Everyday Change Makers

Spoiler alert, this copy contains quite a few hyperlinks, for ease of reference :)

 

Over the weekend, Eco Atlas shared the beautiful space facilitated by Greenpop in collaboration with Rocking the Daisies – we activated in the Green Village, alongside some vibrant organizations, businesses and individuals that are committed to steering consumer choices towards a sustainable future.

The Green Village, Hemp Stage and TEDx Cape Town tent were fully solar powered by MLT (that provided a solar charger for phones), in collaboration with Sunshine Cinema.

Being one of the most anticipated music events of the year, and being on its tenth edition (#decadeofdaisies), RTD 2016 attracted roughly 22000 eager festival goers; in this context, the Green Village provided a really cosy, relaxed and carbon-neutral platform for people to get together in creative ways and to foster interesting discussions; from early morning yoga, ecobrick making and fun recycling activities with Sustainable Brothers and Sisters (one of RTD Environmental Partners, together with Hemporium and Greenpop), hula hoop workshops with Hoop Flow Love, green shopping with Printed Truth, Hemporium and the Green Co-Op, board games with 100 in 1 day Cape Town, to  #makeyouown toothpaste sessions and video recording moments with us- all with a terrific music line-up! Up-cycled Reliance Compost bags made comfy cushions for the pallet couches scattered around the village.

“Everybody is so nice and relaxed around here, smiling at each other” was a comment I overheard between conversations. A young girl came to ask me where she could throw some organic matter. Wow!

After 3 days of great talks, chats and music, it was an obvious choice to dedicate this chapter to all the Everyday Change Makers whose paths we were lucky enough to cross. The present challenges make an interesting background for innovative solutions and creative collaborations. It is you guys who make sure the future is decorated with sincere respect for each other, our environment and its beings.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all the people who have been working behind the scenes, from all the sponsors, production teams to the cleaning and security staff that looked after us, made sure everybody was safe, had clean toilets, and that Cloof Wine Estate was clean after everybody left, KUDOS to all of you!

I certainly have a few suggestions for the RTDs to come, like a more sustainable number of visitors as well as a music line up that calls and favours the integration that is so needed.

When I walked back to my car on Sunday, most people had already left. The landscape had changed from makeshift camps to an apocalyptic scene; a desolated valley filled with  trash and unwanted goods scattered everywhere. I was particularly saddened at the number of 5lt water bottles left behind, lying in the sun.

It dawned on me that I had spent three days in a green bubble, with resourceful people who organized daily clean ups showing respect for natural resources and each other while listening to good music. I am not demonizing all the other festival goers;  I believe that the challenge ahead is to spread this caring vibe over the different music stages, age groups and (green or not) villages.

Challenge accepted :)

our video is coming soon

 

 

 

p.s we’re editing our video, it will be available soon :)