The Clothing Bank helps local disadvantaged women become business empowered.

The ladies are allowed a certain amount of credit each month to keep distribution of stock fair

This awesome Observatory-based organisation has come up with a concept that uses what could potentailly have been waste as an effective resource.

Exess clothes donated by corporate retailers like Woolworths - end of the line garments, rejects, returns or slashed samples - are sorted and fixed daily by The Clothing Bank staff. Their workshop boasts a whole array of quality products, as well as the equipment to transform any damaged pieces into something beautiful.

What is the story behind our food?

Local artisans and food producers

Food With A Story, an online artisanal and ethical food producer’s directory, is the brainchild of couple Deni and Carlin Archer. Believing passionately that people's food choices have a powerful effect on the world, they hope to raise awareness around food consumption through the collection of positive and ethical stories on their website.

The idea behind it is that by knowing how your food is grown - as well as understanding the impacts this may have on the environment - consumers are them empowered to make better choices.

The more I see how much DIY has become a worldwide trend in recent years - due to lack of money and a growing green conscience - the more I am beginning to believe that the recession has helped to trigger society back into a place of creativity and self-sufficiency.

From the Facebook group ReUseConnection

From making your own cushion covers to creating furniture from the wood of used Christmas trees, innovative creations have been springing up everywhere. And you have only to look to the internet or your own mind for ideas.

At last! A phone app that will help consumers spend money on products they agree with.

'e' is for ethical electronics

Voltaire said ‘never underestimate the power of the vigilante consumer' and I also believe that our spending power is something to be taken seriously. Ultimately, everyone is a consumer in some way or other and businesses have a nasty habit of misleading us sometimes.

‘What is the effect of our purchases?’ asks Eitan, project manager of the eLabel team, staunch believers in business transparency and public access to information.

If you are anything like me, you are sooo over greenwashing scams and may have become a little jaded about

Imagine there was a place you could go to learn about Climate Change in a fun, interactive way?

The International Polar Foundation is bringing these kind of science centres to the world and South Africa gets to accommodate the first one!!

A small taste of what is to be

(image by Grant Mcpherson)

For young and old, businesses and families, this science society interface will function to provide all the information and knowledge to empower a more ecologically responsible future.

With the recent discoveries on humankind’s specific

The UPliftment programme is a local organisation committed to uplifting and supporting society by sharing the healing power of joy.

A child benefits from play

Through their work, encourages people’s natural inclination towards kindness and love. Their aim is to inspire the growth of laughter, smiles and play in the world.

‘Bliss is the gift you receive when you share joy with another,’ believes Nicola Jackman, founder and chairlady (AKA ‘cheer lady’) of The UP. Self-proclaimed ‘joy activist’ this lovely lady is all about bringing back the smile, in a big way.

‘I like to greet people as I pass them, as nothing beats the feeling of seeing someone eyes light up,’ says Nicola.

For years The UP have been

Toxic waste hangs around for thousands of years

The Koeberg Alert Alliance organisation goes back as far as 1983, but was reformed by Peter Becker in 2010. A determined man, he spends much of his time sharing the important news of what nuclear means to the people of Cape Town, trying to cut through the smokescreen that is governmental brainwashing and monopoly-driven propaganda.

For Peter, it all started with a poster. Before his anti-nuclear days Mr Becker was into wind power and one day while giving a talk at a school he couldn’t help but notice the crude misinformation on one of the posters on the wall about energy. With a couple of degrees up his sleeve Peter quickly saw through the subtle manipulation tactics scrawled across that school poster, seriously downplaying the potential dangers of Nuclear Energy. He was so disgusted that he

Plans for locally manufactured multi-megawatt turbines: A milestone for our local green economy?

The intimidating size of the blade mould was obvious

Last week marked the launch of I-WEC’s rotor blade workshop, together with Western Cape Economic Development MEC Alan Winde and Connect’d Cape Town. Now we will see for the first time in history wind turbine blades manufactured in our very own country. With the Western Cape government’s ambitious target for renewable energy at 15% by 2014, I guess it’s about time.

Jenny Louw talks paradise gardens at Erin Hall as part of the series of Superfoods free talks.

Jenny Louw: horticulturist, garden designer and writer

Jenny Louw is the owner of a wonderful farm garden in Constantia that boasts a lush assortment of vegetables, fruits, flowers, birds, bugs and, of all things, weeds. She shares with us her passion for ‘toiling the soil’, emphasising that we too can succeed in creating our own garden paradise.

‘Picking and eating food straight from our own garden is a sensual experience that cannot be compared to buying food from the supermarket,’ Jenny believes.

A week or so ago she told an audience of around 300 about her dream of beautiful jungle cities, emphasising that bio-diversity is the key to creating a paradise.

‘Nature is my most truthful teacher,’ she explains. ‘I have learnt to embrace every caterpillar, every aphid as a respected part of my garden.’

fresh organic veg on sale
Despite the recent freaky weather, spring is most definitely in the air and the time is perfect for markets, of which Cape Town has many. One of the most fabulous is the new Gaia food market in the leafy suburb of Constantia. Gaia is another name for ‘mother earth’, and so echoes the natural ethos of the market: natural, organic, healthy, yum and fun!

Perfect for those with gourmet taste-buds and a tendency to sup on nought but vegetables, as well as a great day out for those new to the ‘organic-and-natural’ food scene, this Sunday event is a must for all Cape Townians and tourists alike.