Individual sustainable living does very little for the environment, but, above all, it is good for your conscience and its good for your soul.
I see sustainable living as living on a small island. But, in time, your actions and responsibility rubs off on others, thereby forming more islands. A group of small islands forms an archipelago, and in time, small continents of stability. Never give up hope, never stop trying!
Practically every house has candles (we have ESKOM to thank for that), and every refrigerator has eggs. By keeping both candle ends and egg boxes, one can make highly efficient firelighters at home. A note of caution first: molten candle wax is highly flammable, and great caution is advised when melting it, especially on a gas stove.
Whilst you gently melt the wax, prepare a sheet of old newspaper, and arrange the egg cartons neatly, and as close together as possible.
I have slowly melted the wax over heat.
Once the wax is liquid, pour evenly over the egg cartons, and do remember that the newspaper with wax drippings also becomes a firelighter.
Distribute the melted wax evenly on the egg cartons.
I derive great pleasure from small attempts at sustainable living simply because it is so easy, and in most cases, so logical. Sow the seeds early, and involve your children. The great Käthe Kollwitz always said: “Seed-Corn Must Not be Ground”.
Seed-Corn Must Not be Ground: The interior of Neue Wache in Berlin, with Käthe Kollwitz’s sculpture Mother with her Dead Son – centerpiece of what is today a memorial to “victims of war and dictatorship”.
