Because of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, we are inundated with talk about living sustainably. But what does this mean, in real life? Julienne du Toit looks at 40 ways to live lightly on Earth.
If you were thinking of where to erect an informal market to sell fruits and crafts to tourists passing between South Africa and Mozambique you couldn’t find a better place than the N4 highway in the Maputo Development Corridor.
Sarah Mahlangu is cleaning up her neighbourhood by turning cans into culture and rags into robes.
Marula oil is the new ‘miracle’ in the cosmetics industry. Communities who have known about its magic properties for ages are trying to make sure they cash in on the new boom.
When a tin mine closed down in remote Namibia, thousands lost their jobs. Now a conservancy and tourism enterprises based around a special mountain are providing alternative livelihoods.
Artisans in Mozambique are turning into entrepreneurs with the world at their feet. In the process their craft is saving forests that would otherwise be turned into charcoal.
From ‘garden boy’ to entrepreneur: Joseph Diliza has made a business out of using reeds for paper – and he is cleaning up a choked river in the process.
One of South Africa’s oldest investment holding firms, Tradek, broke new ground on Thursday this week when it announced a 70% acquisition of its equity by black empowerment consortium Tlotlisa
Land set aside for conservation is often deemed an economic asset gone to waste. But a new market for green services promises to eliminate this trade-off. Conservation concessions dispel the notion that habitat destruction is inevitable if ecosystems are to generate financial benefits.
A community tourism project on the Wild Coast offers a very different experience from that of a five-star hotel on its doorstep. It is a role model – kind to the community, its natural resources and its visitors – and business is booming.