The Artists' Press Environmental Efforts

In the print studio, guesthouse and homes we are continually looking at ways to lighten our footprint. Here are some of the things that we do, please copy at will and let us know how we can improve.

Studio:
Printing involves the use of solvents, acids and chemicals, we try to use as little as possible and are always on the lookout for processes that use the least amount of toxic ingredients. Our lithography presses are hand operated (gives the printers a good physical workout!) and many of the methods that we use are centuries old and thus are not heavy on dangerous chemicals.
We are slaves to the three R's and reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible. even the toilet roll inners get used as seedling containers that then form compost when planted out!
Profits from the studio are spent on expensive environmental initiatives such as installing the solar geysers and soon to be installed micro-hydro plant.

Kitchens:
Stove: we cook (including heating water for tea/coffee) on gas, as it is more environmentally sound than using electricity. We do not have electric kettles in the kitchens, they waste loads of power. Use tealeaves, the tea tastes better and lots of packaging is saved. When cooking keep lids on your pots, use the right size pot for the flame and turn the gas off when you food is almost ready and let the heat already in the pot do the rest of the cooking for you.
We do not have any dishwashers and rely on the tried and tested kitchen sink plus hands.
Kitchen waste goes into organic waste bins (food scraps, peels etc) and get emptied into the chicken dome in the vegetable garden. Feeds the hens and makes compost... and eggs.

Recycling:
We recycle glass, metals, paper and plastic. We drop batteries and used cfl bulbs off at Pick'n Pay supermarkets; they have special recycling bins for these items. We use rechargeable torches and batteries.
Waste that is totally useless to anyone and the environment gets dropped off in town to be disposed of at a municipal site.

Water:
Our water comes from our borehole and we get it tested each year. It is better than bottled spring water that you buy (taste wise, contents wise and environmentally). Refill the plastic bottles that you may have bought (Paris Hilton says that this her how she does her bit for the environment.... Go girl!).
The gardens are watered with water that comes out of our dam (provided by the local farming irrigation system, gravity fed from Witklip Dam).

Lights:
We use cfl globes throughout. They use much less electricity and seem to withstand the power surges that Escom indulges in much better than incandescent light bulbs. Around the houses we do not have any burning-all-night-long exterior lighting. Having no exterior lighting has not compromised our security.

Solar power:
We have fitted solar water heaters and geysers onto the workshop, the guesthouse and our home. They work brilliantly and have been the major contributor to cutting our electricity consumption by half.

Coffee:
Our coffee is local and is grown in the hills below Graskop by Boveldt Coffee.

Food:
We grow as much of our food as we can and are totally organic. We eat very little meat and when we do, it is free range and South African. Unless we are Maputo we steer clear of seafood. We buy as much seasonal local produce as we can, fresher, less packaging, lower food miles and supports the local economy. For items that are not produced in our neighbourhood we buy South African where possible. The lowveld is the place to get nuts, nut oils, fruit and honey. When in season it also the place to get butternuts and avo's.

Cleaning materials:
We use a combination of vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and water to do most of the cleaning and disinfecting. Ask for our recipes...

Laundry:
The detergent that we use in the washing machine is called Triple Orange. It works well and is not bulked with shredded newsprint (the secret ingredient in commercial detergents!). We do not use a tumble drier (ridiculous in the South African climate), the sun and the wind do the job for us. A 1/4 cup of bicarb added to the final rinse replaces fabric softener.

Toilets:
Our toilets use septic tanks and are off grid!

Cooling down and heating up:
All our roofs are insulated with Isotherm, a South African product made out of recycled soft drink bottles. This means that we do not need air conditioners in the houses. If the weather is really hot, we open windows and doors at night, to allow the cooler air to bring the temperature of the building down. In the morning we close it all up and keep the heat out and the cool in (this really works, promise!).
In cold weather make fires in the houses (far more romantic than an electric heater), plus wood is a local waste product that becomes ash and is used in the compost heap. The wood we use comes from invader species that have been cleared from the bush and garden.

Carpets:
All our carpets are hand made by local rural women out of renewable grass using a traditional Swazi technique. When they are worn out they get tossed onto the compost heap. In the workshop the printers have them next to presses and they work very well to cushion hard working feet. Industrially produced carpets are full of toxic chemicals and can take 20,000 years to decompose in landfill sites. Roadside craft sellers in the Hazyview area sell the carpets we buy.

Furniture:
We buy locally produced furniture directly from the carpenter when we can; otherwise we buy second hand furniture. Most of the furniture in the workshop we made ourselves, using locally produced materials.

Garden:
We have removed most of the alien trees on the property and when we buy anything new for the garden it is indigenous. We do not use any chemical fertilisers or pesticides. This means that the bees, bats, predator insects, frogs and birds do the work for us. When we have termite and ant infestations we soak them with water.
Once a year we scatter chicken manure (from the egg farm up the road) on the lawns to get them into shape.

Trees:
Since 2003 we have planted over 200 indigenous trees and about thirty nut and fruit trees. This is to offset our air travel (limited) and the air miles of artists who come and work with us and also because we just love trees.

Cars:
Most of our running around and long trips is done in our Toyota Yaris, which has good fuel consumption (about 6 litres to 100kms). We share school lifts with our neighbour (saves over 800kms of travel a month) and are looking forward to the day we can buy a locally produced electrical car... within the next four years....

Electricity:
To charge that car and to go off the electrical grid totally we are busy investigating setting up a micro hydro electricity system, using the water that flows through the property. It will be diverted through the turbine and then return, uncontaminated into the river.

Environmental activism:
Since 2006 we have been heavily involved in protesting against pollution from the Sonae Novobord plant in Rocky Drift (6kms from us) who produce MDF, chipboard and melamine. We have been successful in getting them to start looking at complying with environmental legislation but the battle is far from over. Bit like trying to stop the fat boys running the school tuckshop. We have organised protests, print and radio media attention, meetings with relevant governments departments, contacts with South African and European communities fighting the same company for the same reasons and even managed to get the European Investment Bank (who lend Sonae money) to come out from Brussels to listen to our concerns (they have listened and are taking action).

Kids school. In 2008 we managed to get the children's school to set up an environmental committee wich falls under the Parents Association and we are currently drawing up an Environmental Management Plan for the school. The main project started so far has been a recycling station for the school and parents to make use of.

READING LIST

Want to find out more? Below are some books that we have really enjoyed:

1) Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

2) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

3) Bonfire of the Brands by Neil Boorman

4) Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence

5) Eat Your Heart Out by Felicity Lawrence

6) The End of Oil by Paul Roberts

7) The Permaculture Home Garden by Linda Woodrow

8) Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas H Friedman

9) Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel

10) The Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (DVD)