08/05/2026
On the 8th May, we had our Agriculture & Horticulture meeting, hosted by convenor Eirene Hoving at her home. The topic was that of Recycling (with a Greek flare). Eirene's father is a Greek, from the island of Lesvos, in Greece. She therefore shared with us the devastation of the aftermath left on the coastline of the island, as a result of the refugees fleeing from the Middle East, seeking asylum (via Turkey) in Lesvos (their passage to Europe) since 2015. They arrived in hundreds and thousands every day, risking their lives on dinghys, wearing lifejackets and rubber tubes. And then discarding the dinghys, lifejackets and tubes on the shores of the islands. The Greeks swept it all up, in their daily clean up of the beaches, where it later piled up into heaps and heaps of the refuse. The Greeks became resourceful and from the refuse, they repurposed all the rubber and lifejackets into backpacks, toiletry bags, pencil bags and jewelry, therefore creating jobs and selling the products online, creating an income.
In the same way, Hellas Kalahari Containers, takes shipping containers and converts them into offices, storage units, ablution blocks, kitchens, sleeping quarters, spaza shops etc. They customize it according to the clients wishes. Charlene Hammond presented the members with a presentation of the container conversions and showed us how they build low-cost housing using mirror panels (which have been discarded by the solar farms). The mirror panels are insulated, and therefore are a great source for erecting homes.
Christene Maritz, from Upington Furever Rescue, Foster & Adoptions also addressed us about what they do with regards to rescuing, rehabilitating, rehoming and fostering dogs and cats and what the adoption process entails. Members from our group donated dog and cat food towards this charity.
And on that note, since we started the meeting with a glimpse of environmental affairs in Greece, it was only fitting to end the meeting in true Greek style, with dancing to Zorba the Greek and breaking plates, feasting on homemade moussaka. Spanakorizo soup, loukoumi, kourabiedes and ouzo (traditional Greek food, drink and treats).
Vroue-Landbouvereniging van Kaapland
Vlv Upington Tak
HK Containers, Self-Storage & Crane Rental
Upington FUREVER adoptions
Charlene Atkinson
