CoolTravel crossing the Sahara on camels

The Sahara is the world largest desert, and getting larger. It threatens to creep ever further to the south and turn arable land in desert wasteland. The nations in its path have an idea, though: We’ll build a fence. Of trees.

The “Great Green Wall” would be a tree band that spans the breadth of northern Africa, 9 miles wide and nearly 5,000 miles long, from Senegal at the western edge near the Atlantic to Djibouti on the eastern edge near the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden. It may sound too dreamy or crazy to ever go forward, but last June at a meeting in Chad about desertification, the Global Environment Facility backed the belt idea with $119 million. Chad’s minister of environment, Hassan Térap, says it can be achieved:

When asked if the long-discussed but yet-to-be funded Green Wall initiative was too ambitious, Térap told IRIN: “We have to attack the problem, long ignored, through vision, ambition – and trees. What is wrong with ambition?” [IRIN Africa]

To bridge the east-west expanse of Africa, the wall would pass through Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. But while those nations have discussed such a huge project before, little has been done. Now, though, with the $119 million divided between the constituent countries, perhaps the planting will go on.

Older people in N’Djamena – where the conference is being held – talk anecdotally about how the capital city has become a dustbowl over the last 20 years as the Sahara Desert has encroached southwards. The country has made efforts to plant a green belt of trees around the capital, and tens of thousands of young trees are being grown in nurseries on the outskirts of the city.

It’ll take more than money to get the wall going. Project leaders must now decide which trees to plant—preferably native, drought resistant ones. They’re considering 37 species.

CoolTravel exploring the Sahara

Read more interesting stuff and reactions to this article by Andrew Moseman at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/06/18/african-countries-get-119m-to-hold-back-the-sahara-with-a-wall-of-trees/

More stories: http://www.coolbrands.org, http://www.cooltravel.org

Claire starts talking: “As you know, a lot is going on in the area of sustainability and we are very proud that we can and do make a big difference here. We produce tires, which are part of vehicles that exhaust CO2, that is our business. We recently developped tires that have less friction with the asphalt and therefore use less energy, less fuel and therefore produce less CO2. This is one of the areas that we are busy in and we are constantly looking how we can contribute to making transport less polluting and more sustainable. A challenge with which we are confronted every day!”

Interesting story of which I would like to learn more.

“I understood that you are looking for stories on sustainability, is this story good enough, you think?”

“I think so, if you can give us some more background information, we can work with it!”

“We do need some time, because next week we are going to Brazil for a month for several projects we are involved in concerning the reforesting of the Mata Atlantica.”

“Say what? That is a coincidence! We have a huge sustainability project set up in the South of Bahia, in the middle of the Mata Atlantica. It is called Projeto Ouro Verde. It would be great if you can go there and write a story about the project, it is something we are really proud of and would like to share with others. Can you do that for us?”

Of course we can, we make the necessary preparations, find out where the rubber plantations exactly are, make an appointment with some of the key people of the project, take our photo and film cameras and off we go.

After a week of planting trees in the Atlantic Rainforest in Nazare Paulista, lots of meetings and a guest lecture in Sao Paulo, building a house in the favela, we leave for Salvador in the relaxing state of Bahia.Yesterday we interviewed the new CEO of TAM and of course he upgraded us to business class….TAM flies us in two and a half chilling hours to Salvador where our friend Eliane Zanchet is waiting for us. 

We will go together to ZANK, the boutique hotel she has set up a few years ago with her two sisters, in Rio Vermelho, one of the nicer areas of Salvador. But before we arrive at ZANK, she takes us to her new shop annex art gallery, ‘Anavá, Madeira do Brasil’. Here she advises about and sells sustainable wood, her passion long since. The shop is perfectly located, with a view on the ocean, and we have a very good cafe com leite in the Cupcakes Cafe which is located just behind her gallery, smart thinking.
At ZANK we get the chance to chill and be spoiled with a beautifully decorated room. In the evening we enjoy drinks on the rooftop terrace, letting our thoughts go freely while watching the ocean.

After several hours, we arrive at the Michelin rubber plantation where Paulo Bonfim is already waiting for us. “Bom dia”, he says, “tudo bem?” welcoming us in the Brazilian way. “Tudo bom”, we answer in our best Portuguese.

We quickly put our stuff in the bungalows that are built for guests at the Espaco Verde and head to the main buiding where Paulo is waiting for us. Lunch is served! Great foor accompanied by the best juices you can imagine, Graviola, Goiabada, Manga, Maracuja, Caja, etc. Every time we eat, we will try another flavour, all fresh!

The bungalows at Espaco Ouro Verde

After lunch, we go to the auditorium of the Espace and Paulo gives us a short presentation of the Projeto Ouro Verde, the Green Gold Project. He, just like all other people we will meet, are very proud and anxious to share their story and show us all there is to it. So we went and discovered!

Tags: Anouk Pappers,borrachia natural, car tires, Cool, CoolBrands,CoolSustainability,CoolTravel, Michelin,natural rubber,Sustainable car driving,Sustainable rubber,Sustainable rubber plantations, sustainable tires, tires, Transmedia storytelling, Travel, Zank, Paulo-Roberto Bonfim, Carlos Mattos, Juliana Laufer, people planet profit Michelin, Michelin sustainability

More stories: http://www.cooltravel.org, http://www.coolbrands.org

Sustainable Nespresso coffee beans

The green coffee beans Nespresso uses in its Grands Crus blends are some of the rarest in the world. What’s more, such beans are often grown by small scale farmers in some of the world’s more remote locations. To ensure a sustainable, beneficial and environmentally sound relationship between Nespresso and its valued coffee growers, the company launched the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program in 2003. With various partner organisations, the program works to ensure the long-term supply of the highest quality ‘green coffee’ through sustainable practices, economic viability, environmental stewardship and social equity to ensure that farmers benefit from their commitment to the highest quality.

Today, more than 35 percent of Nespresso beans come from the Sustainable Quality Program and the company has committed itself to increasing this to 50 percent by 2010. All at the company share a sense of pride and enthusiasm about the positive impact this initiative is already having on farmers and their communities around the world. The program also acts as a powerful bridge in linking all stakeholders that participate in producing the perfect cup of coffee. What many people don’t realise is that many of the farmers don’t get to taste their coffee – it is made far away from where it was grown. In an effort to build relationships between everyone at the company – from small scale farmers to those who take their place at the boardroom – Nespresso often visits its valued coffee growers. One such visit saw company representatives call in on a tiny little place in Mexico where one of Nespresso’s Special Club limited editions is grown, Ixhuatlan. The people of the village were extremely proud to see that their town was associated with the company and known around the world for its great coffee. They were very amazed to see their coffee had been placed inside a capsule and delighted to finally be able to taste the finished product. Nespresso in the country of origin is also a valued brand, a brand people are proud to supply.

More stories: http://www.coolbrands.org, http://www.cooltravel.org

Zank Boutique Hotel Salvador da Bahia

It is late in the afternoon when we arrive in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. We take a taxi to the ZANK Hotel, which is situated in the Rio Vermelho area. It’s a modern boutique hotel located in a classical building, beautifully renovated and redecorated by our friend Eliane. After checking in and a quick dive in the swimming pool we call the Dutch consulate. We’ve been in contact with Hans, the Dutch Consul in Bahia, who started an interesting project concerning the Atlantic Rainforest.

“The consul is not there but he likes to invite you to his Hacienda, which is situated 2 hours outside of Salvador”, Heidi his assistant says. “His driver will pick you up at your hotel tomorrow morning at 6 AM.” I hang up the phone and make my way to the garden for dinner and drinks. “6 AM?” I think out loud, “I didn’t even know life existed before 8 AM!”

Anouk at Hacienda San Antonio for CoolTravel

Sun is rising over Salvador when a big Mercedes with a CC-license-plate stops in front of the hotel. Within two hours we’re out of the city enjoying the Bahia landscape. Suddenly, the driver turns into a small dirt road.  “Hold on, this is a kind of bumpy road”, he warns us. After 15 minutes of rodeo, the Mercedes stops in front of a Hacienda. We get out of the car where we meet Hans, a tall guy with a big cigar. “You know how to ride a horse?” he asks, pointing at three horses attached to a fence in front of the house. Two minutes later we’re riding our horses, following Hans on a small track through the meadows. “I wonder what his plan B was if we didn’t know how to ride a horse” I think to myself.

One of our horses

The horses are on auto-pilot, the sun is getting hot and Hans starts to talk: “I have been working in and with nature for many years and around almost ten years ago I realized that the Mata Atlantica has been destroyed to such an extent that only 5-7 % of its original vegetation is left. As you probably know, a lot of forest has been destroyed for farmland.” He continues pointing at the surrounding meadows. “This all used to be rainforest.”

The lake that we saw on our way

We continue our route on horseback and after some time we come to a big lake, beautifully situated in the middle of an enormous green area, an oasis of trees in the middle of the farm land. “We continue by foot”, Hans says while he attaches his horse to a tree. “8 years ago there was only meadow here, cows grazing, not one single tree” he says. “Now we are re-creating a rainforest, using 50 different species of trees. Birds have come back; they eat seeds and fruits and in that way spread the forest”, he tells us with a certain pride. “The eco-system is taking up again, so now we can let go and nature will take over.”

The newly created rainforest

We follow Hans through this new rainforest, while he’s pointing at the different trees and teaching us the names of the species. “This is a Pau Brasil” he says, “and here you see an Ipê Amarelo”.

After an hour of hiking we enter an open space in the woods where two men are planting trees. “Do you like to plant your own tree?” Hans says. “Cool!” we say as we pick up a shuffle and start digging.

Planting my first Jacandara da Bahia

Ten minutes later we sit down in the grass looking at little trees, which will easily outlive us and the next two or tree generations. “Hans?” I say, “Do you think it is possible to use a part of this area to plant the ‘CoolTravel Forest’ in which we will plant trees for friends and for friends of friends?” Hans, lighting another cigar, looks up. “Why not” he says. “The more people are involved in this project, the better.” “We still have a long way to go, if we want to save the rainforest.”

Can't wait to come back next year!

More stories: http://www.cooltravel.org, http://www.cooltravelforest.org, http://www.coolbrands.org