Adapting To Global Warming: Permaculture in South Africa

Adapting to Climate Change
Step by Step
Stories of Change
Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012
Stepping Up to Sustainability
Stories of Change from across South Africa
This book is a collection of real life Stories of Change where South Africans have stepped up to sustainability. Are you trying to live more sustainably? Do you have a change story to share? Whatever steps you are taking towards sustainability, share them by e-mailing your Story of Change to us at sharenet@wessa.co.za In 2010, WESSA, with support from USAID, launched the Stepping Up to Sustainability concept, incorporating the Sustainability Commons. Each of these Commons includes a range of sustainability technologies that support more sustainable lifestyle choices. They include reducing, sorting and managing waste better, installing renewable technologies, conserving and teaching about water management, as well as, providing experiential courses on biodiversity. The goal is simple to put into practice the lifestyle choices we all need to make. These innovative concepts are set to expand as we all step up to sustainability and seek to do something about minimizing our environmental footprint. We can reduce our footprints or grow our handprints (actions for good) through our own Stories of Change.
First Edition: First Impression ISBN 978-1-919991-95-5
May 2013
A WESSA Share-Net resource, funded through the USAID Stepping Up to Sustainability project. WESSA Share-Net. People, places and publications for environmental education, PO Box 394, Howick, 3290. Tel (033) 330 3931 ext 2124, e-mail sharenet@wessa.co.za; website www.wessa.org.za
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Contents
Cleaning up our community wetland and dam No more dumping and burning! Teacher and community permaculture expert Cooking on a Clay Stove Janines Waste Reduction Waste minimization in the fashion industry: Forgotten Cotton Cleaning up Mpophomeni township Rock on with the Rocket Stove Building a clay stove and saving an African rock python Re-using grey water Drinking water from a Rain Catcher Rainwater harvesting does not have to be big and expensive Sustainability projects at home See-through recycling Rosas small changes add up The Birches a sustainable living pre-primary school A garden of inspiration Taking Action! Saving water at our school Lighting up our life for free Cooking the Climate Smart Way Busisiwe and the worm farm Making my own hay boxes Saving water at home Washing dishes with less water! Towards a more sustainable life family influence and impact and my long walk to a more sustainable lifestyle No more dumping in our river! Methane for cooking, not for climate heat Reducing water wastage Vegetable gardens Plastic bricks Taking ever opportunity Keeping cool with the sun: chill out! Nature Conservation Bridging the gap! Compost hot-water shower Successful permaculture garden workshop Making a Plan! Making a pledge and introducing recycling Conserving water A low-cost way to clean up grey water Making a home-made solar stove Jonathans Thesis for Change Nomawande Wara Nkontso-Menes story Free light for my room! 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 49
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Cleaning up our community wetland and dam

As a young boy, I looked after livestock. We used to play near dams and rivers, and throw stones, bottles and plastic into them. One day we all went for a swim and I was badly cut by a glass bottle. I later become a teacher and in 2011 and 2012, attended two very interesting water conferences. Two of the sayings I remember clearly from these conferences were change starts with you and practice what you preach. After the conferences, our school decided to involve the community in a clean-up. There is a dam and wetland nearby and in the past, like myself when I was a child, community members including our learners were throwing waste into the water. I highlighted the importance of looking after the dam and wetland and organised a clean-up campaign on 14 September 2012. Learners and teachers picked up all the waste we could find. We bought refuse bags to collect the rubbish and the event went well. We also wrote to the Department of Environmental Affairs for a donation to fence our nearby wetland to prevent it being further polluted. One of the teachers, Mr Maphopha, volunteered to take the tins from the clean-up to be recycled. He was financially compensated and the money supplemented the grade 7s farewell function. Other refuse collected was used by the learners for an exhibition in Arts and Culture. Since the clean-up, we have developed a comprehensive action plan for our school!
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Compiled by Mr Mhogole
No more dumping and burning!

My name is Jetje Japhet and I live at Eden Nature Reserve which is outside Nelspruit. There are 23 houses on the reserve and we used to have a dump where all the houses dumped and burnt their waste. This was not environmentally friendly. We needed another solution to dispose of our waste. After a chance meeting at a charity event, I asked Louise if she would be able to come and train all the domestic workers on how to sort the waste into categories. After the training I arranged with a service provider to collect our sorted waste.
Phindile from Remade Greens Recycling translates into Siswati while facilitating the training for the staff members on how to sort waste into the correct categories.
Since May 2012, we have raised nearly R4 000 and sent around 7 000kg of waste for recycling.
This is not only solving our waste disposal issue but is also a fundraiser for the staff. All the money generated from the waste is specifically used for the staff members. We do this through incentive bonuses and holding a Christmas braai for them. Through the recycling incentive, the staff members and land owners have become conscious of how much waste can be recycled and that although it take some effort to adjust to new routines, people have a great capacity to adapt to changes. Now recycling is a part of our daily routines!
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Compiled by Louise Williamson
Teacher and community permaculture expert

I first met Nomonde Ntsundwana four years ago at Canzibe Primary, which is one of our ABB sponsored Eco-Schools situated in Motherwell township. She had started a school garden to support the schools nutrition scheme. The school garden came second in a local municipal competition and, as a prize, they were given an Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Nursery by the Agricultural Research Council. This was the start of many more things to come!
Nomonde Ntsundwana gives a lesson about the orange- fleshed sweet potato.
I could see that Nomonde had an extreme passion for gardening, coupled with a charisma for getting others interested in gardening. The school garden flourished! Through a grant from the British Council, WESSA rolled out the sweet potato cultivars to gardens in 10 other Eco-Schools and also to two community gardens with Nomonde leading the project with zeal. She organised a Harvest Festival at the school where they reaped 50 bags of sweet potatoes. She got Correctional Services to provide paroles to help in expanding the garden. Her school, Canzibe Primary, was selected as one of the Eco-Pioneers profiled by TOTAL in 2011 in a national competition. In 2011, Nomonde was transferred to another school, Seyisi Primary, and in a short space of time has transformed the garden by planting trees, establishing the school garden and developing a huge community garden alongside the school. Through the USAID sponsored Community Permaculture Training programme, she is assisting permaculture practitioner, Jakkie Botha of Urban Harvest, in teaching local residents who farm on school grounds to practice permaculture practices and conserve water. These training programmes have been an enormous success as Nomonde and her garden produce is living proof that these practices reap rewards. She also voluntarily assists churches and clinics in improving their gardening efforts. She now gives talks on gardening once a week on a community radio, Nkqubela FM, on a programme called UfondoNgezo Limo. She has been recognised for her services through being awarded the National Kudu Award for Community Service by SANParks in 2011 and is currently a finalist in the 2012 Shoprite Woman of the Year Award in the Educators Category. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Compiled by Martheanne Finnemore
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Cooking on a Clay Stove

I work and live on Boondocks Nature Reserve where there is no electricity. I have a solar powered cell phone charger and a lighting unit which I use every day. I have been cooking on an open fire for the last five years and decided to build myself a clay stove which can take two pots. I have been watching Miss Williamson cook using her clay stove and she kept asking me when I was going to build one. After seeing the evidence of how well it worked, I decided to build one. It works very well and I could have kicked myself for not building one sooner! Its saves so much wood! This is such a benefit as I collect wood every day to cook with and now I only need to collect small amounts. I can even bake bread. All I do, after making the fire and having enough coals, is close the entrance-way and the stove top openings with some corrugated iron and then I bake the bread. My next step is to make a shelter with some clay and stone benches. I am also going to build one at my house in Tonga. I think my friends are going to be very impressed. Maybe they will even build one themselves!
Filario Guieya cooking on his clay stove
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Janines Waste Reduction

Janine Brown, an educator at Malabar Primary, has started recycling. Instead of throwing away waste generated in her household, the family collect it to be used again, which has a positive effect on the environment. The positive effect is twofold. Firstly, reusing materials means less waste in landfills. Secondly, recycled materials typically have lower embodied energy meaning they needed less energy to manufacture. This reduces the production of climate-
Janine (in black top) and fellow educators at a WESSA Climate Change mitigation workshop
altering greenhouse gases. Janine and her husband, also an educator, have seen an appreciable effect on the amount of waste they throw away. Instead of putting out three bags for collection each week, we now put out one, she says. The rest we sort into separate bins, and then take it to school, where there is a recycling project. Sorting waste for recycling means separating the different types of waste: metal, glass, plastic, and paper. One can start small, by sorting into these categories, and then get more complex by separating the different types of plastic (you can look on the item for a number identifying the type of plastic). I recommend you have a system, and keep separate bins for the different types of waste, Janine says. Otherwise recycling becomes messy. Getting a good system in place from the start makes recycling quick and easy. Its a small thing, but it has a big impact, Janine emphasises. She encourages other people to start recycling too, acting as an agent of change and leading by example.
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Compiled by David Franklin and Morgan Griffiths
Waste minimization in the fashion industry: Forgotten Cotton

During employment at a large fashion retailer, I noticed the amount of fabric off-cuts that were being boxed as waste every week. All the fabric was unused and although it varied in size, it would still be useful to make various accessories or be used for various other purposes. I began asking permission from lab assistants if I could take some of the fabric to art schools and shelter/old age homes where I knew the fabric would be put to good use.
Pile of uncut fabric.
Forgotten Cotton emerged as an idea for a project that facilitated the diversion of this waste from landfills and a way to ensure that it would be used by people who would not have access to such resources. I was sent many thank you letters for the fabric and the various beneficiaries were very grateful. In trying to formalise this, I was confronted with corporate barriers that needed the project to be recognised as an NGO/NPO organisation that would match the rest of their CSR projects. I later found out that the Forgotten cotton website. company has now recognised the value in this off-cut waste and has since diverted its course to other benefactors, I realised that my interventions had not been
Fabric boxed as waste.
fruitless after all. I am currently doing research, involving others and networking with other fashion outlets, in order to keep the project going. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Compiled by Justine McCarthy
Cleaning Up Mpophomeni township

My name is Andile Vilakazi and I identified waste hot spots in Mpophomeni township. These were waste dumping sites which have been running for several years. I decided to run a clean-up campaign which was held in collaboration with the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, the Department of Environmental Affairs, Friends for Life and the Mpophomeni community. I realised that all of us often have a negative mindset towards the environment so we started the clean-up day with an awareness campaign and discussed the causes of this environmental crisis. The activity made people realise that they can separate waste and make money out of it. The cleanup campaign was an eye-opener for many people because it is everyones responsibility to take care of the environment. Litter runs into our rivers and negatively affects us. uMngeni Municipality played a crucial role by collecting all the litter bags that we collected during our clean-up. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Compiled by Andile Vilakazi
Rock On with the Rocket Stove

With fracking now causing environmental damage in our country, we have a serious concern about the use of gas for our cooking. We learnt that the rocket stove is an appropriate technology being used around the world to cook using small amounts of firewood so we wanted to try it. We built one out of cob (mud and straw) which worked fine but it was big and couldnt be moved. We then received two rocket stoves as a donation from the USAID funded Stepping Up to Sustainability project. The stoves are easy to pick up and carry as they are compact and insulated. To test them, I enlisted our 8 year old son who took great delight in feeding the fire as he cooked our dinner! We took one of the rocket stoves camping where there was very little firewood. It cooked our food quickly using only twigs and it smoked very little. We then had a visitor who used the rocket stove to make some of her meals - she found it convenient and easy to use and we appreciated that she was able to be selfsufficient - collecting fuel from the twigs around her and that she was using only renewable resources. The rocket stoves complement our solar oven, solar cooker, and wonderbox, for energy conservation while cooking. We look forward to using it more, connecting with nature as we cook. In addition, I co-ordinate a cluster of Eco-Schools in Impendle. Many schools are interested in energy conservation and currently cook school meals over a large fire with expensive firewood. The schools are keen to have me demonstrate this technology and teach them how to build their own from the clay on the school grounds.
Compiled by Samantha Rose
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Building a clay stove and saving an African rock python

My name is Mandla Mdluli and I am an intern at the SANBI environmental centre in Nelspruit. I attended the Environmental Educator Course last year where I learned about cooking in a clay stove and how energy efficient they are. We conducted a cooking practical and I saw for myself how well it worked. I went home and
Mandla and his clay stove.
immediately built one for our family. We use it all the time.
During the course I also learned about the importance of snakes. Previously, I would kill any snake found at home, especially when I found them in the chickens cage. Not long after the course, I found a python amongst the chickens and I remembered the discussion we had had during the course. I phoned Louise who asked me to carefully place the snake in a box with small holes and bring it to work the next day, when she would collect it and release it elsewhere. I managed to catch the snake and transport it in a box on the taxi to work. The snake was successfully released in a nature reserve and I feel very happy that I did not kill it.
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Re-using grey water

Grey water is waste water from baths, showers, and washing machines. It is not water that has come into contact with faeces either from the toilet or from washing nappies. Grey water may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair and certain household cleaning products. Grey water may look dirty, but it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water in a yard. If released into rivers and dams, the nutrients in grey water become pollutants, but to plants they are valuable fertilizers. Through training at Nedbank, I was able to learn more about sustainability and learn how to practice it. I started seeing things in a more meaningful way and taking care of a lot of things. Because of this, I wish to say thank you to WESSA and Nedbank. During this training, I started thinking about reusing grey water. I started using laundry and bath water for the plants and fruits in my garden. I have also realised that we can benefit more if we train ourselves and our community to try and save water and re-use it where possible. We can reduce the need for fresh water, by using grey water for our garden plants. This significantly reduces our household water bills. Re-using our grey water keeps it out of the sewer or septic system and this reduces the chances that it will pollute local water bodies. Grey water can be used on vegetables as long as it does not touch the edible parts of the plants. I have also learnt that in any grey water system, it is essential to put nothing toxic down the drain - no bleach, no dye, no bath salts, no shampoo with unpronouceable ingredients, no cleanser which is toxic to plants. It is crucial to use natural products and soaps with ingredients that do not harm plants. I believe that sharing is good and beneficial.
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Compiled by Joyce Magasa
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Drinking water from a Rain Catcher

Biopelo Sekooa attended a presentation held at the Galeshewe Library in Kimberley, Northern Cape. Apart from receiving a Wonderbag sponsored by Flamingo Casino, she also received a Rain Catcher through a lucky draw, sponsored by USAID and Invented. This appliance looks like an upside-down tent, and just like a tent, you can errect it in your garden with tent pegs and ropes to make it sturdy!
The rain catcher comes in very handy in the Northern Cape as this is a dry province. When it does rain, you need to collect as much water as possible! When it rains, the rain catcher collects the water into a clear bottle and the water can be used to drink, for washing or in the garden. Biopelo uses the water for washing, She also boils it and uses it for drinking.
Biopelo receiving her rain catcher, nicely folded up in a convenient carry bag, from Suzanne Erasmus.
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Compiled by Delana Rabe
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Rainwater harvesting does not have to be big and expensive

When people hear about rainwater harvesting, they often think about great big 5 000 litre green plastic or ferro cement tanks. While these are good, they need lots of space, heavy duty raised platforms to support five tons of water and, of course, quite a bit of cash. Having smaller and more numerous containers such as this reused and refurbished barrel, which cost R100, is an option with many advantages.
Me and my low-cost rainwater tank with no tap.
They are easy to place in convenient places under gutters. You can grow plants on a frame next to them. Making a support base to get a bit of water pressure is pretty easy. They fill up fast with a little rain. They can be connected in series. They are useful to teach about volume. The one in the picture is one of five that I have tucked away here and there. They have been full and empty many times. Each of these holds more than 200 litres which is quite a lot of water for young pot plants and herbs. I have dispensed with taps which often get stolen or blocked and instead use a siphon pipe made with a discarded piece of garden hose. This is tied to a weight sunk to the bottom of the barrel. Fill it with water once and from then on air pressure delivers a steady stream to anywhere lower than the water level. To turn off, you simply raise the watering end of the pipe. Another piece of wire clips it to the lip of the tank. Voila!
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Compiled by Patrick Dowling
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Sustainability projects at home

Over the past 18 months since we moved into our house, I have enjoyed the process of trying to make our home more environmentally sustainable. This started with ripping up some of the 2 800m2 of kikuyu green desert lawn which I have been replacing with indigenous grasses, bulbs and shrubs. It has been such a reward to watch this biodiversity hotspot grow. It is an ongoing project of expansion with the ultimate goal of re-converting most of the garden to indigenous with multiple benefits including aesthetic, biodiversity, low maintenance and being water-wise. Alongside the indigenous garden, I have started a vegetable garden using organic and permaculture principles. Although a beginner, it has been very satisfying harvesting spinach, brinjals, lettuce, courgettes, butternuts and beans and learning more about what grows best, where and when.
We are slowly replacing kikuyu lawn with indigenous grasses and plants.
To support the garden I have a compost heap as well as a wormery. We have installed a 5 000 litre jojo tank that provides water for the vegetable garden during the dry months. The wonderbag is something that we use almost on a daily basis. This is an incredible way of saving energy while cooking. I also have a solar cooker which I can only really use on weekends when at home and the weather is good. The solar water heater was one of the first technologies we installed which has resulted in savings in terms of carbon emissions and, of course, the electricity bill which is now under R100 a month.
Bridget making plum jam, using the solar cooker.

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During winter, we use all the privet wood (invasives) that we cut down in a very efficient wood burning fireplace to keep warm. To save energy and water when it comes to clothes washing, I use ceramic wash balls, which means you dont have to rinse the washing (no soap) and therefore more energy is saved as the usual washing cycle can be shortened. This also means the grey water generated doesnt contain any soap and I often use this on the garden during the drier months. Recently, I liberated 5 hens from the egglaying auschwitz farm up the road where chickens live their entire lives in a space the size of an A4 page! It has been wonderful to feel like I have the ability to change the situation for some of our fellow abused earthlings even if only 5. There is no pressure for them to lay and they now have free reign of the garden. Plans for the future include building a pond to include a wetland and home for frogs.
The chickens are free to roam during the day and have a safe house at night!
Eventually getting off the grid is our ultimate aim as well as installing more jojo tanks so that we can harvest all our own water. Last of all, I shall keep cycling to work - this saves carbon and keeps me fit! _____________________________________________________________________________________
Compiled by Bridget Ringdahl
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See-through recycling
Who knew that recycling would be such fun! You know when you say the word recycle to people, they always think that its a long process in terms of doing it yourself but, hey, its not! People do not notice that when they are throwing away their rubbish theres valuable stuff in there. That was me. I threw everything out in one black bag and never noticed that there were valuable and useful things inside. Making the stuff we throw away more visible in containers will remind us of what goes where. Separating materials is one of the big challenges. Simple containers with a see-through section should help people get the right idea. We complain about having dirty streets and a polluted community not realising that some of the garbage we throw away ends up in our streets Be your own boss and start changing your own life its so much fun you wont even notice that you are doing it. You can start by creating your own bins that you can use and this initiative is mostly likely needed in school. They can start by using whatever is popular garbage and that could be bottles, cans, paper and boxes there, right before your eyes, you would be recycling as easy as that! For me, I will start my initiative with the help of my fellow students of the Yes Programme to change the way I see my trash and there and then start educating my school pupils to also be part of making a change in their lives. This initiative could also help them generate some money that they can use to create an extra activity in their school.
Me with some homemade recycling containers.
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Compiled by Aphiwe Zothwa
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Rosas small changes add up

Rosa, who works at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, has committed to making changes in her life. These changes are her way of responding to the challenges posed by climate change. At work, she uses the stairs to get to her office, rather than using the elevator. She also switches her PC and printer off at the wall. Both of these changes save energy, and reduce Rosas carbon footprint. When I spoke to her about these changes, she commented that they had become habits for her, and that taking the stairs also has the benefit of keeping her fit! She is going to continue with these practices. At home, she committed to switching the geyser on only at night for about two hours. Since her marriage, however, she has dropped this change. This is for two reasons - the first is that it is too much hassle. The second one is enlightening - on researching the matter, she and her husband discovered that switching the geyser off does not save energy, as a large amount of electricity is used reheating the water! They also collect their organic waste and compost it this reduces the amount of waste put out for municipal collection, which would end up in a landfill site, rather than being usefully re-used. Rosa suggests that others who are concerned about climate change should begin implementing small changes in their lives. These include re-using grey water, switching off lights when not in use, recycling, walking or cycling rather than driving a car. Small changes add up, Rosa says. Whats more, these changes save you money, as well as helping to fight climate change. Rosa suggests that you find out what is available in your area with regards to recycling and car pooling. You may be pleasantly surprised. Everyone can make a difference, she emphasises.
Separate bins for waste and organic matter make composting easy.
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The Birches - a sustainable living pre-primary school

The six-year olds did an exercise pretending that the school grounds was an island in the sea with no adults, electricity, incoming water services or any help to survive - for the rest of their lives! They had to work out how they would survive! Indeed they did as there are food gardens, chickens, eggs, various recycling areas, harvested rain which flushes toilets, a homemade solar water heater and grey water systems. There is even a Legotla (the Tree of Democracy) where children can sit in a circle on logs (from an alien tree that was cut down) to speak about rules and govern themselves. The children are involved in early Morning Markets, selling eggs and home produce and take complete responsibility for their needs and the grounds of the school. Recycling of cans, paper, computer cartridges, plastic and more bring in an income that funds books and greening projects in the school. We have a No dig garden which has been established using green waste and is producing herbs and vegetables. A more long term Fruit Forest has been established and due to winning the Saville Foundation Business Plan Competition, we have now been able to put a roof over our main Recycling Centre which harvests rain for the Fruit Forest! During World Environment Week, the children placed their hand prints on the pre-fab walls into the school and we are now selling Sustainability Bracelets with little hands to fund a dream Sustainability Training Centre (a wooden off the grid cl assroom) next to the Fruit Forest.
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Compiled by Scilla Edmonds
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A garden of inspiration
Mr Alfred Ninzi is the caretaker at Dumani Primary School in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth. His main duties include tending to school facilities and guarding the gate, but since he received training from USAID and WESSA on permaculture gardening, Mr Ninzi has started a vegetable garden at the school that helps to feed the children. Mr Ninzi mulches, he uses organic liquid fertilizer, he has changed the beds to implement the principles of crop rotation and companion planting and he is using several techniques of rain water harvesting. He uses no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides in the garden. His garden consists of onions, comfrey, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and mealies. All of these go either to the school kitchen or to the teachers and pupils. Before the course, Mr Zinzi had no garden, but now he has the school garden and has also started a small vegetable garden at his house. He is extending the school garden so that he has more space to work with and he has asked the school to redefine his duties so that he can spend more time in the vegetable garden. Mr Zinzi says I loved the course and found the content to be very applicable. I feel so good about the garden, and the children and teachers love it, they are always coming around to see how it is doing and if they can help. I really love this garden and I love gardening. Mr Alfred Zinzi is an inspiration and a wonderful example of what the human heart can achieve with a little bit of knowledge and guidance. Not only has USAID and WESSA planted a seed of growing within him, they have unlocked a talent that brings great benefits to his own social well-being, to a school of 600 pupils, and to the community as a whole.
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Compiled by Jakkie Botha
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Taking Action!
My name is Laizer Milazi and I am an educator at Vulamehlo Combined School in Kabokweni. I have always been interested in the environment. I was fortunate enough to attend the USAID funded Environmental Educators Course held in Nelspruit last year. One of the sessions was to prepare an Eco-Meal where we cooked on a clay stove. I was amazed at how fuel efficient it was. I asked Louise to come and show us how to build one at our school and she did. Together with learners, we built the stove and conducted a cooking practical. This was incredibly valuable as the learners saw how well it worked, compared to the porridge that was cooked on the open fire. The learners said they would also build one at home for their mothers! Our next step is to build a clay oven which we will use to bake bread to fundraise at school. After learning about the effects that global warming will have on our water supplies and the importance of wetlands, I am going to rehabilitate a small wetland near our school. The learners will also be involved. We also have a Jojo tank at school to harvest rain water, all thanks to the USAID Stepping Up to Sustainability project. I want to encourage people that even though you may not have money, you can always persist in approaching companies or organisations to help you.
Laizer Milazi dishing up food cooked in the clay stove
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Saving water at our school

My name is Nozuko and I am a teacher at Mthatha Community Junior Secondary School. I teach mathematics, natural sciences and technology in the senior phase. Mthatha Community Junior Secondary school is a very big school with 37 teachers, 1 300 learners and six non-teaching staff. The school is about 3 km away from the central part of town. In the district, I am the leader-teacher for maths in circuit 3 and also an examiner of mathematics. My school participates in the Eco-Schools programme that is being implemented by WESSAs East London office. I am the co-ordinator of this programme at our school. In July 2012, I applied for an Environmental Educators Course which was held in Port St. Johns. That was an eye-opener for me as I became aware of various environmental issues that I hadnt previously considered important. Thats where change started because I was introduced to so many things. The course brought changes to my life and to my workplace. When I got back to my school, I decided it was time to implement all that I had learnt on the course. I chose water as my environmental issue to address in my school. It was not easy because this work had to introduce change to the whole school. The thing that helped me a lot was the idea of team work. I was given a platform to introduce my environmental issue to the school and that was a day of a great change. We started to improve the way we use water reducing our leakages and channelling wasted water from our leaks to the garden for watering. Some of the teachers felt that this was additional work to the load they already had, but I persevered. The management of the school was very pleased as we were reducing the schools water bill. When I was doing my Portfolio of Evidence, which I needed to submit for the Course, I focused on water. I worked with learners - they cleaned the classrooms under the supervision of their class teachers, they cleaned the toilets under my supervision so they couldnt waste water, and they watered the garden, flowers and trees under Miss Mabhengu. This was a big step towards change in the way we use our water, in my school. I would like to thank WESSA for the opportunity they have given me, it brought a real change to my life. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Compiled by Nozuko Ndamase
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Lighting up our life for free

USAID workshop participants from a local CBO called Philisa Abafazi were very impressed by the low-tech litre of light bottle bulb installed in WESSA Western Capes rickety shed. They have committed to incorporating this cheap lighting system that requires a cooldrink bottle, some water, a cap of Jik, a little silicone, a piece of scrap corrugated iron and, of course, a small, temporary, hole in the roof. The idea is rapidly gaining popularity in areas where cramped conditions make window lighting unreliable.
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Cooking the Climate Smart Way

Morgan Griffiths, WESSA EP Conservation Officer, has been testing the efficiency and practicality of a new type of cooker an induction cooker. Induction cookers work by generating a high frequency electro-magnetic field which induces a type of magnetism into the base of the pot which in turn produces heat. This heat cooks the food. The stove produces the energy and the pot produces the heat. Since it does not have to heat up a stove top first to heat up the pot, which in turn would heat up the food, it is much more efficient than ordinary stoves. The pot and cooker plate directly underneath the pot get hot from the hot food, but the plate cools rapidly when the cooker is turned off or if the pot is lifted off the plate, which makes for a much safer appliance. Its limitation is that it only works with steel pots. Morgan has found that he is able to cook his food in about two-thirds of the time his convential stove-top takes, while using about 20% less electricity. This equates into 20% less CO2 pollution for the meals he cooks with the induction cooker; and 20% saving on his electricity bill. At a cost of about R700, it will pay for itself in electricity savings in only 19 months. While Morgan has had to adapt some cooking techniques, such as preferably only using wooden utensils and not leaving pots unattended (they can boil over rapidly), Morgan says the Induction Cooker is so efficient that I now do nearly all my pot cooking with it its even preferable to using my microwave oven. On top of the 30% electricity (and Rands, and CO2!) savings from having installed a geyser blanket, with this Induction Cooker, my monthly electricity bill is down to what it was 2 years ago! WESSA EP has provided an Induction Cooker to Canzibe Primary, one of our USAID Sustainability Commons, to help with their school feeding scheme.
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Compiled by Morgan Griffiths
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Busisiwe and the worm farm

My name is Prudence Ndlela but I like to be called Busisiwe. I am an educator at Inkhanyeti Primary School near White River in the Lowveld. I attended the Level 5 USAID-funded Environmental Educators Course in July last year at the Botanical Gardens in Nelspruit where Felicity Weir gave us a demonstration and talk about worm farms. I simply fell in love with the idea as we produce a lot of organic waste from our feeding schemes at school. Felicity was kind enough to give me some worms and I went and bought a geyser tray and started our worm farm at school. I have three learners that help me feed and care for the worms. They also harvest the tea once a week for me and then we fertilize the schools gardens. I could not believe how well the tea worked. Our vegetables were bigger and healthier than before. Our other plants at school also started to blossom better. Over the Christmas holidays, I took the worms home to care for them, but the chickens got in and ate them all! Louise gave me some more worms at the beginning of the year and they are safely kept at school where the chickens cant get to them. I am also learning about caring for them better and not making the worm farm too wet all the time. All the educators at school are also impressed with the worm farm and that the tea is such a good fertilizer. As soon as the worms have reproduced to such an extent that there are too many, we will start to give worms to educators and parents that are keen to start their own worm farms.
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Making my own hay boxes

Hazel Clark has found that making and using her own hay boxes has been very cost effective and efficient. All you do is take a box, fill it with hay and then place your pot (after bringing it to the boil) into the hay. Your food will continue to cook and never burn. This is where the idea of the hot box came from. Another way of insulating your pots is to wrap them in a duvet. This works just as well!
Saving water at home

Mishka writes ... When you are the smallest child in a family, its hard to get everyone else influenced by you but it seems in the matter of saving water, I have rubbed off my habits onto them! We first began by switching from bucket-bathing to showering as it saves a seriously large amount and our showerheads allow us to change the amount of water we wish to come through so now the water comes through the smallest holes. We then decided to time how long we actually shower and so we bought a very simple, not fancy or complicated, shower suction clock. Sadly our only one could suck no more but now we have an idea on how long to actually shower or else my dad shouts us. I also make sure all taps are securely closed and that none are leaking. Clean water that we want to throw away now goes onto the plants. We also wish to purchase a Jojo tank in the future to save more water. Saving water, as my dad says, has saved him a lot when it comes to paying the water account. This is exactly how my shower suction clock looks like:
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Compiled by Cara Smith
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Washing dishes with less water!

It started when we went for a school trip to Bush Pigs in South Africa. During our stay, we were taught about conservation and other important things like recycling. While we were at Bush Pigs we went for mini excursions, where we learnt even more! On our way to Camp Hedgehog, which is one of the camps, we found out about the trees and plants we came across as we walked and how they have adapted to the environment. We also learnt about the creatures that live in these plants and we had a taste of Mopane worms, known as Phane worms here in Botswana. Before we started our walk to Camp Hedgehog, one of the staff members told us about the owls they look after! At Camp Hedgehog, we were shown some of planet Earths water statistics how much fresh water there is in the world and how this fresh water is used. At Bush Pigs, we went to another camp called Camp Gemsbok or as we called it, Camp Heaven!! At Camp Heaven, we went for a game drive where we saw and learnt about different animals. Seeing all the beautiful animals made me realise how much I wanted them alive and not extinct - extinction that would be caused by humans lack of care for the worlds natural resources. After the trip, I came back home with a resolution that I was going to conserve natural resources and natural habitats. I also made a pledge that I would stop washing dishes under running water, as well as other stuff. Ever since our trip to Bush Pigs, I have been very careful about my daily actions.
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Compiled by Amantle Kutlo Marobela
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Towards a more sustainable life family influence and impact and my long walk to a more sustainable lifestyle
My dad always says that meat is the best vegetable one can eat, therefore, when I was a child, my daily diet contained a lot of meat. Especially in the form of salami, ham, liver sausage and other meat products with our beloved German bread, which we eat at least twice a day - when the sun rises and sets and often in-between! While I think of it now, I can still remember how naturally I ate my bread with sausages. I particularly loved the special children products, which had a funny animal face on it or the shape of an animal. What can I say? Although not a full consumer yet, I was already being manipulated in terms of my consumer habits! I can still remember how I, as a young girl, loved the smell of roasted chicken, how I loved to pick up pieces of the soft, white and tasty flesh with my fingers, which I licked afterwards. All this was guided by my family, for whom meat is an easily available and highly recommended food source. But with time passing and me becoming older, my habits started to change. At first, it was slow and out of practical aspects, but later it was faster and due to my growing knowledge and experience through my studies. For example, I started to ride my bicycle to school because the bus took double the amount of time, as could be done on my bicycle. Since then, I cycle whenever possible on my beloved bicycle. Today it is naturally and totally logical for me to use it. It is sustainable, often less time consuming than going by car. You also never have problems finding a parking area and beside this, you do your body a favour in keeping it healthy and fit. In terms of my eating habits, I have also changed out of practical necessity. When I started my studies, I lived on my own and who wants to eat half a pig on her own? I didnt! Therefore I focused on vegetarian dishes and soon fell in love with the huge range of colourful and healthy food. Furthermore, I gained a deeper understanding of how meat is produced and what kind of economical impact it has on a global level. I have also observed, at least in Germany, that the food in general, in this case the killed animal, isnt valued. The cause for this might be the fact that our food production is nowadays no longer part of our
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daily life experience. Therefore it is much easier to avoid the connection of the individual consumer habit and the consequences of our food production. Although I am not one of those animals that will end up on somebodys plate, I think that animals who are farmed for food production have lives that are not as happy and healthy as we would like to think. So how does my family, and my dad in particular, cope with my new ways? I would say they have got used to it, although they dont understand me properly. My father, whom I really love, still thinks he might die of iron deficiency if he doesnt eat meat every day. I have to admit, that there is no lunch or dinner that passes, during which my father tells me once again, that I eat Hasenfutter (food for rabbits). My personal conclusion out of my experience is therefore, that the change to a more sustainable life is not easily done. It needs opportunities, knowledge, a strong mind and a lot of good humour. But ... it is a lot of fun and worth achieving!
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Compiled by Maike Kster
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No more dumping in our river!

My name is Phumsile Sambo and I am a Life Sciences educator at Khumbula High School in Kabokweni in Mpumalanga. I also went to Khumbula High School myself as a learner! As I teach learners about the environment, it made sense to start implementing environmental projects in our school. The first one was to restore the beauty back into our school. I had been working with Louise for four years, so I asked her to help us source waterwise plants, which she did and we planted a water-wise garden. I had also been attending many environmental workshops and it was then that the potential consequences of global warming and climate change really hit me, especially around the water issues we will experience. I knew immediately that I had to do something in my own community. We have a river near our home where, in the past, we have always dumped our waste and then when we had no water, we would go and collect water from the river. This was not healthy and people used to get sick. I asked four community members to help get children to help me clean the river banks and start a recycling collection point. I engaged a recycling company to collect the sorted waste. The money we are making is directly benefitting the community as we give the children a little pocket money every time they bring waste to us for recycling. We also use some of the money to buy plants to green the community. My next step is to start eradicating alien plants in the community as they use a lot of water. It is far better to plant indigenous plants that are water-wise!
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Methane for cooking, not for climate heat

Inspired by a visit to an industrial composter which also produces methane in a batch digestor for water heating, participants on the WESSA Western Cape Environmental Leadership Course have decided to do likewise and build a simple digestor with a refurbished plastic drum. They are sourcing the bits of pipe, burner and truck tyre tube for storage necessary for this project to work. The final product, running on a mixture of cow dung, grass cuttings and kitchen waste, will become part of the regions Sustainability Commons. We hope to get three hours of burning time out of each batch of gas!
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Reducing water wastage

After my trip to Bush Pigs, I wanted to change the way water was being used in my community. So, when I arrived home, I formed a group. The group was to educate people about water wastage, what influences water wastage and the different ways of re-using water. Water shortages are one of the main problems facing Botswana. Most people in Botswana have no idea of how important water is and, as a result, water in Botswana is wasted. Many people in Botswana do not realise that every drop counts. It is not only Botswana which has this problem of wasting water, other countries also have this problem. The aims were to: form a group of people who will help in educating others about water; give people ideas of how to use water again and again (you can use the water you wash your dishes in, to water plants); teach people why we need to reduce water wastage. What have I accomplished? I named my group in a way that would show people that we are serious about the way people waste water. We went from house to house and from door to door trying to ask people to help us in educating others in reducing the way they use water. Initially nobody wanted to be told how to use the water they pay for, but now, after my friends volunteered to be part of the group, I feel that water wastage in Botswana will decrease. Although some people did not want to hear the truth, they finally signed up for the Use Water Wisely Campaign. What made me happy was that what I believed was actually coming true!
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Compiled by Chedu Ernest
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Vegetable gardens
In 2011 our school begin we registered 134 learners from pre-school to grade 8. The school is in old farm buildings on a farm called Veeplaats at Masemola. Alien plants which were planted in the past by farmers who used the buildings were numerous and outnumbered indigenous trees. In fact, very few indigenous trees had survived. We had to remove the alien trees by cutting them out. They became wood for fire. We explained to everyone why we were removing the trees as many people, including the learners, were surprised that the alien trees were being removed. As the area became clean and empty, we had to think of what to do next. We started by planting 20 indigenous trees and demarcating an area for a vegetable garden. Next, we started preparing the vegetable garden area. We started quite ambitiously and demarcated a very big area! We planted spinach, tomatoes and carrots. The garden soon became full of healthy vegetables and learners and parents were able to buy vegetables very cheaply. As the vegetables grew, there was a need for more water. Our water tanks were not coping. The soil was not well prepared as it dried out quickly after being irrigated. Early the next year, we demarcated a size suitable for the amount of water we could store in our tanks. We dug trenches of at least a metre deep. We lay grass and other objects at the bottom and then covered them with a thin layer of soil. The pattern was repeated for a metre. Next, we started planting spinach and green beans. As they grew bigger, we used leaves on top for mulching. We have an even more productive vegetable garden now. We sell to the community and give some to our learners for free. Parents have remarked about the freshness of the vegetables and how tasty our spinach is. We are encouraging the children and the villagers to start their own gardens at home. We have discovered how cheap and easy it has been to have a vegetable garden. We feel everyone is able to start a food garden at their home no matter how small a space they have. And, once it is well prepared, it uses far less water. We hope to have changed the perception of the community about vegetable production. If, in the next few years, each of our learners have their own vegetable garden story of change, our country will change for the better!
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Compiled by Patrick Mogowe
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Plastic bricks
When I first encountered the idea of plastic bricks, I was unsure it would work. My friend explained to me that washing the plastic and then stuffing it into milk/Coca Cola/water bottles, also cleaned, was the way to treat all your unrecyclable trash. I thought it was a bit silly. But after trying it for a week, I was convinced. In that week I had no use for my garbage bin. Soft plastic, polystyrene, pill dispensers, milk sachets and more all went into the brick and after 4 weeks I still had not filled my garbage bin! I started to forget on which day the trash man came. After filling a few bricks, stuffed down with a stick to compact it as much as possible, I sent it to a wonderful project in Greyton. Trash 2 Treasure uses these bricks to build community buildings and projects. Using chicken wire to build a cage in the shape of a wall, the bricks are laid in vertical positions. This is then covered with cement or clay. Finally, a very cheap building is erected. The plastic is not in contact with humans so cannot leach into their direct environment. After this, I saw pictures of schools being built using clear bottles as glass pane substitutes and filled bottles as walls. Even if you don't use it as a brick, it creates less wind-blown landfills and is a lot cleaner. Another friend of mine walked into my kitchen the other day and looked at the brick and said hey, it's like a time capsule for when we know how to recycle those plastics! It has been a small change that has given me a feeling of being pro-active about waste.
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Compiled by Sonica Kirsten
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Taking every opportunity

My name is Mrs Mathai and I am an educator at Sakhile High School in the Lowveld. Our learners come from very disadvantaged communities. It is always very difficult to raise funds to send learners on educational tours. When the opportunity came to start a recycling campaign at school, I jumped at it as I knew we could fundraise through this. After we received training on how to separate waste, the learners, Mrs Masego my colleague and I started to
Mrs Mathai putting up the community recycling station.
collect waste. We entered the clean-up and recycle event and won 1st place. We received R5 000 and together with our recycling earnings, we were able to take learners to visit the Sterkfontein Caves. What was bothering me still was that there was a lot of dumping taking place in the community so I funded and designed some recycling information boards and the learners helped me to build a recycling station in the community where the dumping was taking place. At school, we also rely on the water delivery trucks to supply us with water and because water is so scarce, we could not plant many plants at school. Louise came one day to talk about water-wise gardens and this was a perfect solution for us to promote biodiversity at school. We managed to get a sponsor for a water-wise garden which has now been planted. I really wish there was a faster way to educate the community about how bad litter is for the environment and also how important it is to promote biodiversity. I am aware of global warming and climate change and the consequences this will have to our water supply.
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Keeping cool with the sun: chill out!

We love our new chef at home. She makes quick and easy left-overs, she keeps our food from going off, she refreshes on a hot day, she even feeds the dog. Best of all, we dont pay her. She works off the sun..........its our refrigerator! In February 2013, we received her as a donation through the USAID funded Stepping Up to Sustainability project. Given that we are running an off-grid Sustainability Commons and hosting many visitors, she saves us much time in cooking and is a great way to demonstrate how the suns power and this 12-volt technology work together. Up until receiving the fridge, we could only keep our things cool by putting a damp towel around them or in a container in water. We tried building a charcoal fridge but we didnt get the design right so it didnt work. Frequently, our food went rotten in the heat. It was difficult to keep left-overs which meant that we had to cook more often. We have a National Luna 125 litre fridge/freezer. At first we thought the fridge would drain much of our limited solar power but once we got it running, we saw that it uses very little energy. And it is big enough to share with our off-grid neighbours who occasionally need to keep things cold.
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Compiled by Samantha Rose
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Nature Conservation
Mr Winston Khuzwayo is a member of KwaCele-Nhlangwini Community Trust. They have a large area which they want to convert into a nature reserve because they have indentified potential environmental projects. The KwaCele farms are part of their community heritage. It is important that farm rehabilitation and degradation reversal becomes a priority so that those who are using the farms leave a legacy for future generations. The following places need to be identified and restored: Land with clay reserves used to make traditional containers Land where ibomvu was mined Perennial streams Restoration and rehabilitation of streams and fauna Identification, rehabilitation and restoration of different types of wetlands that exist
Compiled by Winston Khuzwayo
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Bridging the gap!

My name is Clare and I live in Cape Town. Once a month, I run an event called Bridging the Gap, in a community hall, on the property where I live. The event is based on sharing information by using local resources. Together we strengthen a local economy with assets, skills, action projects and knowledge. The event functions as an incubation hub. It runs from 6pm to 9pm every 14th of the month.
Local producers in sustainability are invited to share information on their products. NGO's with local action projects and performers are welcome too. I invite guest speakers to provide talks. So far, we have had the African Centre of BioSafety talk on Genetically Modified Foods, an earth artist talk on indigenous garden growing and food production, and a herbalist vet. Otherwise, an educational film is shown with a discussion forum afterwards. Locally produced food is sourced to make delicious snacks and information on where the food is from, is provided. Informative posters about food security, permaculture and sustainable technologies are put up for people to read. The theme of the event is sustainability. The event can be found on www.facebook.com/EcoElfSustainability so if you are interested in attending or being an active participant, do contact us. We charge R10 per person to cover food costs. Information station holders come for free. My friend, Indigo Basset-Smith, has a company called Eco-Elf which is an earth sustainability service provider. She and her company support me in running this event, and we hope that more action projects will become involved so that the cause is integrated deeper into communities and more people can actively connect while sharing their resources. I hope that more citizens shall initiate such a gathering in their own community areas. Share what we have and make change with our choices!
Clare preparing locally produced organic snacks for Bridging the Gap.
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Compiled by Clare Morris
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Compost hot-water shower

WESSA EP Conservation Officer, Morgan Griffiths, helps run a boys summer camp each January, called the Annual Hermanus Camp. Celebrating its 104th annual camp, it is one of the oldest youth organisations in the world (www.hermanuscamp.co.za). The Annual Hermanus Camp has traditionally not had hot-water showers the hot summers making them unnecessary. This year, however, a group of the adult leaders, including Ricki Allardice, Murray Bridgman, Dr Ollie Raynham and Morgan, developed a hot-water shower utilising the heat generated in a compost pile. They laid a 50m coil of black water pipe through thick layers of compost. The piping was led off from a municipal potable water line, and connected to a shower mixer. The organic process whereby vegetation decays to form compost generates heat as a by-product which we used to warm the water. Within a few hours of developing the compost pile, about 100 litres of water in the piping had heated up to 50C! We were then able to enjoy really hot showers - enough hot water for 5 of us! It would take between 1-2 hours to re-heat the cold water entering the pipe. The compost pile gave us consistant heat over the 2 weeks that the Annual Hermanus Camp ran for. It only cost us about R250 in piping and fittings. You can see an explanation of our innovative, low-tech and eco-friendly hot-water solution at www.youtube.com/watch?v=igBS1FZ7wFA. Whats more, the compost p ile also provided us with good quality compost to spread over the campsite lawns we will have a thick pile of grass cuttings at the end of the year to remake our compost hotwater shower.
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Compiled by Morgan Griffiths
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Successful permaculture garden workshop

Andile Vilakazi conducted a three- day permaculture workshop in Mpophomeni township. This happened after he had attended a USAID funded Stepping Up to Sustainability course at WESSAs Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve, just outside Howick. Andile realised that people can easily grow their own vegetables at home. His workshop started with some theory behind gardening and permaculture, followed by a practical hands-on session where participants made compost heaps, liquid manure and started a vegetable garden. Today the participants are all running their own gardens successfully and making cash out of their work!
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Compiled by Andile Vilakazi
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Making a Plan!
My name is Melter Mbiba and I am a foundation phase educator at Tsembaletfu Primary School in Kabokweni in the Lowveld. It is a very large school with more than 1 000 learners. Many learners are from very poor homes and often dont have enough food to eat. Our school is also a no-fee school and we struggle to have enough desks and chairs for learners. We also have severe water shortages and relied on the water delivery trucks to supply water. This has affected our vegetable garden and sanitation at school. After attending many environmental workshops, I was fortunate enough to attend the Level 5 USAID funded Environmental Educators Course in Nelspruit last year. It was time now for action!! I asked learners to bring water from home in 2 litre bottles so we could sustain our garden. A sponsor offered to install two Jojo tanks to harvest rain water and I decided to make desk tops and chairs by re-using old frames, using a type of papermache for the desk tops and plastic for the chairs. I then decided to implement various permaculture techniques at school like the pyramid vegetable garden and doorstep gardens. I did the doorstep garden as I really wanted the learners to realise how important it is to grow vegetables and the beauty therein. We also have around 57 fruit trees. All the vegetables and herbs we grow are used to supplement the school s nutritional programme and to add a bit more flavour to the food. What encourages me the most is that some learners have started to plant their own gardens at home which tells me that they are learning skills and realising the value of growing their own food. As our school is rural, we do not receive any municipal services. We used to dump and burn our waste. This has stopped now as we are recycling. We have sent 4 106 kg of waste for recycling since May last year and raised R1400 which we will use to buy more vegetable seedlings. I would really like to encourage people to know that there is always a way you can solve a problem and that there is always another or better way to do things. The best news of all is that we were sponsored a borehole in December 2012 and now we can have a really big vegetable garden - one big enough to properly supplement the feeding scheme and hopefully have some spare to sell to the community.
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Making a pledge and introducing recycling

In 2010, Sadeeka Salie encouraged her school, Uitenhage High School, to register as an Eco-School. She then started an Eco-Club at her school. The club has been participating in various projects such as supporting penguin rehabilitation efforts and anti-rhino poaching initiatives. They have undertaken litter clean-ups and are planting trees. Sadeeka has also attended various workshops held for our Eco-Schools teachers. In April, she attended the USAID Windfarm Workshop which focused on energy issues. She completed the Stepping Up to Sustainability pledge where she committed herself to introducing recycling at the school. She then contacted the Waste Trade Company, which partners with WESSA, for assistance and started with recycling paper at the school. On 7 September, she visited the Waste Trade Company recycling site with her Eco-Club members where they had an informative visit, learning about how the company goes about recycling cardboard, paper, glass and plastics. The school is going to proceed with further recycling and will be focusing on plastics.
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Compiled by Martheanne Finnemore
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Conserving water
Water conservation is a critical concern for people across the globe. While I was at Bush Pigs EE Centre, the staff motivated me to write about conserving water and why it is so important. According to the United Nations, more than one out of six people in the world lack access to safe drinking water, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation. As the global population continues to rise, the resulting increase in demand for clean water will put enormous strain on the environment and some experts predict that the global wars of the next generation will be fought not over fossil fuels but over water. Three-fourths of the Earths surface is covered by water. 97% of the Earths water is in the oceans and is too salty to drink. Of the remaining 3% that is fresh water, 2% is frozen in polar ice caps, glaciers and icebergs, leaving just 1% available for human use. Droughts and shortages are especially prevalent in the American West and have reached critical levels in sub-Saharan Africa. What can we do? Well, we can start by repairing leaky taps and other outlets, installing low-pressure shower heads and low-flow toilets, taking shorter showers, running dishwater and clothes washers only when they are full to capacity, washing our cars from a bucket rather than at a car wash and storing drinking water in the refrigerator rather than running the tap until the water runs cold. So, if we really love our planet Earth, we will consider these few steps. I am already doing my part, what are you doing?
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Compiled by Lavinia Hishongwa
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A low-cost way to clean up grey water

The average South African produces about 50 litres of grey water per day from showers, baths and hand basins. Thats a lot of water and most of it goes into overloaded sewerage systems, storm water drains or streams, rivers and wetlands. It is our water, however, and we should look after it once we have pulled the plug. One way is to make a small wetland near the grey water outlet from the bathroom. Use small locally indigenous wetland plants like lilies, rushes, sedges and reeds as much as Sarah shows off a home-made possible. You can enclose the bottom of your wetland. wetland in plastic and bricks if you want and put in layers of stones and white sand to help in filtering if you want to or just let the plants make their own habitat. Maintenance will include making sure that the pipes from the bathroom are cleared every now and then and that plants are trimmed as they grow fast absorbing all the nutrients in your water. You could also pipe the cleaned water to specific plants or let it just drain away into the garden as I do, with no odours or residues. This system means there is no storage of warmish water in which possibly nasty bacteria could flourish You could also filter your kitchen sink and washing machine water if you want but this would mean lots of care about what soaps you use and filtering food scraps from the sink first. Such a small wetland will help remove phosphates and nitrates from your grey water. Black water is the subject of another story.
Sarah shows the out-pipe arrangement from bath, shower and basin.
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Making a home-made solar stove

This is a high-tech solar stove which costs thousands of rands. The stove consists of a plastic box, a built- in mirror for the reflection of the sun, two glass panes that are built inside the box lid, but with a gap between each other so that the air cant escape and in order for insulation to take place. The positioning of the solar stove is important - it must be in a position directly with the sun to catch as much sunlight as possible. Then you can put the ingredients of a meal in the pot and place it inside the box, so that the food can cook without gas or electricity, only with the energy of the sun.
Solar cooked food too hot to handle!
With the solar stove, the process is sustainable and energy saving. It is, however, too expensive for most people. Most South Africans have to be satisfied with their gas or electric stoves or making fires for their meals, which is cheaper than the solar stove, but is not sustainable and uses energy which costs money. This is why I came up with an idea of making my own home-made solar stove which will be environmentally friendly and sustainable by using materials that are easily accessible. The home-made solar stove materials consist of a home-made wooden box. Ill look for scrap perspex or glass, to keep the heat inside so that the air will not escape. The box floor and outer sides must be painted black on the inside and outside to absorb heat, but with insulation to prevent it catching fire. Some aluminium sheeting will help reflect the sunlight into the oven. The positioning of the box should be direc tly in line with the sun. This will probably take longer than the expensive solar stove, but the process is the same, which means that South Africans will be in a position to use an eco-friendly, sustainable, energy efficient and money saver stove in the future!
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Compiled by Randall Du Plessis
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Jonathans Thesis for Change

Jonathan Roux, a final year architecture student at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, is passionate about reducing waste and making ecologically friendly choices through architecture. At the moment he is working on his thesis, which is focussed on this issue. At his proposed skills centre located at the Fountain Road intersection between the communities of Walmer and Gqeberha, Port Elizabeth, Jonathan is aiming to up-cycle waste products: using waste to make products, as well as to educate members of both communities about sustainability through building and about reducing over-consumption. Examples of items to be made from waste include frames for light fittings, plastic light fittings, and public commissions of artwork. The centre will also serve as a school for adults and a community centre, where residents of Gqeberha can be taught how to make useful items from waste. Also proposed is a restaurant and display galleries, which will provide opportunities for visitors to interact with the centre participants. Jonathan has designed the building to include green building features - rainwater harvesting, using natural ventilation, gabions to control erosion, and recycled bricks. He hopes that this project will also act as a catalyst for social change, providing an environment for the two communities, historically divided by race and income, to interact with each other. Jonathan intends to pursuing the development of this proposed centre once he is qualified, thereby being an agent of change in the building sector. He says, My advice to others is that if they feel they can and should make a change, they must. Apathy is death to the soul.
Impression of interior of the proposed skills centre/shop/restaurant/conference centre
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Nomawande Wara Nkontso-Menes story

My life and the lives of my learners changed when I was able to integrate environmental education within the curriculum in my classes. I wanted my learners to grow and become responsible citizens. My school environment changed and there were no alien plants around the school. In my school, we have an Eco Committee which includes learners, parents and teachers. We have also introduced Eco-Clubs where every issue affecting the school is discussed and learners and teachers join in freely. The Natural Science and Technology teachers, together with our learners, have come up with a plan to do recycling with tins, plastics and papers. With tins, we make cars, with plastics, we make plastic mats and clothes. In Arts and Culture, we do paper moulding. We have also made a rule of no littering in our school environment! We mow our school lawns regularly and try and keep our environment clean. We have a vegetable garden where children can learn how to grow vegetables. We have used the WESSA environmental calendar where we observe environmental days and weeks like Arbor Week. During Arbor Week, we planted trees and used the waste from the kitchen as fertilizer for the garden. This programme was introduced by the Wild Coast Project, because my school was surrounded by many invasive plants. I was nominated to go and attend as one of the Natural Science teachers. We had no clue as to how dangerous these plants were and how to control them. Then the project did a clean-up campaign. I was just an educator with no knowledge or clue about environmental education. I had no clue on how to include this environmental education into the curriculum. I attended the workshop and it gave me an idea of how to do it! I also had no idea about waste management and how to do recycling. I didnt know about the dangers of littering in our environment. I had no understanding of the importance of our indigenous trees and how to conserve them. My school was just a school with litter and uncut grass. There was no garden and no understanding on how or why to keep our environment clean. There were no bins to control littering. In my school, we had no idea that we must have a community which is going to control the cleanliness of the school in general. The Environmental Educators Course made me interested in learning more about the environment. Now, if I see a person littering, I become so worried and try to rectify it.
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I wish all the educators could attend this Environmental Educators Course so as to be where I am today. I am now able to organise excursions around my school surroundings so that my learners can visit the beach, the wetlands and Silaka, to see how to conserve nature in general.
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Compiled by Nomawande Wara Nkontso-Mene
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Free light for my room!

This is Duncan Griffiths. He has a covered verandah at his house which is great on hot days but in winter, his room is dark. He did not want to keep lights on in the daytime because of the cost and the carbon, so when he saw another house suggested by WESSA staff, with see-through tiles being used as roof windows, he thought what a great idea and found out where to get them. They are quite expensive, but with the help of family members, he bought enough to give all the bedroom windows on the stoep some extra day light. Now hes looking for extra ways to save money and the environment and telling his friends to catch a wake-up and get greener in how they live and what they buy.
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Compiled by Sarah Dowling
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WESSA Share-Net resources to support adapting to climate change

Sustainable Technologies: People, Products and Practices. A handbook for deliberating climate change adaptation and ecosystem restoration.
Health Gardening
Knowing and Growing Muthi Plants
Household Environmental Management
Eating for the Earth: A selection of vegetarian recipes
Puzzling Climate Change: A start-up pack of pictures
The Handprint Resource Books Action Towards Sustainability Recycling, Waste Reduction and Creative Re-Use Did you Grow your Greens? Re-using Shower and Bath Water Growing Mother-tree seedlings
How to series How to make fire bricks How to make a hotbox How to build a traditional clay stove How to build a pyramid vegetable garden
Change Choice Pamphlets with good, better and best lifestyle choices around energy, water, waste, shopping, travelling, gardening and more.
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Share your sustainable living photos

Take photos of sustainability practices or technologies and share them. Upload your photos by e-mailing them to
sip85took@photos.flickr.com

Adapting To Global Warming: Permaculture in South Africa

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Adapting to Climate Change

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

First Edition: First Impression ISBN 978-1-919991-95-5

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Cleaning up our community wetland and dam

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

No more dumping and burning!

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Teacher and community permaculture expert

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Cooking on a Clay Stove

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Janines Waste Reduction

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Waste minimization in the fashion industry: Forgotten Cotton

Pile of uncut fabric.

Fabric boxed as waste.

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Cleaning Up Mpophomeni township

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Rock On with the Rocket Stove

Compiled by Samantha Rose

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Building a clay stove and saving an African rock python

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Re-using grey water

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Drinking water from a Rain Catcher

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Rainwater harvesting does not have to be big and expensive

Me and my low-cost rainwater tank with no tap.

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Sustainability projects at home

Bridget making plum jam, using the solar cooker.

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Rosas small changes add up

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

The Birches - a sustainable living pre-primary school

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Saving water at our school

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Lighting up our life for free

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Cooking the Climate Smart Way

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Busisiwe and the worm farm

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Making my own hay boxes

Saving water at home

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Washing dishes with less water!

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

No more dumping in our river!

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012

Methane for cooking, not for climate heat

Stepping Up to Sustainability Stories of Change Volume 2, 2012