The theme for this year’s International Day of Forests (IDF) is “Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being” and it’s one that resonates with the local forest industry. “Many people don’t know that timber plantations in South Africa were originally established to provide an alternative timber supply, in order to protect our few natural forests from further … [Read more...]
SA researchers shortlisted in international forestry research award
Three South African researchers have made it to the global shortlist of the Blue Sky Young Researchers and Innovation Awards. They were selected from 14 candidates in the South African round. The awards, launched in 2016 by the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), aim to recognise, celebrate and promote innovations being developed in the global … [Read more...]
Blue Sky Awards launched in SA for young researchers
The local leg of the Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Award has been launched by the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA). The 2020-2021 round is the third edition of this award, organised by the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), to which PAMSA belongs. It invites young students and researchers in wood and fibre-based … [Read more...]
Kenyan tea farmers switching to renewable energy
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting many Kenyan communities, which depend on the tea sector, as the tea sector's output and demand in tea is falling. However, an innovative Kenyan project running three years is continuing to create thousands of healthier homes, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, while reducing the demand for firewood which helps reduce … [Read more...]
Eco Funerals, Part 2: The Circle of Life
In keeping with nature’s basic ‘waste becomes food’ design, when we die all our organic remains, and particularly our trace elements and nutrients, should ideally go back to the agricultural fields whence they came. Join us for part 2 of our Eco Funerals series. In keeping with nature’s basic ‘waste becomes food’ design, when we die all our organic remains, and particularly … [Read more...]
Waste wood burning: eco fire for winter
When blankets and woolly socks just don't cut it anymore during winter time, we switch on our carbon-emitting heaters. This is no good for our already disturbing carbon escalation, so alternatives we have to find,. Which is what we did this week when we discovered a new closed fire eco-heating stove by T and T Energy Solutions. We went to see this clever device at the German … [Read more...]
Stories help us craft a new reality
Two weeks ago, Pam and I got back from a woodland vacation in Ontario, Canada. While we were there, we learned the story of the privately owned forest we were staying in, the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve. Starting in the 1870s, lumber companies clear-cut the easily accessible white pine stands in the area. Destructive tree harvesting continued until the 1960s, when … [Read more...]
Our journey into handcrafted homes
When I was presented with an unexpected trip to the Eastern Cape to 'rest,' I envisaged chilling out at the Wild Coast; sleeping, reading and writing time. but the universe had plans for me to meet avid greenies, living close to the earth in self-made organic homes with creative hands and hearts of gold. The moment the big bird touched down at East London airport the pace of … [Read more...]
