THERE are countless ways in which people can do their bit for the environment. Glen Adams from Urban Sprout highlighted some trends that are currently gaining ground.
) Edible gardens: More people than ever are interested in growing their own food, or having their food grown in their garden. This trend is not limited to the residential sector though, but is also seen in the form of community and township gardens. When space is limited, tiny house solutions such as raised bed, patio and vertical gardens are the answer.
) Heritage foods: This entails an awareness of a specific cultivar of fruit and its history. The wine farm Solms-Delta near Franschhoek, for instance, focuses on indigenous food that was grown by the Cape’s Khoi inhabitants, while Paul Cluver Wines near Elgin has established an organic food garden where 15 different types of figs, 80 different types of tomatoes and 20 different types of lemons are grown.
) Heirloom seeds or seed saving: Heirloom seed sellers like Livingseeds (organisations that save non-hybrid fruit and vegetable seeds to preserve the diverse gene pool currently under pressure through hybrid seed creation) are reporting a record year with 300% to 400% growth in sales. More varieties of local heirloom seeds are available from more sources.
) The raw food movement: More people are moving away from meat or eat less of it, while more people are becoming interested in vegetarianism, veganism and raw food veganism. Furthermore Cape Town is Africa’s first city to endorse a meat-free day a week, while the movement towards organic ‘super food’ nutrition and healthy snack food has seen new entrants to the market that sell raw pizza and dehydrated mushroom snacks that taste like biltong, as well as new products such as chia seeds from a plant in the mint family (it is high in omega-3 fatty acids).
) Probiotic composting (bokashi): Bokashi bins are popular for people living in townhouses and for producing compost quickly. New businesses are entering the market and many units are being sold in a short timeframe. There’s also interest in commercial bokashi composting.
