Joining us for this week’s episode is Mkhululi Silandela,  Senior Manager for the Sustainable Agriculture & Smallholder-Support program at WWF-SA.  This podcast is part of a series in partnership with Foodnext.africa. FoodNext.Africa is a b2b food event where startups, food innovators, foodtech businesses, investors and partners who are redefining the food industry from farm-to-fork are able to connect.

Mkhululi launched his career in the food & beverages industry, and later worked as the regional manager for Fairtrade Africa before Before joining WWF in 2012. 

With a B.Sc. Honours in Agribusiness & international food-chain management from the Dronten University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands; an MBA and a unique insight into African value chains and some of the most pressing local and global issues, it is evident that Mkhululi has a passion for food security and sustainability.

In this podcast Mkhululi talks about the program he’s involved with at WWF, which is working towards an inclusive regenerative agriculture & a food system which provides for people and gives back to nature. We also discussed the crises that we’re facing and the possible solutions to collectively overcome them. Mkhululi has such a depth of knowledge it was a privilege to site down with him, I hope you feel the same.

“We are not limited in terms of the solutions and communities, but I think we limit ourselves when we think individually.” - Mkhululi Silandela

On the 18th of October 2019, this weeks guest Camille Olianti set off for Reunion Island where she challenged herself to run a 114km trail run with 6500m of altitude gain. The challenge was motivated by her love of  nature and running, as well as her passion to bring about change. Camille ran to raise funds for the South African Endurance Academy (ENDUROCAD) based in Stellenbosch which helps female athletes from underprivileged backgrounds get an education and develop their talent in athletics. 

Camille has deep care for helping people to succeed which comes through in her being the Winelands Ambassador for Future Females. 

Her care for the planet runs just as deep. Camille has a BSc in Earth & Environmental Sciences from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and an Hons and MSc in Geology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She is involved in a number of water related projects here in Cape Town including the aquifer recharge project.

We spoke about some of Camille’s own struggles that she has had to overcome including an eating disorder, her absolute love for nature and of course the environment and climate change with particular focus on water. You wont leave this conversation without inspiration.Enjoy.

Sarah Robyn Farrell, aka Sustainable Sarah, joins me this week to speak about her contribution to a more sustainable world.  She is really multitalented working as a writer, environmental communicator, climate justice activist, and musician with a conscious work ethic combined with creativity, passion and a drive for instilling positive change. 

She is both the founder and creative director of transparenCI, creative agency that specialises in sustainability communications and a founding member of the African Climate Alliance, a youth-centered climate justice affinity group. Sarah's climate activism is centred around intersectional grassroots climate action that focuses on the youth. 

Her activism also flows further into her music, where she writes songs with the hope to prompt action towards environmental and social change. 

There are a lot of takeaways from this conversation. I enjoyed Sarah’s honesty and acknowledge her for her courage as well as her pragmatic approach to the issues that face us as a species providing simple first steps for those who are feeling lost and overwhelmed. For a genuine look down the rabbit hole, listen to this one...

Unlike most children, Rayne Stroebel grew up in an Aged Care Home where his mother was the Matron. There the seeds were planted that later developed into his heart for better care. He founded GERATEC which is a person-centred community where older people can live in a home-like environment and make their own decisions. They achieve this with a holistic and compassionate approach, meeting individual needs, encouraging independence and continued growth, rather than manage their decline. Through this, their dream is to transform and re-model long term care in South Africa. 

One of the striking concepts for me that came from this conversation is that when elderly people are no longer able to communicate outwardly their consciousness is never affected. Rayne’s approach to care for the elderly stems from this realisation.

As he says, “We are passionate about continually raising the bar in terms of quality service, meeting the needs of the individual and moving right away from medically – nursing those in long term care. We focus on real care – encouraging residents’ independence, supporting their choices and acting on the things that are important to them.”

After this enlightening conversation, l have a completely different view on getting old and interacting with the elderly. I feel some big questions were asked and some answered its something we all have to face some time or another. THis one went very deep, I hope you enjoy.

This week's guest, Emile Fourie, is focused on looking at waste differently.  Emile is the CEO & Co-Founder of Ywaste, a company that specialised in Food Waste Management by transforming wasted food into organic compost. Ywaste started as a small company that manufactured domestic-scale worm farms, but in just 8 years they transformed into a substantial operation that diverts more than 1 500 tons of food waste from landfills each year. Scarily, 90% of South Africa’s food waste ends up in landfills, and soon we’ll be running out of space. Emile is a visionary and believes he has a globally relevant solution to our food waste crisis. Through making compost he is not only reducing the food waste contribution to landfills, but also enables the replenishment of the earth. 

I feel like I went down another rabbit hole with this one or took another red pill. I learnt a lot from our conversation and walked away with a feeling that I need to do more by way of reducing my impact and a good measure of inspiration to do so. 

From humble beginnings, Tracy Gilmore has created a powerful personal development ‘sisterhood’. It started when she and her partner convinced retailers to donate excess garments, and empowered unemployed single mothers by teaching them basic business skills. The reach of their influence has expanded greatly and they have equipped 1000’s of women with the knowledge and ability to create a bright future through a healing, supportive entrepreneurship training programme. Above all, the programme strives to restore the pride and self-worth of participants. By doing so, the women are empowered to help themselves and their families, and grow a successful, profitable business.

I was truly inspired by this conversation with a real innovative social entrepreneur. The clothing bank model ticks so many boxes and shows us all that there are opportunities and solutions to many of the problems we have in South Africa. It makes me feel proud to be a South African and gives me hope for our future when I see people working tirelessly and selflessly like Tracey and her team do. I hope you feel the same way.

Christina Tenjiwe Kaba is proof that anything is possible. Better known to locals as Mama Kaba, she cares for her community and goes out of her way to prevent anyone from going to bed hungry. Her conquest for change originated in Lesotho, when she started using her land to grow vegetables to contribute to the nutritional needs of her community. Today, Mama Kaba has founded numerous communal gardens in various South African townships. She exceeded expectations when she rose to the top and became a CEO, despite having only completed formal education up till halfway through standard 2. For her greatness, vision and dedication she has received more than 20 prestigious awards and is acknowledged as one of South Africa’s top farmers.Mama Kana’s caring heart is motivated to uplift communities in need and she sparks positive change wherever she goes.

This is her story. Enjoy.

This week I have the pleasure of chatting to the barefoot coach aka Paddy Upton. He has been part of the coaching staff of the SA cricket team that reached World 1 ranking, he helped take the Inidian cricket team to a world cup win in 2011 and is Head Coach in four of the world's premier T20 cricket tournaments. 

He is also a mental coach to professional athletes from multiple sporting disciplines, leadership coach to business executives and teams, a professional speaker, and was recently appointed as a Professor of Practice at Deakin University’s Business School in Australia. 

Beyond his accolades Paddy has pioneered a way of thinking about leadership and coaching  for many years that centres around honesty, vulnerability and collaboration.

We spoke about what real success looks like, what reaching full potential as a humans looks like, what the drivers are that help us to get there and how we can support our children in their pursuits. I feel so grateful for this opportunity and walked away much wiser for it.

From a young age Eugene Oppelt was been inspired by his mother, a nurse, and watching her help and care for others helped shape his career as a psychologist. He is passionate about helping people reach their full potential in life.

He’s currently focused on peak performance for elite athletes & teams, South African Olympians, & Paralympians. He is also a leadership advisor, team focus builder, change management consultant, and facilitation leader for a forward-thinking and dynamic international organization that trains men to live powerful and authentic lives.

During my conversation with Geno, we discussed what it means to be a man in the world, role models, and toxic masculinity. Geno believes that mentorship should be an essential part of our lives that vulnerability is a major strength and that everyone should have someone to go to for guidance. 

Aron Halevi is a musician, songwriter, producer, and social innovator with a self proclaimed obsessive percussive disorder. He is also a father, husband, dreamer and hummus addict.

After Starting the highly successful Freshlyground in 2002, and an amazing seven year journey, spanning three albums, four SAMA awards, one MTV award, over 50 songs and 1000's of performances later, he decided to pursue his own career as a composer and producer.  Besides enjoying his music, his hope is that his songs might touch you, move you, and possibly even inspire you to look within, to step up, and to dream big!

This podcast was a unique experience for me because I had the privilege of being an audience of 1 to some Arons music in the most spectacular setting. Our conversation traversed Aron’s career from life as a young person growing up in Cape Town to his success through Freshly ground and the tension that brought with it, recording an album in a jail cell with Larry Joe to today launching is solo album and much more. I left the conversation inspired and filled with hope and possibility. If you need a strong dose of hope this is a must listen.