Sustainable Living and Indigenous Plant Fair

Everyone these days is talking about Sustainable Living and Indigenous Plants. But what does Sustainability really mean? There are so many terms and confusing us seems to be the way to go.

The new and improved Sustainable Living & Indigenous Plant Fair, sponsored by African Conservation Trust (ACT), is an opportunity to shop for a wide selection of planet-friendly indigenous plants, fruit trees and vegetables and stock up on inspiration for your homestead garden.

There will be a Fresh Film Festival and Speakers Platform side event profiling current documentaries with hard-hitting topics such as over-fishing, peak-oil, the Wild Coast Toll road, closed loop waste recycling, climate change, the fast-food industry, hydraulic fracking, our production and consumption patterns, the Transition movement, and how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the planet. There will be a ‘Greening your office workshop’, sessions on biogas home solutions; practical solutions to “getting off the grid” both in water and energy; green roofs in our cities, and the concept of local living.

The Fundis Forum is a group of some of SA’s most respected authors, activists and experts, including Geoff Nichols, Elsa Pooley and David Johnson, who will be on hand to give real advice on how to convert your home and garden with sustainable, cost saving designs and indigenous flora.

Solutions for sustainable living

Alongside, numerous stalls will showcase solutions for sustainable living - the WESSA ‘Step up to Sustainability’ Programme, African Organics, Wana Farm, Solar Synergy, ARocha and Hex worm farms, to name a few. They have been chosen to provide the answers we have to these confusing questions addressing sustainability. This mix brings a whole new flavour to the event, and is a first in KZN, possibly even in South Africa!

The Indigenous Plant Sale, which has been going for six-years, will offer an array of indigenous trees, shrubs, aloes and succulents, grasses and water plants, creepers, groundcovers, as well as fruit trees, herbs and veggies for home-based food production.

Green Valley Foods will host the organic food restaurant in the main marquee with Terbodore Coffee Roasters, and there will also be supervised fun for the kids at the Duzi Fencing Children’s Play Area where they can pot plants, make eco-friendly toys and climb on the parabolic jungle gym.

A range of films and speakers will stimulate debate, to inform, shock and hopefully galvanise you into action over the 3-day event. They’re even hoping to have a bicycle-powered smoothiemaker to show that going green can be innovative and fun!!

A growth point

The 2012 SLIP Fair with the Fresh Film Festival and Speakers Platform, is intended as a growth point and a gathering of interesting people. The hope is that more people will “cross over” to the sustainable side, helping the event to grow and gather momentum in coming years.

A portion of proceeds from the event will go towards supporting Project Rhino and there is a partnership agreement between the organisers of SLIP 2012 and DUCT to raise funds by means of a public campaign to take place inviting the public and business community to buy indigenous trees from SLIP for supply to the river rehabilitation projects that DUCT conducts. A DUCT “Fellowship of the uMngeni River” certificate will be given to anyone who contributes to their uMngeni River Source to Sea Walk either through direct sponsorships or donating a tree from SLIP.

Pop in to visit the fantastic stalls, and book your seats for the Fresh Film Festival and Speakers Platform soon because sold out shows are expected!

There is also supervised fun for the kids at the Duzi Fencing Children’s Play Area, potting plants, making eco-friendly toys, climbing on the parabolic jungle gym, etc.

See you there from the 27th – 29th April 2012 at the Cattle Arena, Royal Show Grounds, Pietermaritzburg (entrance through Gate 5 off Hyslop Road).