Seedpod

In his latest incarnation, this weeks guest,  George van der Schyff heads up Pristine earth, an NGO based in Cape Town working in the environment and specifically plastics waste and pollution. Their goal is to form collaborations and bring stakeholders together to enhance the best solutions in order to support them to achieve maximum impact.

One of the projects they have involvement with at the moment is brimming the Litterboom concept to Cape Town which provides a simple yet innovative way or retrieving litter from rivers.

Our conversation traversed plastics pollution, our plastics industry, poverty and equality in South Africa, Surviving Covid as a new parent and the effects of having a father who was an Apartheid policeman.

George shares his passion to make change in such an open heart felt way that cant help but rub off and inspire me to do the same. Thank you George.

London-based Paul Cocksedge has worked on projects as diverse as a flower-powered light, a canopy for the world’s largest botanical gardens, and furniture that fuses different metals through a freezing process. It’s impossible to pigeonhole the restlessly inventive Cocksedge, who studied industrial design at Sheffield Hallam University and product design under Ron Arad at the Royal College of Art in London. Few people are more adept at seeing everyday problems that cry out for design solutions – and he’s intent upon solving these problems in elegant and unexpected ways.

For me to sit and unpack the creative mind of someone like Paul Cocksedge at Design Indaba earlier this year was an incredible privilege. He is such a humble down to earth human being and I could not help but be inspired by his infections enthusiasm. This definitely ranks as one of my favourite conversations to date, enjoy.

This week for plastic free July I chat to eco pioneer Ian Dommisse who is an architect with a passion for alternative, environmentally friendly construction methods. In 2013 he founded The EcoBrick Exchange (EBE), a recycling non-profit, which aims to use upcycled plastic waste as a building material. Ian now also focuses on landscaping projects, education and training as his way of making a difference.

We chatted about many of the myths around Ecobricks and how they can best be used to divert waste from landfill and microplastics from the ocean. Going into the conversation I was speculative about the use of Ecobricks but after understanding their place in the eco system I am totally convinced they can play an important role in tackling our plastic problem. Thanks Ian for your dedication and vision.

This weeks guest Manu Prakash,  who I met at the design Indaba earlier this year, did his master’s and PhD in applied physics at MIT before founding the Prakash Lab at Stanford. “Manu works at the molecular scale to literally try and understand how the world really works. 

he is the co-inventor of the Foldscope and co-founder of Foldscope Instruments. Manu is dedicated towards inventing and distributing “frugal science” tools to democratize access to science , diagnostics of deadly diseases like malaria and convening global citizen science communities to tackle planetary scale environmental challenges such as mosquito surveillance or plankton surveillance by citizen sailors mapping the ocean

The Foldscope is an idea that's more relevant now than ever. We are in my mind seeing the decentralisation of power on so many spheres and this is yet another. As we discuss in our conversation there has been a big loss of trust in science today because the funding system often builds in biases which are hard to overlook. Manu has the goal of democratising science through making it accessible to everyone which I find  a thrilling and powerful idea. You can’t argue against something that is proven by hundreds or thousands of people. The recent months have shown again how polarised and distrustful many people are in science and for good reason, but with people like Manu pioneering projects like Foldscope, there is hope. Listen to our conversation to find out more.

As part of my Foodnext  conference series I had the privilege to interview  Rowan le Roux, who has been involved in sustainable activities for over 15 years from ecological economic research, to environmental finance to being sustainability manager within a large plastic manufacturer. Rowan believes, wholeheartedly, in business as a force for good and in the role that purpose driven businesses can play in restoring environmental and community systems in South Africa. Rowan is currently Operations Director at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa where changing business for good is their business

I learnt a hell of a lot in this conversation. Rowan is a powerhouse with such a depth of knowledge around the various aspects of how plastics are produced, used, recycled and has some fascinating thoughts on the situation we find ourselves in environmentally and economically and how we might move forward. We discussed everything from the gig economy, social entrepreneurship to circular economy and climate change. This is a must listen episode with many seeds for thought.

Together with a multidisciplinary team, Catalina Lotero is tackling the global energy crisis with a surprisingly simple, plant-based idea. The Colombian-born American, who studied industrial design in Bogotá, Colombia, and is currently doing her Masters in design at Keio University in Tokyo, came up with the sustainable solution to solve a pressing problem. One in eight people worldwide does not have access to electricity, with 84% of them living in rural areas. Lotero’s ‘Raiki’ – essentially an autonomous generator – is sure to be a game-changing project. 

This conversation was one of the inspiring interactions I had at Design Indaba earlier this year. Catalina and I discussed how her ground breaking research works, the creative process, some of the larger issues facing us as humanity and a one of my biggest take aways was that some of the things we are doing to try and solve our problems might be creating even more. We also explored the concept of soft power where we can accept mistakes, be ok with being wrong and take a collaborative approach to solving problems. Enjoy this fat dose of inspiration. 

This weeks guest, Pavitray Pillay, is the manager of the WWF (SASSI) program or  Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative. She has been involved in consumer awareness, education, outreach and public engagement on sustainable seafood and marine conservation for the last 5 years. Coming from humble beginnings and a background in marine biology Pavs brings both passion and deep knowledge to the work she does. She is now heading up behaviour change at WWF using the experienced gained through the SASSI program combined with behaviour science to bring a new edge to the campaigns WWF are running aimed at driving real change.

We went into detail on the mechanics of the SASSI program, whats working, where the challenges are where the biggest successes have been. We also had a fascinating discussion on behaviour change, how its been used commercially and medically and now how these tools can be used around environmental, climate related issues and plastics consumption here in South Africa. I really found this a stimulating and thought provoking conversation, enjoy.

“Named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is also an author, educator, curator and host of the  Design Matters podcast.

As the founder and host of Design Matters, one of the world’s first and longest running podcasts, Millman has interviewed nearly 500 artists, designers and cultural commentators over the past 14 years. Design Matters won a 2011 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, in 2015 Apple designated it one of the best overall podcasts on iTunes, and in 2018 the show was honored by the Webby Awards. 

Debbie is the author of six books, her illustrations have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, New York Magazine, Print Magazine, Design Observer and Fast Company and her artwork appears in galleries across America.

Debbie cofounded the world’s first graduate program in branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, was the President of Sterling Brands, one of the world’s leading branding consultancies, and has worked withn many of the worlds leading companies. She is frequently asked to speak internationally on design and branding and loves to travel.

Debbie is currently working with Law & Order SVUactor and activist Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation to eradicate sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and the rape-kit backlog.

Needless to say that it was an absolute honour for me to have Debbie on my podcast at Design Indaba 2020. We discussed a wide range of topics and our conversation ended up quite a philosophical one, discussing her personal visioning process that she does with her students, why people are not brands, some ideas about why we are addicted to things and she was very open about sharing some of her fears and struggles as a creative person. A lot has changed since this interview but we still remain the same flawed humans with the same needs and fears and I have no doubt you will be inspired by this amazing women and our conversation.

Last year as part of the Foodnext series I had the privilege of chatting to Nicki Russell, head of Innovation at Pick n Pay.

Nicki is a passionate foodie and product developer demonstrating a 20 year history of working across multiple categories in food retail. She is skilled in trend analysis, creating and landing new concepts and inspiring teams and suppliers to push product boundaries. Her world is “all about the product,” and the customer experience is key to ongoing growth.

We had a great conversation focused on innovation in the retail space from supporting, growing and encouraging local small businesses to plastics, waste and food waste and how a large retailer like pick n Pay is pushing the envelope towards sustainability in South Africa. Its great to know that a large company like Pick n Pay still has a big heart and a willingness to change for the better for us all. Enjoy the conversation.

Earlier this year I had the privilege of attending the Design Indaba before lockdown. This weeks guest, similarly to last week really impressed me with his  energy, passion and focus toward making our world a better place.

A born innovator, Vukheta Mukhari was always going to be at the forefront of human knowledge. As a Masters candidate in civil engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) he is passionate about greening the economy, and the ground-breaking project he is currently involved with seeks to develop more eco-friendly building materials, such as bricks. What makes these ‘bio-bricks’ unique is that they are created from human urine. 

When not working in the lab, Mukhari drives a plastic pollution awareness campaign and is building smart technology that promises to revolutionise the health and fitness space.

I thoroughly enjoyed my change with this bright inspiring young man and I am sure you will too.