Town’s executive major Dan Plato, at the end of July 2010. This initiative puts Cape Town ahead of most other African cities in this regard. As the first to officially throw its weight behind this wonderful cause, Cape Town is setting an excellent example to the other African cities.

Recently Cape Town was named the unhealthiest major city with the most smokers, drinkers and overweight inhabitants. This is a step in the right direction to try and change that image as well as setting a responsible example for Cape Tonians themselves.

This is a great step for Cape Town, and I support them 100%. You can count on me to keep sharing delicious vegetarian recipes with all of you.

Here’s to a wonderful cause supported and encouraged by the best city in the world: Cape Town!

Go here to read the full article.

Jade

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2010 South African Blog Awards

August 19th, 2010

sablogawardsHere’s a great way to show our support for green blogs, encouraging them to continue their great work.

The South African Blog Awards have various categories and you can go and vote for your favourite ones. The green blog dontbeapassenger is competing in the “Old Mutual Best Green Blog Category” and we want to help them win it!

So please could you help us make dontbeapassenger blog winners by visiting this site:

http://website.sablogawards.com/2010/

Then select number 19. The Old Mutual Best Green Blog Award as the category.

You can then paste this url into the url box:

blog.dontbeapassenger.com

and click next. On the right hand side of the page you should see a “submit your nominations” box, and here you must fill in your email address and a unique code as this is confirmation of your nomination.

And voila! dontbeapassenger is one nomination closer to winning the “Old Mutual Best Green Blog Award”

Good Luck dontbeapassenger!

Jade

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Plant A Tree for Life – Our Certified Certificate!

August 17th, 2010

Greenworks

Last week I told you all that we had ordered our tree via greenworks.co.za. Now I’m super excited to tell you all that it’s arrived!

Our certificate that is. We received our Greenworks certificate via email and I’m so happy to share it with you all! Hopefully this will encourage you to get your own tree! It’s for a really good cause.

We’re going to print out our certificate and put it up in the office as a reminder of our celebration of “Living Green”.

Here’s hoping our tree grows big and tall!

You can read my previous post about it here.

Jade

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Plant A Tree For Life

August 12th, 2010

1262982_seedlingHey everyone!

I just finished sending an email to the lovely people at greenworks.co.za to confirm our payment for our tree.

So hopefully soon we will be receiving our Plant A Tree For Life certificate and our GPS co-ordinates letting us watch our tree grow.

So, watch this space for updates. Oh and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I wrote a blog post here about this great initiative.

We look forward to sharing our tree’s growth with all of you!

Jade

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Care2.com

August 12th, 2010

1173541_domesic_cat_1A few months ago my boyfriend and I stumbled across this great website dedicated entirely to good causes.

What happens is you join/register on the site and have your own profile.  Then you can accumulate a certain number of points or ‘butterfly rewards’ daily voting in polls, commenting on articles or take part in what they call the “Daily Action”.

What’s really great about this site is that once you’ve accumulated a certain amount of ‘butterfly rewards’ you can ‘cash’ them in. Basically you redeem the butterfly points you’ve collected for specific things like 200 points equals a day of safe drinking water for a child or 300 points allows you to raise a farm animal humanely. 4000 points can be exchanged for a meal for an abandoned cat and 10 000 points can be exchanged to save a child with antibiotics.

There are so many people commenting and creating polls whose main goal is to have their say for the good cause of their choice. It’s a great platform for you to engage with other like-minded souls who want to help the world in some way or another.

I am currently on 4 992 butterfly reward points, and am trying to get as many as possible to help as many good causes as possible. If you’re interested in joining this wonderful and easy movement go to http://www.care2.com/ and join now. My personal preference are the animal stories and causes, but there are many to choose from so I’m sure you’ll find the one that’s right for you!

Caring is living!

Jade

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“The Big Issue” Offices Robbed

August 12th, 2010

424px-BigIssueMalawi8editionSome of you will know that “The Big Issue” is a non-profit organisation that empowers and enables willing unemployed and marginalised adults to take responsibility of their lives through a developmental employment programme. It is a great movement, which publishes a quality and newsworthy magazine to allow the vendors to make their own money. This is an idea that is being implemented all over the world, helping people in dire situations to turn their lives around and not have to beg or steal.

Yesterday, Wednesday 11 August, “The Big Issue” released news that their Wynberg Depot was vandalised and robbed during the early hours of Sunday 8 August.

Lance Mostert, the senior distribution manager stated that they had not only broken into and stolen everything “…right down to the kitchenware” but they trashed the premises cutting the ADSL lines, breaking everything in site as well as cutting up coaches that they could not carry out with them.

This really is a terrible turn of events. The Wynberg Depot is used as not only a distribution plave for the working vendors, but a place where they can have a break, eat their lunch and relax and feel safe. It is also used as a venue for workshops which are organised by “The Big Issue’s” social developement department!

There is also an on-site food garden tended “The Big Issue’s” Women’s Group. They sell the vegetables to the other vendors at a discounted price to supplement their incomes. Sadly their gardening equipment was stolen int he robbery.

“The Big Issue” are appealing to everyone to please help them get back on their feet by donating/replacing items that were stolen/destroyed during the break in.

Microwave

Kettle

Urn

Plates, Pots, Pans, Glasses, Mugs and Cutlery

Toaster

Coffee Machine

Lounge Suit

Gardening Equipment (Garden Forks, Small & Large Spades, Hosepipe system)

2 x Dell computers with monitors

Samsung CD Player

Safe

Samsung 8Megapixel Digital Camera

If you are able to help with or donate any of these items please contact the Senior Social Development Manager Shakes Dwangu at social@bigissue.org.za or call them on 021 461 6690

Hope they can move forward from this terrible event and continue to empower people to take responsibility for their own lives.

Jade

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Longbeach Mall and Grow Smart

August 11th, 2010

June_July 2010 3 025The other night my boyfriend and I decided to go to Longbeach Mall to see a movie. We arrived quite early for the show we decided on so went for a walk along the mall even though the shops were closed.

About midway there was a large perspex box with books in it and naturally I was curious about why it was there so we stopped to take a look.

There was a sign next to the box that said “Help Kids To Grow Smart”, and the idea is that whoever has books that they no longer need or have outgrown donate their books to this good cause.

It really is refreshing to see Longbeach Mall join forces with this cause to do something good and I must say I was pleased to see how many books there were in the box already!

June_July 2010 3 026So, in short, if you have any books that you are willing to get rid of, why not pack them in a box, put them in your car and drive down to Longbeach Mall to donate them to a great cause – educating children.

Have a wonderful day!

Jade

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