“Our world has changed from being a place where people did things, to a place where people buy things,” said Prof Rob O’Donoghue at last Friday’s talk on sustainable living. “But people in the Eastern Cape know how to make a plan,” he said.
“Our world has changed from being a place where people did things, to a place where people buy things,” said Prof Rob O’Donoghue at last Friday’s talk on sustainable living. “But people in the Eastern Cape know how to make a plan,” he said.
“Because we’re between here and there,” he said, indicating that we’ve learned how to be resourceful and meet our own needs.
Along with local environmentalist and beekeeper, Dr Garth Cambray, O’Donoghue shared some tips for a healthier and more sustainable Eastern Cape lifestyle. At the heart of this is using local products and finding creative, local solutions. A homemade aerated compost bin was just one of the simple innovations O’Donoghue shared which allows people to work in greater collaboration with the environment. To find the materials for it, O’Donoghue needed to look no further than his own backyard and compost heap.
“There’s a wonder of creation in nature that we can be creative with,” said O’Donoghue.
Although cooperation with nature is critical for a more sustainable future, it doesn’t always satisfy immediate economic imperatives. The harmful effects of opposing it are still felt, take for example the modern phenomena of gluten intolerances.
“People are eating bread and getting sick – it was the stuff of life, now it’s the stuff of disease,” he said. This, he believes, is a direct result of our economically-driven culture of convenience. The bread industry has done away with the natural seven-day process necessary to prepare the enzymes in grain for digestion. Instead they produce the greatest number of goods at the smallest cost in the shortest amount of time.
But we don’t have to buy into this lifestyle.
O’Donoghue makes his own bread with Lesotho grain, which he soaks and then mixes with regular store-bought white flour.
“It’s not so much the flour we use, it’s the time we take to prepare the bread,” he said. This bread took 15 minutes of actual work mixing and kneading, 24 hours to incubate, and another 60 minutes to bake.
According to O’Donoghue, our ability to rise above our current situation of disease and exhausted natural resources rests entirely on our capacity for creative solutions.“There is such a lot to be optimistic about,” said O’Donoghue.
Reasons to be wary
But if we don’t make a collective decision to change our ways, the consequences will be highly unfavourable says Dr Garth Cambray.
“If the frontier does not become green, it will die,” he said.
Not only will our environment suffer, so will our economy – especially in the Eastern Cape. Cambray spoke about the new carbon tax which will be applied to all goods – from fruit to manufactured items.
“It tells how much carbon will be used within the life-cycle of the product,” said Cambray. This poses a problem for certain Eastern Cape products like orange juice, which has the highest carbon footprint of any orange juice in the world. Changing our ways won’t only impact the earth in the long run, but our immediate survival.
Wind farms are another non-negotiable for a more sustainable lifestyle, according to Cambray.
“We have an ideal climate for them,” he said. Cambray believes that in order to maximise wind capture, there needs to be numerous small wind farms spread throughout the Western and Eastern Cape. This could potentially allow for a 30% wind-based lode. Other alternative energy options just aren’t viable, according to Cambray. “Solar doesn’t attract investors,” he said, because of the high cost.
Solar power will cost R3.80 per watt whereas it costs R 1.85 per watt for wind power.
Sustainable living requires that we change some deeply ingrained habits. We must be optimistic – but not blindly so. Counteracting our negative impact will require some extreme measures. It means returning to basics and exploring new ideas. But in order for it to work, we all need to get on board, “Creativity without community is not going to go far,” said Cambray.
Tips for healthier, more sustainable living
- Growing greens. In many cultures, spinach is seen as a magic vegetable. It’s hearty and resilient and can thrive without much water. It is also high in calcium and iron.
- Cooking with iron. Use a cast iron pot whenever possible. The iron in the pot is released through the cooking process.
- Alternative oven. To save electricity use a Cobb oven. It costs around R900, but it uses just 200 grams of charcoal to boil water for tea, bake a loaf of bread and cook breakfast.
- Creative hedge. Kei apple is an indiginous shrub that makes a great hedge to increase security. It produces fruit which is sour to the taste, but makes great jam.
