This Valentine’s Day, give your loved one a gift of hope and inspiration when you buy a plant or plants destined for the Giant Flag. The Giant Flag intends generating a socio-economic shift so effective (including some 700 jobs – 60% for women) that it will change the course of the communities that surround it, forever. Visit http://www.giantflag.co.za and show how original you are.
Author: ashtonp45
The Giant Flag on CNN
We marched into 2015 to find this piece on CNN shining the spotlight on the Giant Flag. In a nutshell, it lists the Giant Flag initiative as one of the 10 Ideas of the Year. This is a great kick-off to the year, so please share the news.
10 ways to have a green Christmas – The Carbon Copy
We loved this email from The Carbon Copy (official newsletter of The Green Business Guide) informing us how we could have a green Christmas. What we particularly love is that these ideas aren’t limited to one holiday, or one religion – you can follow them for gifting throughout the year, no matter the occasion. Whatever you are doing towards the end of this year, just it safely and responsibly. And don’t forget our gifting option on http://www.giantflag.co.za.
- Re-gift gifts
It is ok to up-cycle or re-gift gifts – as long as you are thoughtful about it – maybe giving granny a pair of rollerblades isn’t the best choice. Be sure to practice all the regular principles of good gift giving, i.e. is the gift a good fit for the receiver?
One last tip – avoid giving the gift back to the person that gave you the gift in the first place. They may not appreciate how hard you are working to save the environment.
- Batteries
Alkaline batteries are the most commonly used batteries for household items and parents know to stock up for Christmas day to avoid disappointed young faces. These batteries need to be disposed of after a single use and although they contain less/no mercury (very harmful to the environment) it is still not a good idea to simply toss them in the trash. Please dispose of them appropriately. Most Builders Warehouse outlets have a battery-recycling bin.
Batteries can be recycled but the best choice would be to buy a gift that does not need them. If you feel you must buy a gift that requires batteries (I love my wireless mouse that runs on two AA’s) consider a companion gift: a nice set of rechargeable batteries and a charger.
- E-books
The eBook market is booming. EBooks are cheaper to buy, faster to publish, easier to receive and easy to store on any e-reader device.
Giving eBooks helps you to celebrate a green Christmas because they don’t require any material to print, and cut way down the clutter in people’s homes. Imagine all the trees that would be saved if all traditionally printed books were sold as eBooks.
f you are feeling very generous you could or even club together with others and give someone their first e-reader like the Kindle, Nook or iPad.
- LED lights on the Christmas Tree
LED lights (light emitting diode) make for a much more eco-friendly Christmas because they are significantly more energy efficient than regular Christmas lights. They save you money and energy.
A bonus is that they last much longer then traditional lights. You can purchase LED Christmas lights for indoor or outdoor use and in some cases solar powered outdoor lights that really save energy. LED’s typically come in a variety of colours and shapes. Consul’s Solar Jar now come in an opaque jar – very desirable around an outdoors entertainment area.
- E-cards
Christmas e-cards are often cheap and do not require fuel for transportation, paper from trees, or even the environmentally harmful dyes often used in printing.
E-card services can easily be found on the Internet. Many services are free, some charge a small fee but usually have more options. They can be animated or still, silent or singing.
- Consumable gifts
Shift your mindset. Start to think about gifts as experiences and not things. Money spent or time used to create an experience can increase your long-term experience. Frankincense and myrrh, were consumable gifts – being valuable tree spas or resins that are used as oils, incense, fragrances, perfumes or more.
Give perfume, a trip to a desired location, a gift certificate for a pottery class, foot massage at the local spa and create a calendar on your computer that contains your top 12 photos taken from the previous year. Software to create a calendar on most laptops these days is a simple drag and drop and this gift lasts all year round.
- Carpool to Church on Christmas Eve
A great way to cut your carbon emissions in town is to ride share or carpool to events. Church services or holiday parties are perfect for carpooling. Chances are you know someone else that is also going to your church or the same Christmas party. Why not offer them a lift?
8. Buy wooden toys vs plastic
Where possible, purchase a sturdy wooden version of any item over a plastic version. Wood is a renewable resource. It really does grow on trees. Plastics are human made synthetic polymers made from petroleum and natural gases. Petroleum (crude oil) is not a renewable resource. Sturdy wooden products like toys last much longer than plastic versions and can be passed down for generations.
- Buy a living Christmas tree
There is some debate as whether a plastic tree, which granted lasts longer but which is made from non-biodegradable metal and plastic made from petroleum is better for the environment or buying a real tree every year.
We recommend that you buy local and that although you will pay more, buy a Christmas tree that is still alive with the root ball intact so that it can be replanted after celebrating the big day.
This eco-friendly Christmas tree will go on to live happy second lives in the producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. Replant the tree either in your yard or out in the country and you will be saving a tree and helping the environment.
- Buy gifts from recycled stuff
Support recycling and protect the Earth’s resources by intentionally purchasing gifts made from recycled sources. If manufacturers use recycled resources they will tell consumers on their labels and websites.
Small Gift, Giant Gesture
If you’re one of those people who agonises over finding something meaningful, gifting via the Giant Flag website could be the answer. Not only will you be investing in a greener future for the planet, you’ll help change someone’s social and economic standing for the better. Not only is that a gift worth sharing, it’s a gift that will make a giant impact for the good in Cambedoo. Visit giantflag.co.za and either adopt or gift plants to help us build the flag.
On the road again …
Head of FCB South Africa’s green and social new business development, and creator of the Giant Flag idea, Guy LIeberman, is on the road again drumming up support for the Giant Flag. See if you can spot him on South Africa’s roads.
Seen at our launch
It was dark – only starlight for the stage on the lookout point above the Valley of Desolation – for our launch. But here are a few shots taken of our trustees and VIP guests: South Africa’s Deputy Minister in the Department of Tourism, Tokozile Xasa; CEO of FCB South Africa, the marketing communication group behind the initiative, Brett Morris; trustee Guy Lieberman; trustee Jimmy Joubert; trustee Samantha Jankovich; trustee Derek Light; and Camdeboo Mayor Hanna Makoba:
Yahoo! South Africa invites South Africans to get behind The Giant Flag
FCB South Africa has a big idea: to build a 165-acre SA flag in the Karoo desert out of millions of cacti and succulent plants, as well as solar panels. The plants will offset some 90,000 tons of carbon emissions annually, the solar panels will power the equivalent of 4,000 homes, and the project will provide more than 700 jobs in Camdeboo Municipality.
See what else Yahoo! South Africa has to say:https://za.news.yahoo.com/video/watch-karoos-mammoth-sa-flag-130858556.html
In the press (4)
National Deputy Minister of Tourism, Tokozile Xasa, describes The Giant Flag as ‘game changer’. Read what else she says about us in this report from Leadership Online at http://www.leadershiponline.co.za/articles/tourism-12802.html.
In the press (3)
Sparks Electrical News wrote about our solar field. Read more here: http://www.gate5.co.za/read/25931/qv/30339000/132911100/2336/j
In the press (2)
Mary Alexander writes about The Giant Flag on Media Club South Africa:
In the Valley of Desolation in the Camdeboo region of the Eastern Cape, a global online crowdfunded project with huge ambitions is set to transform a community where four of every 10 people don’t have jobs. This is South Africa’s Giant Flag, a development project so big it will be visible from space.
Giant flag 