"southafrica" news and stories

We've been seeing a lot of stories lately about art made from recycled packaging. We've also seen a few posts about food art and a lot about tea.
In this yesterday's New York Times, I found an article to tie them all together.

Oh how I love my tea, but this group of artists in Capetown, South Africa would rather have the tea bags, thank you. The group, called Original T-bag Designs, collects used tea bags, which turn dry and brown. The artists can then paint them and turn them into any number of things from coasters and magnets to original artwork.

The artists group does well enough selling the magnets and such. Their real hope, though, is to put together a traveling show of artwork similar to the traveling quilts from Gees Bend, Alabama. I wish them the best of luck. And if you want to donate tea bags, you can go to the website for contact information.

Peppadews, those tasty little sweet hot peppers from South Africa are grown and made by a socially responsible company, one who cares for their fellow country folk. Peppadew International, whose head office is located in Johannesburg, is committed to the uplifting of the communities in which it is located and a quarter of its contracted farmers come from previously disadvantaged communities. The company is dedicated to training and development of its employees to uplift and empower them so they can better support themselves and their families.

Peppadew Internationals main factory and farming operations are located in the northeast part of South Africa where it borders with Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Mozambique. They have 7-8 processing buildings in the town of Tzaneen in the Limpopo Province near Kruger National Park. This area of South Africa is very impoverished, with a unemployment rate of at least 46%, but Peppadew is creating social opportunities for thousands of people. They employ 3,000 South Africans full time and another 5,000 are hired as indirect, seasonal staff working on the farms, growing and harvesting the peppers. Peppadew peppers are very labor intensive and require around 11 workers per hectare to produce them.

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When I was a kid I was told to eat my vegetables so I'd grow up to be nice and strong. Apparently feeding vegetables to veggies makes them, too, quite robust. Or so a South African chap found when he used organic fertilizer that he makes from vegetable peelings to help grow a ginormous onion.

At just under 3 pounds the onion weighs 10 times more than the, er, garden variety. Henry Carr of Port Elizabeth has been growing vegetables for almost 40 years. When asked what he planned to do with his humongous onion, Carr said he'll soon be making some of his city's largest onion rings. Perhaps he'll want to don a pair of onion goggles when he prepares his oversized bar snack.

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I wonder if my good friend Jeanne (aka Cooksister) knows about this online shop? It specialises in all things South African, and readers of her blog will know, that Jeanne hails from Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

There is a fascinating array of unique products available. Biltong of course, although this is quite widely available in the UK now as Waitrose stocks an excellent version, and various sizes of authentic Braai's (barbecue equipment) and potjie pots. The product range is actually very large with tinned products aplenty of brands I assume are famous in South Africa but exotic and different here in the UK.

Of particular interest are the range of authentic braai spice mixes. Oh and they import a beer from Mozambique too! I think they only sell to the UK.

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Waitrose has got to be one of the most well-fare orientated supermarkets in the UK. The up-market chain has long supported its food producers by ploughing a sizeable proportion of its profits back into their communities.

Fruit growers in South Africa for example, have just seen more than £330,000 (US$614,000)  and hope to receive a further £500,000 given to fund various educational projects. These donations come from the the Waitrose Foundation, which operates as a partnership between the supermarket and members of the supply chain.was established as a long-term response to South Africa's social and economic problems

Around 25 educational schemes have already been launched on 10 citrus farms across South Africa. These provide support and training in literacy and IT, as well as classes in craft work to enable farm workers to earn an income out of season. The citrus season is only six months long so it is vital to teach new skills to the growers.

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