Seedpod

This weeks guest Karoline Hanks is a passionate anti-SUP campaigner, and has been spear-heading a campaign against the use of plastic water sachets in road running in South Africa for over five years. She is a competitive Ultra distance trail runner, and recently scooped her fourth Puffer (80k) win. On the back of her latest race, she managed to raise R14 000 for a community project she manages with her partner in Noordhoek: Project Noordhoeked. She started a small business three years ago (called SUPA) making single-use plastic alternative products, which has grown from strength to strength, and which upskills a small sewing group in Masiphumelele.

We discuss some of the campaigning work that Karoline does in turning the tide on single use plastic with a focus on the waste produced during big running events around South Africa and the alternative solutions that are available. What gives me a sense of hope from this conversation is that people like Karoline are tackling their industries head on to do what they can to shift awareness, change behaviour move towards a sustainable future. I am grateful to Karoline and any of you who are pushing the boundries and calling for change in your own way. 

This podcast is the next in the series that was recorded at the foodnext conference at the CTICC in September 2019.

This weeks guest, Sipamandla Manqele is a 28-year-old entrepreneur breaking fresh ground in the realm of agro-processing with her business, Local Village. She produces a variety of artisanal and organic foods and has built a compelling value proposition within a niche health market. Manqele’s business has been running for three years and has already proven itself a viable and valuable startup, providing employment and community growth.

Sipamandla has been named one of South Africas’ top 200 Young People to watch in 2019 by Mail and Guardian. She is inspired by the African continent, its diverse cultures and its quest for social and economic unity and wants to play a role in the implementation of free and fair trade across Africa.

I was very inspired by the powerful presence that Sipamandla carries and the strong leadership values that she exudes. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to sit down with such a powerful young black woman and hear the way she thinks. Our conversation spanned many topics from gender parity to the lack of leadership in South Africa to Xenophobia and her views on some of the race issues we have in our country. Sipamandla has a refreshingly clear voice and is a true future leader in our country. Enjoy.

This week's guest Carmen Stevens is an award-winning winemaker selling her own brand of wines on the international stage. She is the first post apartheid Black female wine maker and her story is an incredible one. Growing up on the cape flats experiencing the effects of gangsterism and drug first hand she was determined to live a different life but becoming a winemaker in an all white, all male Apartheid South African industry brought a whole new set of challenges. She now has a foundation that feeds over 5000 children every year and has just opened her own winery.

I was blown away by Carmen's courage and determination in the face of the challenges that she faced. This is a story that you have to listen to. It's raw, honest and bloody inspiring. Carmens story illustrates our transition as a country out of Apartheid into the modern world and show me just what is possible for us all. Enjoy.

This week I sit down with Franc co founder Thomas Brennan who is a Rhodes scholarship recipient, ex Google employee, MIT researcher and ex Discovery Health technology and innovation team leader with a passion for the health sector and finance. Once he realised that the financial products currently offered to the general market weren’t as good as it could be and excludes much of the population he sought about finding a solution. After taking the leap from the comforts of a pay-check he founded Franc and is on a mission to bring financial instruments to the lower end of our population.

We spoke about capitalism, our current money systems, inequality and a number of fascinating topics which I know you will enjoy. Thomas is a very bright mind with a passion for solving some of the worlds large issues and is rolling up his sleeves, getting his hands dirty and trying to help educate and enable the mass population around investing their money.

Abe Cambridge is a serial energy entrepreneur who establishes businesses and projects that use solar energy to effect socio-economic change. In 2012, one of his businesses, The Renewable Energy Co-operative, was nominated ‘International Co-operative of The Year’ in the UN Year of Co-operatives. He now lives in South Africa, where in 2014 he launched Sun Exchange, a global solar micro-leasing marketplace that closes the funding gap for commercial- and community-scale solar projects in emerging markets, while streaming monetized sunshine all over the world. Sun Exchange has been named Best Bitcoin & Blockchain Business in Africa two years in a row.

I was struck by Abe’s clarity of vision and strength of personality and I have no doubt that he will take Sun Exchange to great success. His story is one of chance and luck in fast changing landscape, and his trajectory has a sense of destiny to it. Its a great entrepreneurial story with a growing positive impact. 

I learnt more about solar energy, electricity generation and carbon impact than any other conversation on this podcast so far. Enjoy the ride.

Nicola Jerkin has 20 years of experience working in the sustainability field with a particular focus on adding value to the supply chain, sustainable food systems, food waste, alien vegetation and forestry, ocean plastic, packaging and green skills. She holds a MEd in Environmental Education (Rhodes University); BSc (Hons) in Environmental & Geographical Science (University of Cape Town); and a BA in Geography and Anthropology (Rhodes University).

She is the founder of Pinpoint, which provides independent and advisory services. Nicola is a member of the UN’s One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food System’s Multi-Actor Committee and is currently advising the Consumer Goods Council of SA, and the Department of Trade & Industry, in the development of a Food Waste Voluntary Agreement for South Africa.

This was one of the most honest and refreshing conversations I have had on this podcast so far. We acknowledged that we are all in this together, we are all in the same situation and are constantly living a life of contradiction between wanting to live a life that is healthier for ourselves and the planet and the consumerist based rat race that most of us are part of. I loved Nicola’s unique perspective on working to solve many of the problems we face and drew a lot of inspiration from her wealth of knowledge. 

This is a short podcast wrapping up the year and giving you a few hints about whats coming next year. Thank you if you support this podcast as a listener!

This weeks guest Tracey Davies runs Just Share which is a non-profit shareholder activism and responsible investment organisation that promotes the use of investor power for a fairer South Africa.

Tracey spends her days fighting for transparency, equality and positive  impact in the private sector or corporate sector of South Africa. She advocates that in order for South Africa to begin to find solutions to our problems the corporate sector need to shift their focus from shareholder profit and the bottom line to the greater responsibility they have to improve the lives of the people of this beautiful country.

We spoke about the overwhelm we all feel when dealing with the multitude of issues we face daily, what engagement with the corporate sector looks like and how we can start to have influence in the boardrooms of our country to create greater positive impact. We need people like Tracey, she inspired me and I hope will inspire you too.

This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Industrial engineer turned WWF plastics consultant Lorren de Kock. In her mid 30’s Lorren realised she needed a change in a career path and needed to do something that made a difference so she went back to University part time while still working and raising a famil

Now Lorren heads up the Plastics team at WWF where she works with the various stakeholders in the industry to find solutions to the problems we face.

We discussed many aspects of the plastic problem from bioplastics and why they are not a solution for us here in South Africa yet to the plastics system and industry as a whole and the shift towards a circular economy. I left far more educated as to where we stand and what the issues are that we face as well as more questions about how we move forward and start solving the problem. If you want to know more about our plastic system and issues you must listen to this podcast.

Makoma Lekalakala is a soft spoken, unassuming South African human rights activist and the director of the Earthlife Africa in Johannesburg.  Earthlife Africa is an environmental NGO that lobbies the SA government to ensure environmental and climate justice in our communities. 

Makoma and Liz McDaid, were awarded the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize for the African region, for their groundbreaking work on using the justice system to stop a Russian-South African nuclear deal in 2017. Makoma believes that we all have a part to play, and that together our small contributions complete the bigger puzzle that brings change. 

In our conversation we discussed the nuclear deal and what it takes to be a human rights activist. We also looked at some of the  global threats that we are facing, and how they will affect us differently based on our culture and economic class. This podcast with one of the heroes of our time will open your eyes and leave you energised to take action.