Local NGO makes Western Cape proud at the Climate Change Leadership Awards – Johannesburg (March 2010)

The winners of the inaugural Climate Change Leadership Awards were announced at a function at the Sandton Sun on Thursday, 11 March 2010.

The Climate Change Leadership Awards 2010 recognise, reward and celebrate South African businesses, community-based organisations or individuals who are leaders in climate change issues, and who are taking the lead through positive voluntary action by implementing a range of activities related to combating global warming. These important awards will also do much to promote awareness and action towards a low carbon economy and thus a more sustainable planet.

The winners were:

Community Sector Category:

• 1st place – Urban Farming

• 2nd Western Cape’s Soil for Life

Both these organizations support one the biggest problem facing the world today and that is Access to Food. (There were 20 nominations in this category)

Corporate Services Category: Nedbank Ltd

Retail Sector Category: Woolworths

Small and Medium Business Sector: Rocking the Daisies Music Festival

The keynote speaker at the event was Mr Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. More recently, he served as Chair of the civil society alliance ‘Global Campaign for Climate Action’ (GCCA), of which Greenpeace was a founding member.

A key sponsor of the awards is the SA Post Office. CEO Motshoanetsi Lefoka said: ‘We believe that work to combat climate change at grassroots level should be encouraged. We are aware of the effect that business activities can have on the environment, which is why the South African Post Office itself is investing in technology and processes that limit environmental impact.’

We feel good about being in there with the people who are working to make a difference to this beautiful planet of ours. We know that our work has the power to change people, and to change their world. This award will strengthen our resolve to spread the environmental message far and wide;. The prize money will ensure that yet another group of gardeners can embark on our home gardening programme that is
proving so popular.

In order to ‘grow’ more, we are inviting you to join us on an exciting journey.

Our energies in the coming years are being focused on creating a sustainable enterprise. To do this, we are expanding the training programmes that we offer in order to generate the much-needed income to support our work in the less privileged communities that surround our beautiful city.

The first priority is to build a training facility that will enable us to run more courses and workshops (no matter the weather) at our Resource Centre in Constantia. This venture requires labour and materials. We’re offering you a chance to make a difference in the world. Take a look at the attached drawing of the grand building we have planned. Get excited with us at the incredible possibilities it opens for all of us and read on to find out how you can become a part of the adventure.

A ‘Building Registry’ has been set up at Somerset Timbers and a needs list is available here: Materials List for lecture room.

Have a look at the list, decide what you would like to donate, give them a call and they’ll organise the rest once you have paid them by EFT.

More detailed instructions follow to guide you through the process:

How to go about it:

1. Make a choice from the registry and note the item number.

2. Make an EFT payment to Somerset Timberst using the reference, SFL and the item number. For example, if you selected internal posts as your contribution to the building – your reference will be SFL12. Banking details: Somerset Timbers, First National Bank, Somerset West. Account number: 53680023489, Branch code 200512

3. Phone Derek Robb at Somerset Timbers on 021-845 8713 and give him the details and/or send us the receipt via e mail with your details.

OR

Make a contribution directly to Soil for Life. The reference for your deposit into our account is ‘Newbuild’. Our banking details are: Soil for Life, ABSA Bank, Wynberg. Account number: 4056855300; Branch code: 632005.

Our gift to you …..
An invitation to the opening, a chance to share in the excitement of the roof-wetting ceremony and your name on a special plaque thanking our donors.

We are planning on starting this project during the second week of February 2010 and look forward to having you on board as a partner in the venture. Please call Dez Mynhardt on 021 794 4982 with any queries you may have.

Thank you from us all at Soil for Life

Downloads:

ANNUAL REPORT 2006-07

Annual Report 2007-2008

Measure the height of a tree by standing on your head. Make a watering can out of an old tin. Learn to grow and cook with local leafy greens like xigogo and lekoma.

There’s a lot more interesting stuff packed into Pat Featherstone’s newly published book, Grow to Live to inspire you to get outside and enjoy the pleasures of communing with Mother Earth.

A limited number of copies are available directly through Soil for Life, so order yours soon!

On the simplest level, Grow to Live takes you on a journey into the field of organic food gardening. And if it’s a hands-on, no frills guide for the South African organic food gardener that you’re after, you’d be hard-pressed to beat Pat’s practical text illustrated with Leah Hawker’s expounding pencil drawings and stunning photographs.

The book assumes you are starting from scratch, so the copy is simple, clear and concise. The book is divided into chapters of digestible length, starting with the basics of why to go organic and how to plan and start the organic food garden, right through to a focus on maintenance and preparing for the next planting cycle. But there’s a lot more on offer here.

Once you begin to engage with the book, you realize that you are about to Grow to Live a lifestyle that’s healthier, more in tune with the environment, and ultimately so much more satisfying. Learn about a warm-up exercise routine to help you prepare your back before commencing with your bending and digging and novel ways lighten your contribution to the municipal dump by recycling your kitchen waste, plastic bottles tins – even weeds and those pesky insects.

Then, there are unusual culinary delights like water berry compote to sample. It’s like a trip into a more idyllic time – when we were more in tune with nature. For our own good, we need to go back there and put our hands in the soil. Grow to Live would make an excellent Christmas present for a friend or relative interested in things organic, or for someone in need of a new hobby and a nudge in the right direction.

A limited number of copies are on sale at Soil for Life at a special member’s price of R220. Avoid disappointment by ordering yours now. E-mail info@soilforlife.co.za to order your copy, or phone 021 794 4982 or visit us in Stable Lane, off Brounger Road Constantia.

You can read all about it on Mother City Living, and take a look at all the photos below!

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We are excited to have finalised our public workshop programme and invite all interested individuals from all backgrounds to join our courses. They’re hands-on, practical and loads of fun. You’ll spend two days in the garden digging, discussing, discovering a new you and go home with all the knowledge you need to start your own organic veggie garden.

Find out more.

Also take home some delicious and unusual chutneys and jams, made using our produce from our home gardens.

Soil for Life home gardens wins the Innovation Merit Award at the 2008 Eat In RMB Private Bank South African Produce Awards

View the gallery.

Last year, Soil for Life itself, for the first time, was called on stage as a nominee for the urban agriculture category. And we won!

Thank you Cape Town for your support. We are beyond ourselves. Follow the links on the right to read original newspaper articles or visit the Cape Times for more details here.