-
What does Biodiversity mean? Why is it important?
This was posted in one of our stories in 2014, and it is worth keeping in a new home. We’ve been searching for the best explanations for Biodiversity & Sustainability and one source was the Convention on Biological Diversity, excerpts of which are published below. Exploring “Sustainability” opened a treasure trove of topics — which…
-
When the yurt’s loo takes pride of place…
While Architectural Digest describes yurts as “an architectural wonder of the world” — and it is without doubt — inside my yurt it’s the loo that’s the showpiece. It’s Saniflo‘s Sanicompact 43— a very superior toilet in every way. It’s high quality ceramic; it’s almost silent; it’s about the most waterwise-efficient toilet you can get… and…
-
The yurt’s biogas unit/biodigestor… for R300!
All the blackwater from the yurt’s toilet goes into the biodigestor. And so does all the organic waste from the kitchen. Methane gas output is increased by fats, oils, greases and sugars, and you can use the gas for cooking and heating. Another byproduct is liquid fertilizer, which you can use in the garden. You…
-
The Yurt’s Catastrophe! … and Making it all Work
I had just gone to sleep one night… I knew it was going to be windy but the winds were well within what the yurt had been through before. And then I became aware of the sound of the wind just rising and rising. I waited for the gust to end but this was no…
-
Adventures with a Yurt (or Ger)
Imagine a small house, granny flat or weekend getaway where the structure only costs you R12,000. (That’s US$850 or €750!) You can’t buy a small Wendy house for that… and it’s about the same cost as the emergency materials given to shack dwellers after fires destroy dwellings in informal settlements. And it’s a structure that one…
-
EV charging stations: Do you have a plan for the new tourism?
Electric vehicles are coming! Are you ready for them?
-
What’s a Yurt?
Two posts from my sister on Whatsapp from Ulaanbataar in Mongolia really got me thinking. She had shown me a photo of the yurt belonging to the building manager for her apartment block before. He and his family live in their ger or yurt alongside the apartment building. But he had been away for his…
-
Saying Goodbye to Eskom is cheaper than you think
CapeInfo’s Smarter Living Project started off to determine what one really needs to go off the electrical grid — is it as expensive as people say or, if one adapts one’s lifestyle, is it affordable or… even cheaper. Off-the-grid in this case meant no external electric sources at all — no Eskom, no municipal connection.
-
Old Mutual Park — goes off the water grid with recycling
In its quest to find effective solutions to the current water crisis in the Western Cape, Old Mutual has become the first corporate in South Africa to launch a ‘from-waste-to-drinking-water’ filtration project at its Mutualpark offices in Pinelands, Cape Town.
-
Municipal water costs R50/kilolitre; but just R9.20/kl from GrandWest’s treatment facility
While the cost of potable water currently is R50 per kilolitre (on the Level 6 commercial tariff), it’s costing GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World in Cape Town just R9.20 per kilolitre from the treatment facility. It will take approximately 28 months for GrandWest to realise a return on its investment.