Sleek, sustainable alternatives to disposable tableware

/ Allegra / Leave a comment

Single-use tableware create increasing, massive amounts of waste. We eat out more than our parents ever did and our lunches are more and more wasteful. The best way to minimize lunch waste is to pack a lunch and pack only what you can eat, and to keep the restaurant option for that special occasion. The bento-box for lunch is a huge trend right now in Europe, mine is a shiny round box. When I happened to eat at my company’s canteen I noticed the invasion of the shelves by disposable packaging. And when my colleagues and I ate out at any of the pricey parisian eateries, it was more and more difficult to find non-disposable tableware. Here in rural South India, I never once had to say “I’d rather have a real cup please”.  When I go to the staff cafeteria, I pick up my large steel tray and my steel cup from the drainer wash it, fill them up and afterwards I wash ’em put ’em back, so someone else can do the same. Easy peasy. Nothing worth adding to the landfill about.   Continue reading →

Elephants in Kerala

/ Salim.E.I / 4 Comments
Photo Credits: Ramesh Kidangoor

Elephants being bathed by their Mahouts near  the Kodanad Elephant Training Center; Photo Credits: Ramesh Kidangoor

A symbol of strength and prestige since ancient times, elephants were used by royalty and feudal lords to display their power. Nowadays elephants are still part of the life and cultural ethos of Kerala. People here consider this animal a harbinger of good fortune, a remover of obstacles. It is an integral and inseparable part of the religious and economic life. Continue reading →

Entrepreneurial Conservation And Language Apps

/ Organikos / 1 Comment

This recent post about a language app was thought to be a one off on a funny subject. Then the topic was no longer one off, and not particularly funny. Even less funny, but technologically amazing, and certainly an example of one of our favorite topics, is this one (click the image to the left to go to the source):

…Last June, FirstVoices launched an iPhone app that allows indigenous-language speakers to text, e-mail, and chat on Facebook and Google Talk in their own languages. Users can select from a hundred and forty keyboards not recognized by iOS; the app supports every indigenous language in North America and Australia. (By default, iOS supports just two: Cherokee and Hawaiian.) The app accomplishes this through mimicry. When a text box is selected, a keyboard identical in form and function to iOS’s appears. The keyboard includes the characters necessary to write in, say, Cree, and follows a layout unique to the chosen language.  Continue reading →

Birders, Language Apps, And Protected Area Rules

/ Organikos / 2 Comments
Several visitors to Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, were found to be using apps that imitate the unusual 'churring' call of the nightjar to coax out the bird. Photograph: Don Mcphee for the Guardian

Several visitors to Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, were found to be using apps that imitate the unusual ‘churring’ call of the nightjar to coax out the bird. Photograph: Don Mcphee for the Guardian

Where is Ben, apart from being on the road to 2,000 birds, when you need him? We are curious how widespread the use of such apps might be among serious birders. Read this Guardian story to the end and you may agree with us that this language app is more likely to do harm than good:

To the long list of nature reserve do’s and dont’s can be added a thoroughly 21st-century injunction: don’t use your apps to pap the feathered denizens. Continue reading →

Robusta, Liberian, Arabica: a visit to a coffee plantation in the Western Ghats

/ Allegra / 2 Comments
Coffee plantation - Spring Valley, Kerala credit Ea Marzarte - Raxa Collective

Coffee plantation – Spring Valley, Kerala

Evan’s research on agroforestry in Ecuador  inspired me to learn more about coffee in India.  No coffee seed sprouted outside Africa or Arabia before the 17th century. Legend has it this all changed when a pilgrim named Baba Budan smuggled fertile coffee beans out of Mecca strapped to his stomach. Returning to his native India, he successfully cultivated the beans near Mysore.Commercial cultivation began in 1840 when the British rule established Arabica coffee plantations throughout the mountains of Southern India. Till today much of the production comes from the Western Ghats. Initially Arabica was widespread, but Continue reading →

For The 2012 Design Team

/ Crist Inman / Leave a comment

Hey you!  We think of you guys almost every day, and this vimeo made it necessary to stop and post a quick hello.  The property we called Harbour is looking fabulous. And the property called Pearl down at Marari beach is curvaceous in exactly the manner we talked about.  We have heard rumors that one of you got a job in New York.  True or false?  The rest of you?  Stay in touch!

State to State

/ Martin Bawden / Leave a comment

Kerala vs. Tamil NaduI live in New Jersey and go to school in New York, and consequently, I have crossed the border into New York on many occasions.  During my drives, I often don’t even realize when I cross the border; the only thing that lets me know is a small sign that welcomes me to the state of New York.  Almost a product of its name- the United States of America- this holds true for many states across the United States.  When you travel between neighboring states, the principal language is the same (English), and apart from a few exceptions, people usually both look and sound similar.

As part of my summer interning at Raxa Collective, I am currently staying in Thekkady, which is located in the Indian state of Kerala.  A couple days ago, a few colleagues and I decided to go for a ride to one of the neighboring states, Tamil Nadu.  Because of my experiences in the United States, I expected both Kerala and Tamil Nadu to be very similar.  Boy, was I wrong.  While the only indicator that signaled my entrance into Tamil Nadu was a gate manually operated by a few workers, it was clearly evident that I was somewhere different. Continue reading →

Thrikkakara Vamana Moorthy Temple – Cochin

/ Salim.E.I / 1 Comment
Photo credits : Ramesh Kidangoor

Photo credits : Ramesh Kidangoor

Located near Cochin, Thrikkakara Temple is one of the few temples dedicated to Lord Vamana, the 5th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The name Thrikkakara means “the Holy place where Lord placed His Foot”. Thrikkakara is famous for the 10-day Onam festival celebrations. Continue reading →

“The Upcycle”, the sequel to “Cradle to cradle”

/ Allegra / 4 Comments

If you’ve read “Cradle to Cradle” and you come here regularly, chances are you’ll be as excited as I am to learn about the sequel : ‘The Upcycle”.

10 years ago William McDonough and Michael Braungart published one of the most important environmental manifestos of our time.

Based on biomimetics, Cradle to Cradle design is an approach to the design of products and systems. It models human industry on nature’s processes viewing materials as nutrients circulating in healthy, safe metabolisms. The book states that:

“All products can be designed for continuous recovery and reutilization”.

Every product can and should be conceived with the reuse of its materials in mind and every material can and should be conceived to be used again. Just like in nature, nothing goes to waste.

If you have not read it, McDonough’s TED talk Cradle to Cradle design will probably make you want to give it a go.

In their newest book  The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance,  McDonough and Braungart go further than ‘Cradle to cradle’ saying that we should be ambitious about our role on this planet.

“Industry can do better than “do no harm”: it can actively improve everything with which it comes into contact.” Continue reading →

Flavours Of Kerala – Unniappam

/ Salim.E.I / 1 Comment

Unniappam is a traditional snack popular all over Kerala.  They are easy to make, very tasty, and are prepared from the main ingredients of rice, jaggery, banana, and ghee.

How to Prepare

Mix rice powder, jaggery, chopped banana, fried coconut bits, and  cardamom powder for flavor, all with water to make the batter.  Then, heat the oil in an Unniappam pan and fill the holes with the batter. Continue reading →

Are you doing a Big Year?

/ Allegra / Leave a comment

 

I was working from the internet café during a windy day last week-end when I thought I was squinting again. “Did you see that bird? It has two tails!” my colleague Martin exclaimed entering the room a little later. I checked out the sighting: a racket-tailed drongo. The most surprising, graceful creature I have ever seen. Actually, I didn’t know much about birding before I got here. Since then, I’ve learned about the fallouts following a storm, the threats to bird migration and the ethics of the birder. As of yesterday, thanks to India’s cable tv, I’ve learnt from a Hollywood movie that birding can also be a competition. Continue reading →

Periyar Sightings June 9th 2013

/ Salim.E.I / 2 Comments

Elephants

On the morning of June 9th, Shaleen James went for a nature walk in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.  While originally from Mumbai, she was visiting Cardamom County.  Shaleen enjoyed her trekking and had many good sightings and consequently, has kindly shared some of her photos with us. Continue reading →

Food, Waste, Change

/ Organikos / 9 Comments

While we are on the subject of looking at food differently, as well as depending on others for new perspective, we can wrap all that around last week’s emphasis on food waste.  We will not let that topic go until we see the dial turning. We will keep a spotlight on the need for change, and share whatever we find from our good neighbors on this topic. WRI shares a thorough examination that is worth a click and read:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that 32 percent of all food produced in the world was lost or wasted in 2009. This estimate is based on weight. When converted into calories, global food loss and waste amounts to approximately 24 percent of all food produced. Essentially, one out of every four food calories intended for people is not ultimately consumed by them. Continue reading →

Photogenic Food

/ Organikos / 2 Comments

foodlens7

We mentioned recently that we are crowd-sourcing a new way of looking at decor for Cardamom County. National Public Radio (one of the great investments made by the tax-payers of the USA, in collaboration with loyal listeners who donate funds to their local stations) has a food-focused blog that has introduced us to a photographer of Indian heritage who grew up in the USA and has traveled around the world doing what photographers do: seeing the world through the lens, differently than we might otherwise see it. Here he is concerned, curious and creative in his exploration of what is in the food we eat:

These intriguingly abstract images are part of a photo series called Naturally Modified — the brainchild of photographer Ajay Malghan. To create them, he shines colored lights through thin slices of fruits and vegetables onto light-sensitive paper. So what you end up seeing isn’t a picture of the food itself, but an ethereal image of its shadow. Continue reading →

Bodi Mettu – Munnar

/ Salim.E.I / Leave a comment
View of Bidi

View of Bodi from Bodimettu

Bodi Mettu, the highest peak in South India, is located along the Munnar-Madurai Highway near the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. From this point on a clear day one will get a bird’s-eye view of Tamil Nadu and the Bodi town. Continue reading →