The Hemp House in all it's sunset-lit glory

After we had attended Tony Budden's talk a couple of Tuesday's back at , we had been super amped to check out his new home in Noordhoek.

Speaking about his own experience with hemp, Tony says:

‘I fell in love with hemp when I saw my first bit of cannabis fabric. It is so strong and durable...Then we started Hemporium . The work we do helps change the perception of hemp- we chose to make clothes because they are such a tangible product. Hemporium has been a good

Aurecon building - the first in South Africa to achieve a 5-star rating
The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has announced the launch of the Pilot Certification Programme of the 4th Green Star SA rating tool – the Green Star SA Public & Education Building PILOT Rating Tool.

Funded by the Construction Industry Development Board, an agency of the Department of Public works (DPW), this latest tool enables the GBCSA to rate public and education buildings such as community centres, libraries, museums, school and university buildings, places of worship, indoor sports centres, entertainment, exhibition and convention centres, public transport terminal buildings and more.

“This is an exciting expansion of the suite of green building rating tools available from the GBCSA,” says Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the Green Building Council of South Africa.

Waverley Hills organic wine and olive farm has been named a 2011 Best of Wine Tourism winner for its sustainable practices by the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.

The Waverley Hills estate is located 150km outside of Cape Town near Wolseley at the foot of the dramatic Witzenberg Mountain Range. The estate’s name comes from its proximity to the original Waverley Wool dye works where some of the original buildings from the late 1800’s still stand.

In 2000 Waverley Hills Wines made the decision to enter the organic wine market and have since planted and cultivated 30Ha of vineyards and olive groves organically. The estate is run

Timeless Karoo: not for long... unless we address our addiction

Join Jonathan Deal, Chairman of TKAG, for a talk on fracking at UCT this evening. Details below.

Sometimes the truth, while undeniable once grasped, is remarkably evasive to those who supposedly seek it. Or perhaps there is none so blind as those who do not wish to see?

This is the case in the highly polarized “fracking” debate, which has raged in South Africa this year. The true culprits responsible for bringing on this potential travesty of intergenerational justice have so far evaded mention altogether.

Bikes from one of BEN's BIC's (bicycle empowerment centres)

Bike to work this Transport Month and be part of the solution.

With most of the worlds population now living in cities, it is no news to say that traffic congestion has become a huge urban problem, as is the pollution and accidents caused by motor vehicles. With the added fear of climate change and peak oil, there has arisen an urgent need for a social shift towards more sustainable mobility use.

The City of Cape Town recognises October as "Transport Month" and last week hosted a couple of events focussing on Public Transport Interchanges (PTI).

A PTI is a facility where commuters can

Spot the wind turbine at the aquarium entrance

The Two Oceans Aquarium was recently awarded Platinum status by the Heritage Environmental Management Company in recognition of its efforts towards sustainability and reducing the impact of its operations on the environment.

The Aquarium’s Managing Director, Dr Patrick Garratt, said, “We are thrilled with this achievement especially in light of the fact that we will be hosting approximately 500 of the world’s top aquarium personnel for the 8th International Aquarium Congress in September 2012. One of the themes suggested by our international peers is sustainability. Our Platinum status not only provides us with credibility but also to showcase the Two Oceans Aquarium as a leader within the field of sustainability in aquariums”.

This video speaks for itself, De Beers gets to mine the hell out of the West Coast and the local community is left with the mess.

“Halt the sale of De Beers operations until they fix our area”, says the Cape West Coast community of Hondeklipbaai.

The imminent sale of De Beers’ diamond mining operations on the Cape West Coast must be halted until full disclosure and proper consultation with all affected parties has taken place, says the community.

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is expected to make a decision on the approval of the amended environmental management programme, and the transfer of mining rights to Trans Hex, within weeks. The community launched an awareness campaign this week, to urge DMR to postpone their decision.

Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town, Hondeklipbaai community leader Dawid Markus said the sale

pic: a child's work of art as featured in the calendar

Harvest of Hope (HoH) is currently producing a calendar for our annual art competition. Children from several schools have painted pictures for Abalimi and we have selected 12 winners to be presented in our calendar. The calendars will be spiral bound and produced to a high standard and would be a perfect gift for any loved one for Christmas.

Being an NGO we work to a tight budget and therefore would like to receive orders from our loyal supporters before we print the calendars.
The picture above is one of the twelve included in the calendar all with a gardening/vegetable theme.

If you would like to support Abalimi please purchase one of our beautiful calendars for R 100 by making a deposit into our bank account.

Conscious Babe believes youth deserve more of a chance at self-responsibility where the environment is concerned.

A punter rocks a can-top backpack

Seems that Rocking The Daisies are really putting their money where their mouth is regarding green, setting them apart from your average South African rock festival. Reminiscent of the UK festivals I have attended, I saw numerous green initiatives at the festival this last weekend.

Mathias and girlfriend Zola from MLT drives were giving away solar-popped corn next to the dam, you could charge your phone using the wind generator and some of the stalls were powered by solar power (both provided by Earth Power), a team of 15 were sorting much of the recycling on site, the rest of which was sent to the local Malmesbury recycling centre, all the food stalls used

pic: Compassion in World FarmingSow stalls are to give way to group housing on deep litter.

Sow stalls for breeding pigs are likely to be phased-out in South Africa by 2020. Confirmation of the date of phase-out is anticipated by the end of November this year, Mr James Jenkinson, board member of the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) told Compassion in World Farming (South Africa) last week.

Sow stalls are narrow metal cages in which breeding sows are confined. They are so narrow that she cannot turn around and can only stand up or lie down with difficulty. Sow stalls are already illegal in Sweden and in the UK. From 2013, they will be illegal across the European Union and are also being phased out in some states in the US and in New Zealand and Australia.

Compassion in World Farming (South Africa) has led the drive for a