KeepCup

This blog has been a while coming but finally here it is.

While I was working at Cobalt Niche in Australia I was the lead designer on a project for a new more environmentally friendly takeaway coffee cup. Unfortunately I left Cobalt for Botswana just before the KeepCup hit the shelves. But now that it is out there I thought I would introduce you to it (and beat my own drum!!!)

The KeepCup is a reusable coffee cup that is aimed at reducing the amount of landfill by foam and paper disposable cups. It consists of a cup (which comes in three sizes), lid, plug (for sealing the drinking and air holes) and a band which is used to indicate coffee preferences to the barista.

For more information on KeepCup or to purchase one visit www.keepcup.com.au.

Here’s me with my KeepCup in the Gaborone Game Reserve. Oh yes I’m addicted. Coffee is your friend!

Gabs Game Reserve

Well now that we have a car we were able to head out to the Gaborone Game Reserve. Although I didn’t spot any of the Big 5 I did see impala, ostrich, lizards, warthogs, many types of birds and an especially rare species in these parts – the red-headed Aussie! It’s amazing that this wildlife sanctuary is almost in the heart of the city. The park even has some well maintained picnic spots with hut toilets and braai facilities. We’re already planning our next visit perhaps with a couple of snaggers for the braai.

 

While driving around Gabs we spotted this sign for a yacht club. What, you ask, a yacht club in a landlocked country 6 hours from the nearest ocean??? How can this be??? Well as we found out there is a large body of water in Gabs. No it’s not a river, nor is it a lake,  it’s a dam. And as the sign suggests there is a yacht club on the edge of the dam. But between you and me, I suspect that very few yachts have ever seen the water!

we got wheels!

Well we’ve finally got a car and we are pretty excited about it. 5 months in southern Africa catching buses, combis and taxis has been fun but it is really good to be independant again. And in only one weekend we saw more of Gabs than we had previously seen in 4 months.

Buying the car was surprisingly painless. We did have a little trouble with transferring the money. Another bank problem but don’t get me started on banks!!! The transfer of registration was also pretty straight forward requiring just passports and work permits. We got insurance but have to get a letter from my previous insurer to ensure we get a lower premium otherwise we’ll be charged as first time insurers. Insurance seems to be more expensive in Bots - almost double what we pay in Australia. Probably has something to do with the crazy drivers here!

Here’s our beast – a ‘96 5 door Toyota Rav4.

around gabs…

I thought I’d share with you some random shots that we’ve taken while in Gaborone.

The first is a shot Heather took of the bus park here in Gabs. You can find every means of transport at the bus park – long distance buses, local buses, combis and taxis. It is also right next to the train station although there are currently no passenger trains here. The overloaded buses that you can see in the photo are headed to Zimbabwe. Its much easier to get all the neccessities in Bots than Zim. While we were travelling around southern Africa we were forever being offered for sale a trillion Zimbabwean note. I can’t remember the price for the ‘souvenir’. 

This photo is taken in a new suburb in Gaborone. It is the epitome of suburbia. These are all BHC (Botswana Housing Commission) houses . As you can see all the houses are very similar. They sell for around 500,000 pula (approx. 95,000AUD).

We have come to realize that these are not real palm trees!! They may look like it but the crazy Batswana have decided that power poles look better disguised as trees.

Our 350 Environmental Action Day

I planned to have this blog entry to show how environmentally conscious we are. I was going to load some images from the 350 ‘Green Drive’ on Saturday 24th October here in Gaborone, Botswana. However, typical of our African adventure, things did not go according to plan.

We checked out the 350 website and found an event at Maru-a-Pula Secondary School here in Gabs. So on Saturday we caught two kombis (minivans that are the Botswana equivalent of a public transport service) and made the ten minute walk from the kombi stop to the school in the stifling heat. I reckon it was the hottest day in Gaborone since we arrived. Typical! Even in the shade I felt like I was melting. And this isn’t even the hottest time of the year.

Anyway when we got there the school was deserted. We had a look around and sat for a short period, in the shade, watching a soccer game on their back oval. We then headed back to the front gate and asked the security guard if he knew anything about the event. He thought it might be at ‘Northside’ or ‘Notwane’ – we didn’t actually understand what he said and had a small argument about who heard him correctly. Personally I still think he said Notwane.

Anyway he gave us loose directions to where he thought it was – it was only about a 15 minute walk or so we thought. We made the trek to where we thought he meant but we didn’t find it. By his stage we were hot, bothered, hungry and cursing the environment! So this pitiful story ends with no success and a little bit of sunburn. But I guess the hot weather and sunburn helps this story to have an environmental message after all.

Here’s the photo of my tanty after we couldn’t find the event!!! And yes it is almost 6 months since my last hair cut.

the okavango macbeth

Last Saturday night we went to see our first opera in Botswana – The Okavango Macbeth at the No.1 Ladies Opera House (which is an old converted garage). It was a chamber opera with the libretto written by Alexander McCall Smith (writer of The No. 1 Ladies Detective books) and the music composed by Tom Cunningham.

It might seem a little strange but it was loosely based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth with baboons as the lead characters rather than humans.

We got a taxi to the show but neither the taxi driver nor the two of us knew where we were going. Luckily we saw the teacup logos and simply followed them down the dark dirt road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we arrived we found that the night was a sell-out and we hadn’t bought tickets. While waiting to hear if there were any tickets left over we happened to run into an Australian couple from North Melbourne who have been living and working in Gaborone for the last two years. Small world. They were there with a bunch of expat friends many of whom were from New Zealand. It was great to hear the Aussie accent for a change. Do we really sound like that though???

We did get tickets and the performance was really enjoyable. I must say I never envisaged myself at an opera about baboons based on a Shakespeare play performed off a dirt road in Botswana.  But I guess that’s the great thing about living somewhere totally different – you have these most unusual and unexpected experiences!

Botswana Art

I’m pretty excited with my latest retail therapy purchase and it means one less blank wall in our house. Last weekend I bought this set of contemporary paintings by local artist, B Muskwe.  I picked them up from the Botswana Craft Centre in Gaborone. It’s a great local arts and crafts shop and gallery, largely aimed at toursists visiting Botswana.

Botswana is well known for their basket weaving and the centre has an enormous range of baskets. In fact when we were there they had an exhibition of baskets made during a local workshop. The intricate detail woven into these baskets was quite impressive. Unfortunately the baskets are quite expensive so now that I have emptied my bank account to buy these paintings I’ll have to save up again for a basket!

Conversing Women by B. Muskwe

Dancers II by B. Muskwe

Just Met by B. Muskwe

Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles

Well today is a public holiday. It’s the day after Independence Day. Don’t know exactly why but you always get two days off for a public holiday here. You get the actual day off and then the day after. Not that I’m complaining! I wish they would bring this system in in Australia.

Anyway this post isn’t about public holidays. Last Thursday I was luckily enough to be invited to present Designers with Soul (the not-for-profit design organization I founded) at a one-day workshop held at the University of Botswana.  The workshop was hosted by the Department of Industrial Design and Technology at the university and facilitated by Professors Ezio Manzini and Francois Jegou from Politecnico di Milano in Italy as part of the Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles(CCSL) initiative.

The CCSL workshop is part of the United Nations 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production. The aim of CCSL is to investigate the links between grassroots innovation and sustainable communities. CCSL has investigated creative communities all over the world and has now come to Africa; first to Kenya, then South Africa and now Botswana. The aim of the African workshops is to empower and inspire local communities to take action towards sustainable lifestyles.

Besides CCSL there were several other organizations (like DWS) who presented on the day to share their initiatives with regards to social innovation.

One of these organizations, that I thought I might share with you, is Somarelang Tikologo – Environment Watch Botswana. Since moving to Botswana I have been concerned that there does not appear to be any recycling systems in place. Thankfully I was wrong. I was delighted to find that one of the initiatives of this organization is recycling drop-off areas for domestic waste. Although it’s a bit tricky to drop our recycling off without a car we will find a way! Now I just need to convince Heather that she shouldn’t be burning all our recycling (she is a pyromaniac I think!!).

our first braai hosting

OK sorry everyone its been a little while since my last post. The internet here has been very frustrating over the last few weeks. Finally back on though!

A couple of Sundays ago I decided to host a braai (the Southern African equivalent of a bbq) at our new abode for some of my colleagues from work. When I say host we really just provided the location cos we don’t have many chairs and don’t even own a bbq. We did provide the salads, dessert and Australian humour however!

Some things I learned from the day:

1. The Batswana (plural) love meat, meat & then more meat. We had fat sausages, chilli beef and marinated chicken kebabs
2. They also love their food spicy with lots of chilli. Tip: always have a glass of water on hand.
3. American R&B music is prefered to Australian music
4. Music at decibels that make your ear drums bleed is best – preferably coming from the sub-woofer in the boot of your car
5. Remember to buy your liquor prior to the sunday in which you are hosting the braai. Liquor stores do not open here on Sundays.
6. Ensure that you tell everyone that the braai starts 3 hours before you intend it to.

It was a fun day though. We might even invest in a braai ourselves now.

Our Australian tribute

Well we’ve been missing you all back in Oz, so in order not to forget what you all look like we’ve created our ‘Australian Tribute’ wall art on one of our lounge room walls. It’s amazing how many hours we’ve actually spent this week just staring at the photos.

If you can’t see yourself then we really don’t like you. Only kidding, we just don’t have a photo of you! But if you think you’ve earned a spot on the wall feel free to send a photo through (but no randoms please!).