The 4th annual Green Building Conference and Expo kicks off tomorrow at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, Joburg. If you'd like a complimentary ticket to the expo worth R50 drop us an email at giveaways@sprouts.co.za.

If you're a professional in the building sector or just interested in green building this is definitely one to check out. Take a look at the Green Building Exhibition website for more information and see the list of exhibitors over here.

Rain water tanks and harvesting systems, eco-friendly flooring, fittings and furnishings made from recycled polystyrene, energy saving solutions, led lighting, green roofing, bamboo products and thermal insulation are some of the products you can check out.

Green prefab homes rising in popularity
A modular home manufacturer in USA says that, where other builders are cutting projects in the down economy, his company is raising production of the energy-efficient model, called the 'i-house' – a solar modular home. South Africa has its own version that's caused quite a stir, known as Zenkaya – ready-made living space that is re-defining the term 'prefab' and giving it a new eco-friendly and eco-chic slant. They're cheeky, easy, chic and unique. The designs are based on core sustainable principles – efficient use of space, reducing waste in the factory, and all materials are recyclable.

Eskom shuns renewable energy
An Irish energy company, Mainstream Renewable Power, claims that Eskom does not want renewable energy to succeed in SA. Mainstream vented its frustration over what it said was Eskom’s unwillingness to accommodate renewable energy players in the SA power generation market. It last year established a joint venture with local company Genesis Eco-Energy to build wind farms to generate 500MW in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape. “Eskom does not want renewables. They do not want competition,” Mainstream CEO Eddie O’Connor said yesterday. [businessday] read here about what Eskom should be doing...

World's tallest wooden building for Norway. Oslo-based Reiulf Ramstad Architects are responsible for the ambitious project, which will be situated in downtown Kirkenes on the historical ground of a multiethnic area. To achieve carbon neutrality, Reiulf Ramstad Architects is relying on integrated systems that also enable it- to adapt to the changing seasons and climate. The firm also plans to reuse biodegradable household and industrial waste to produce biogas. [inhabitat]

Who is the greenest grocer in SA? According to the Sunday Times Top Brands survey, the company that has done the most to promote 'green' in South Africa is Pick n Pay, followed by Woolworths. [the times] [bizcommunity] ...

We recently spent the most beautiful weekend in winter in Elands Bay on the west coast. And whilst I share this with some reticence (Elands Bay can do without a stampede) I do think that sharing our hideaway (join the strawrevolution at one boom straat elands bay) is something anyone who appreciates anything built sustainably will appreciate!

So, what is there to do in Elands Bay? was the first question flung my way when I mentioned to two of my closest friends jetsetting in from Johannesburg that we were heading out to the small town on the West Coast for our long-planned weekend away.

A little research brought to light an apt description that went something like this: there is a very long beach; and you can head down to the local pub and drink coke and klippies with the local potato farmers!...

Last year's spring green faire was really great - authentic green stallholders in an outdoor setting with perfect weather, good food, lots to see and talk about plus activities for the kids. We were hoping this would become a regular event and now it's back, just in time for the end of summer.

Looks from the programme that there is even more lined up including demo's on grey water systems, solar and wind power, eco-building, growing your own food and my personal favourite - compost toilets (using a compost loo for two weeks is definitely not an experience you forget!).

Water saving shower heads, making biodiesel from cooking oil, eco-awareness raising cinema, puppet edutainment for kids and music courtesy of Jamie Jupiter are some of the things you can look forward to. Here for more details.

The Green Faire will be held outside the Hout Bay Community Cultural Centre, (the old Bowling Club) adjacent to Hout Bay common and market on Baviaanskloof and Main Rds. Adults R20, kids under 10 free, Gates open from 9am to 6pm. This ‘Faire’ is a fundraising and awareness raising event, held in the spirit of community.

More info here

A green building is energy efficient, resource efficient and environmentally responsible…

Calling a building green in SA, up until now, has been taken more or less at face value; those with a little bit of savvy are able to scrutinise the details more closely, but most people just have to take the developer's word for it. Not a great rating system.

But the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA) developed a rating tool for public comment on their website – www.gbcsa.org.za. Today is the last day for comment and the end of the pilot period of the rating tool. The GBCSA really want individuals and organisations to comment and will be using the feedback to influence any changes they make to the tool. Called the Green Star SA – office rating tool, it’s for use by new office construction projects and base building refurbishments. But when is a building considered green...

Moments like these make me realise I live in a bubble (this theory isn’t new to me, don’t worry, I’ve not had an epiphany, merely a moment!). Either that, or the Hull Street integrated housing project – a bona fide government eco project that uses all the alternative energy technologies available to us, built as far back as 2003, wasn’t given the press it deserved.

The Hull Street eco village, in the township of Galeshewe in Kimberley took the line ‘people have to live here’ very seriously, when it came to designing a housing project. Okay, it did receive Swedish funding, but this is an incredibly exciting project that could be in practice throughout SA!

Rather than the conventional low-cost housing that we see going up in a

Heard about One Planet living? I hadn’t until this morning. One planet living, a joint venture between BioRegional and WWF, sets up eco-villages around the world according to 10 guiding principles:

• zero carbon
• zero waste
• sustainable transport
• local and sustainable materials
• local and sustainable food
• sustainable water
• natural habitats and wildlife
• culture and heritage
• equity and fair trade
• health and happiness

This is not your common garden variety 'eco village'! Their next proposed village is Sibaya, just outside Durban – the first One Planet eco-village on the African continent.

Sibaya will be a community of indigenous gardens, a place where neighbours share cars, where cycling lanes take you to nearby restaurants and shops, where all waste is recycled and where fresh

The largest rooftop solar power station in the world is being built in Spain, on the roof of a General Motors car factory. GM, who has taken a recent knock to their Hummer sales, also plans to install solar panels at another 11 plants across Europe.

The power station, with a capacity of 12 megawatts of power, is made up of 85 000 lightweight panels that cover an area of two million square feet. It should produce power by September, and will produce enough energy to power a third of the GM factory or the needs of 4600 households with an average of 3300kWh. The solar energy produced should cut CO2 emissions by 6,700 tonnes a year.

Solar panels on houses usually produce a few kilowatts of power. On large commercial buildings, installations of one or two megawatts are now common. A one-megawatt installation could run about 1,000 air-conditioners while the sun is shining.

There are some amazing design concepts out there if you know where to look that fulfil some radically yawning gaps in the market and put most of us to shame for their ability to position lateral thinking right at the fore of going green. Best of all, they’re not expensive.

Two such designs are very different but I’ve stumbled on both of them at the same time, so thought I’d bring them to your attention in the same blog, even though they’re not essentially related – other than making green more accessible.