Discussions about Electrifying Conversations and the Influence of Personal Efforts with MINI South Africa
Let's Talk Electric and Shake Things Up with MINI South Africa
26 MAY, 2024
By Nick Finesser & Jessie Throwdown
Can we change the world through our actions and make a difference? This question often crosses our minds. MINI South Africa is challenging these doubts with their latest study, and it turns out that it takes only 3.5% of the population to make a meaningful impact!
At this year's Reforest Rager, MINI South Africa teamed up with our website and brought the Electric Love Stage to the scene, a platform that inspires change-making through conversations and informative talks. The biggest question on everyone's minds at the end? What kind of impact are we willing to have and how can we start right now. The change we want starts with us.
What's MINI's Electric Collective About?
In the face of global issues, especially those related to the environment, it's easy to feel small and insignificant. But this reminder is that WE can make a change! The Electric Collective is about unity, synergy, and putting a voice to those who want to create a shift, mobilizing action through knowledge sharing and individual and collective action.
Picture credits: Shari Lee Thompson
The Electric Love Stage - Igniting Change
Fueled by a burning passion for embracing change and exploring creative ways to interact with our environment, MINI's Electric Love Stage hosts industry experts in the eco-friendly realm, sharing their insights and wisdom through a series of electrifying talks.
Nestled next to the winding paths of the beautiful Bodhi Khaya Nature Reserve, the Electric Love Stage featured two wooden chairs positioned on a funky, colorful platform, surrounded by cozy seating areas under the shade of a red tent - giving off serious love vibes. The crowd spread out on the lush grassy lawns, setting up their picnic blankets and benches for a front-row seat to soak in the discussions. The stage seamlessly blended with the surrounding nature, making it the perfect setting for green talks (yeah, we went there).
The event was expertly moderated by our website co-founder and South African musician, Jeremy Loops, who skillfully guided the conversation and warmly welcomed each guest to share their knowledge.
Gift Lubele, Kudoti, on the Power of a Circular Economy
Picture credits: Shari Lee Thompson
Gift Lubele, an entrepreneur and climate activist, is the COO and co-founder of Kudoti, a digital platform that allows businesses to assess their sustainability efforts, measure the impact, and track specific themes and patterns, making sustainable policies more manageable, identifiable, and accessible. Through Kudoti, eco-conscious practices can be effectively implemented and maintained, offering a sensible solution to the confusion that often comes with sustainable efforts.
A circular economy is one where resources are regenerative, and products are reused, shared, re-purposed, and recycled. In the South African context, where waste management is often unfamiliar to many households, making this a reality requires individuals and communities to be equipped with the knowledge to make a difference.
Gift elaborated on the importance of rethinking our consumption habits to give products more utility and minimize waste.
"We need to buy less, buy only what we need, not what we want. We need to look at food scraps as compost, donate the clothes we haven't worn in six months, and support businesses that engage in such initiatives."
Changing the narrative around informal waste picking has tremendous potential in developing South Africa's waste management. Gift stated that:
"80-90% of the household waste in South Africa goes through the hands of informal waste pickers."
This figure highlights the potential for environmental improvement and community empowerment through informal waste picking and embracing a circular economic approach to various issues can foster sustainability through personal empowerment.
Phumelele Muthali, Viva con Agua, on Water as a Basic Human Right
Picture credits: Shari Lee Thompson
Phumelele Muthali, the Business Development Manager at Viva con Agua South Africa, an initiative focused on increasing access to water and sanitation in South Africa, was our second speaker on the panel.
Many of us take clean water for granted, flowing through our homes, filling our swimming pools, and providing endless bathing and showering opportunities. But this convenience is not a reality for millions of people worldwide.
Viva con Agua is on a mission to change this. They aim to empower, educate, and bring people together through water-awareness art. Spreading awareness through creative outlets and cultivating a learning environment, Viva con Agua has seen people of all backgrounds learn the depths of the statement: "Water is a Basic Human Right."
Picture: Zotha Makwakwa
Viva con Agua and the Nina Manzi Mobile Showers at Reforest Rager
The Nina Manzi mobile shower facilities at Reforest Rager were integral to our festival's hygiene experience. These mobile showers provide homeless residents in Cape Town with access to clean water and sanitation, making them a valuable addition to the festivities. festival participants also gained valuable insights into water disparities, reminding us that access to clean water is a basic human right.
Providing homeless individuals with access to clean water and sanitation is crucial, and as Phumelele says, "bridging the gap between policy and reality," emphasizes the need for tangible and real change. Good hygiene may seem simple, but for a person without access to basic facilities, it can be a limiting factor, hindering access to opportunities. As you can imagine, an individual's psychological well-being and self-esteem can also be negatively affected as a result.
Grappling with a lack of water is often something far removed for those with easy access to it. Phumelele's examples and real-life stories allowed audiences to glimpse the severity of the lack of this basic human necessity. Through caring, open conversations, we can approach these sensitive topics and address the issues that affect them.
Roushanna Gray, Veld & Sea, on the Possibility of Sustainable Foraging
Picture: Veld & Sea
Roushanna Gray, an educator, nature enthusiast, passionate forager, and founder of Veld & Sea, which offers a conceptual food experience centered on sustainable foraging, nature, and the many edible landscapes of the Western Cape, was our third speaker on the panel.
With modern society's endless conveniences and fast-paced lifestyles, many city-dwellers yearn for the simplicity of a life more in harmony with nature. But in our quest for convenience and speed, we've lost touch with the natural world, leading many of us to be uneducated and disconnected from living in harmony with the planet.
Roushanna and her team at Veld & Sea are on a mission to change this. Through her sustainable foraging workshops in mountainous landscapes and along coastal areas, many city-dwellers have gained a glimpse into the fascinating world of edible landscapes. While foraging has become more popularized online and in the wellness space, Roushanna warns of the importance of treating these delicate ecosystems with respect.
To live in harmony with nature means cultivating the land and using only what we need. As Roushanna demonstrated during a coastal foraging workshop with our website team last year, it takes only one individual to deplete and destroy an ecosystem by over-harvesting seaweed from that area. That one ecosystem may take years to recover or, in some cases, never recover at all.
Roushanna views foraging as a means of engaging with our legacy and instincts, and describes it as "living a long-lost memory." Gathering was an integral part of our ancestral pasts and is intrinsically linked to our DNA. On our Cape Town Strandveld landscapes, there lies a deep history of the Khoisan people's hunter-gatherer roots, living in harmony with the land and sea. Foraging is, for these reasons, a truly powerful way to reconnect with nature and our own history, which bears incredible benefits for mind, body, and spirit.
Roushanna harnesses her cuisine as a tool for learning, spreading environmental awareness, and promoting sustainable eating habits. "In nature, we learn," she poetically remarked as she unpacked our preconceived ideas about food, indicating how narrow our boundaries are.
Roushanna reveals how our ideas about food are embedded in our language. As she illustrated with an example from the seas, thinking of "seaweeds to sea vegetables immediately shifts our perspectives and opens up our minds to the endless possibilities." With a flick of perspective, something like seaweed, often viewed as a nuisance on the shoreline, becomes something far greater. The 900 species of seaweed – of which one is inedible and native to South Africa’s coast – suddenly become unconventional, salty snacks, as opposed to something slimy that you find at the beach.
Naturally sourced foods are inherently more nutritious, easier to digest, and generally kinder to our bodies than processed foods we often gravitate towards for the sake of convenience or habit. Roushanna reminds us that a delicate balance must be struck, but sustainable wild food foraging serves as a reminder that there are many ways we can change our ingrained routines for the better and become infinitely more connected with the natural world around us. Anything is possible when nature is our teacher.
Stephen Horn, Clean Creatives, on Ditching the Fossil Fuel Industry
Picture: Shari Lee Thompson
Stephen Horn, the South African Country Director at Clean Creatives South Africa, an initiative aiming to influence advertising and PR agencies, creatives, and their clients to end their relationships with the fossil fuel industry, closed out the Electric Love Stage. Approaching the subject with both sarcasm and gravity, Stephen educated the audience on the reality of the fossil fuel industry's deceitful policies and the prevalence of greenwashing, leaving us wondering, "Who's really doing the gaslighting?"
"Clean Creatives SA, inspired by Clean Creatives in the US, is bringing together South Africa's leading advertising and PR agencies, their employees, and industry clients, to address the South African ad and PR industry's work with the fossil fuel industry."
Continuing to collaborate with fossil fuel companies adversely impact our communities and risks undermining brands that genuinely prioritize sustainability, as well as the agencies themselves.
"The Clean Creatives pledge is the best way to demonstrate your commitment to a future for the creative industry without the fossil fuel industry. As creatives or leaders of agencies, the pledge says that you will decline future contracts with the fossil fuel industry. As clients, it says you will decline work with agencies that retain fossil fuel industry clients."
The fossil fuel industry is a significant player in the environmental space. The extraction of oil, destruction caused by oil drilling, coal mining, and fracking for natural gas have severely impacted our natural environments, leaving them under strain. Learn more [here].
"Since 2022, fossil fuel companies have rolled back their commitments to clean energy, and made it clear to investors, regulators, and the public that they will continue focusing on polluting products, regardless of the impact on the planet."
This blatant disregard for the environment is not the same narrative the fossil fuel industry is broadcasting. As Stephen explains, the greenwashing that is prevalent within this industry has misled people worldwide to believe that fossil fuels are doing more good than harm for the planet.
Greenwashing refers to the act of deceiving the public and hiding the truth about environmental issues for the sake of fabricating a sense of hope and security. This, of course, benefits large corporations and businesses that operate unethically, emit massive carbon emissions, and generate excessive waste under the guise of being environmentally friendly organizations.
Stephen discussed how fossil fuel-driven enterprises such as Shell, Total Energies, and BP spend massive marketing budgets on campaigns and sponsorships that promote positive values. This misrepresentation of the reality is harmful and deceitful, and Stephen passionately calls for a more transparent discussion about the true impact of the fossil fuel industry on our natural resources.
Clean Creatives' goal is to encourage more creatives, PR, and marketing professionals to abandon the fossil fuel industry, wake up to the reality, and shift this statistic around. Creating a more transparent narrative surrounding the fossil fuel industry can significantly influence the pace at which we transition to cleaner, renewable energy sources.
A Platform for Change - Thank You to MINI South Africa
Robust dialogue, big ideas, and inspiring speeches were the order of the day at Reforest Rager's Electric Love Stage, sparking conversation long after the talks had ended. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to MINI South Africa and our panel of speakers who reminded us that we are in the driver's seat, and that the power to bring about change lies with us. All it takes is the courage to take action and the audacity to make a difference.
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- The Electric Collective, led by MINI South Africa, seeks to unite individuals and create an impact on environmental issues, such as conservation and tree planting.
- At the Reforest Rager event, MINI South Africa aligned with our website to bring the Electric Love Stage, a hub for inspiring change through discussions and educational talks.
- The Electric Love Stage, hosted by MINI, features industry experts in eco-friendly practices, sharing insights on renewable energy, restoration, sustainability, and more.
- Nestled in the Bodhi Khaya Nature Reserve, the Electric Love Stage welcomed a crowd eager to learn about environmental topics while enjoying the beauty of nature.
- Gift Lubele, the co-founder of Kudoti, spoke on the significance of a circular economy and its potential to minimize waste and empower communities in South Africa.
- Phumelele Muthali from Viva con Agua South Africa discussed the importance of water as a basic human right, emphasizing the need for clean water access in South Africa and around the world.
- The Nina Manzi mobile showers at Reforest Rager provided clean water and sanitation for both festival participants and homeless individuals in Cape Town, raising awareness about water disparities.
- Roushanna Gray, founder of Veld & Sea, emphasized the importance of sustainable foraging and the reconnection with nature that comes from respectfully using natural resources.
- Stephen Horn, South African Country Director at Clean Creatives South Africa, urged the audience to end relationships with the fossil fuel industry, an industry guilty of deceitful practices and greenwashing.
- By taking the Clean Creatives pledge, individuals and organizations can demonstrate their commitment to a future without the fossil fuel industry, promoting sustainable alternatives.
- The impact of the fossil fuel industry on our natural resources and climate change is significant, yet often downplayed or concealed through greenwashing tactics.
- Our website offers resources and opportunities to become more involved in environmental conservation, such as planting days, volunteering, and internships.
- In addition to these efforts, our website also encourages individuals to make environmentally-friendly choices in their lifestyle, fashion, beauty, food and drink, travel, books, social media, entertainment, and more.
- In order to affect real change, it is necessary to work together as a community, raise awareness, and create a culture that prioritizes sustainability and the well-being of our planet.
