Carbon neutrality at the grass roots

 

I am grateful to be a South African. I love my country and one of the most important aspects of our cultural heritage is to “braai”. Light a fire, have fellowship, braai ‘n vleisie and enjoy healthy living. Take time out to enjoy the ambience, to pause and ponder, to recollect. Many happy memories of coming together come to mind in a simple word. Braai. I spent some time in America and barbequed and it came close but you can’t beat a braai on your home turf. Braai is a verb, a noun, an identity, a cultural heritage and a sense of belonging.

 

I returned to South Africa in 2010 with a passion to develop world class technology for sustainable energy production, a dream that began in early 2008. A dream that led me down many rabbit trails, the school of hard knocks, disappointment, frustration and anger. A journey of self discovery, trusting The Creator, appreciating Creation and a deep desire to change how we do things. Respecting our environment, appreciating people and the world and wanting to make a difference. I gave up a few times but God intervened and kept me going.

 

Watching the flames I developed a fascination for plasma systems and technologies that had been developed over many years to deal with waste. I rented premises to build systems, installed a CNC plasma cutter in the hope of securing funding to no avail and in order to make ends meet decided to make the world’s most efficient braai. Over the years, through trial and error, I believe I have attained the goal. I never sold many and ended up giving various models to folks I met along the way. Recently a good friend had a birthday and I went to work on the latest model. It still needs a few tweaks but here it is.

 

The same with the energy project. The design still needs a few tweaks but the end is in sight. I am so grateful to my Creator who promised to never leave me, nor forsake me and to my parents who never stopped believing in and supporting me on this journey. I pray for the fulfillment of this dream.