This week join Fairtrade Label South Africa in their campaign to promote an ethical alternative for all coffee lovers.

Farmers like the one pictured here benefit from Fairtrade's efforts (Photograph by Natalie Bertrams)

While there are many events and initiatives on the theme of fair trade happening internationally - in correlation with last Saturday's World Fair Trade Day - this will be the second time Fairtrade Coffee Week takes place in South Africa.

“Fairtrade Coffee Week has a special meaning for Fairtrade, both locally and internationally, as it celebrates our flagship product and the thousands of small-scale farmers involved in Fairtrade coffee production worldwide,” says FLSA’s Executive Director, Boudewijn Goossens.

Greenpop chat to me about their festival, carbon offsetting and the awesomeness of vegetarian food...

Greenpop have run many great projects, including Trees for Zambia

Greenpop just hosted its second ever Reforestation Festival this past weekend, where participants plant indigenous trees to help restore the ancient Platbos forest. Around 250 people from the ages of 5 to 65 years joined them in their 'Treevolution'.

1st prize: SHOOTS by Gabrielle BirkenmeyerIn March 2012, the Eco Design Initiative hosted its highlight events, the Sustainable Design Showcase at City Hall and the Fresh Talent Challenge, a social design intervention that took place in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. (6 to 16 March)

These were the culmination of the Initiative’s second cycle of events, themed “Home is where the heart is”. The goal of the Initiative’s mission to “educate, exhibit, exchange” is to deliver tangible examples of how sustainability and design thinking and processes have the power to make life better - for people, our planet and prosperity.
the sustainable design awards

Stay healthy this winter with herbal tea, nature's own gentle medicine.

There is a herbal tea for every ailment

When it's cold out there and the wind is a-blowing, there is nothing like a good old cup of tea to warm the cockles of the heart. But by adding milk or sugar we lose much of the health quality of warm drinks, which makes herbal tea a great alternative to keep us hydrated during winter. Plus, the healing properties of herbs is a wisdom that dates far back into our history, and still holds true today.

Herbal teas can help address certain minor health issues, but of course in more severe cases other medications would probably be best. Below are some of the more widely available teas that can help aid our bodies.

Green Tea

Raisa Cole takes to Jo'burg's streets to find out why most of us don't use public transport.

The transportation sector is the most rapidly growing source of greenhouse gases in South Africa. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) the carbon emissions from the sector has grown by 30% in the last ten years, making it the fastest growing sector in terms of carbon emissions.

Reducing the number of cars on the road seems to be the logical answer, but the majority of South Africans still use private vehicles as their primary mode of transport.

Capetonians up Lion's Head - made it to front page of the Sunday Times and the weekend Argus! (click read more for all the pics...)

Join Bill McGibbon's 350.org this weekend in an event near you to connect the dots ()

All across the world people are holding rallies to remind people what has happened in their neighbourhoods, to raise awareness of climate changes, and so connect the dots.

Climate change, says Bill McGibbon in an article written for The Guardian, is actually the biggest thing that is going on every single day...

the mag for curious kids

We recently bought an issue of Supernova. It's a new local mag that our sprite deems 'far better than Kids National Geographic, any day, mom', so it must be.

This isn't the latest edition, it's the one we bought. The latest, issue four, is now out and all about the rhino crisis, so probably really worth laying your hands on.

The mag is published by BK Publishing and is a hand-drawn magazine, which makes it really different. It also has very little advertising, and the advertising there is has been designed inhouse to blend in with the mag - refreshing, no?

Here's what their website says about them:

Fairtrade Label South Africa celebrated their first ambassador this week, award-winning musician Loyiso Bala.

Loyiso visits a Fairtrade funded crèche (Photographer: Sydelle Willow Smith)

Joining the rest of the mingling media, we sipped delicious Fairtrade wine under the cool trees of Oude Libertas farm estate. Speeches commenced after the old slave bell was rung: the sound of irony.

'I plan to not just be a face, but to really get involved hands-on, so that hopefully this same time next year I can tell you about all the amazing Fairtrade projects I have been involved in,' commented Loyiso jovially during his speech last Tuesday.