We had an amazing time on Tribeca rooftop for the Great South African Wine Show. The show was brilliant from every standpoint. There were over 80 South African wineries there with unbelievable wine. South Africa is really pushing hard into the US market at the moment because of the upcoming awareness that the World Cup will give South Africa. The South African wine industry is over 300 years old and our wines are a great mix of old and new world wines. Big things will be happening for South African wine in the next few years. Here is an interview with Anneke Buys from Vrede en Lust. Anneke gives us a quick run down of Vrede en Lust’s wine and some interesting facts about wine.
Tomorrow night is the largest South African Wine tasting in United States history on the breathtaking Tribeca Rooftop in NYC. At this event you will be able to taste over 800 wines from 80 South African wineries. To compliment the wines, a tasty selection of passed and stationary hors d’oeuvres based on traditional South African recipes will be served.
Here is the menu for the event:
Tuna and Watermelon Tartare on Banana Crisps
Vegan Samosas with Tomato Chutney
Three-Onion Pissaladière with Shropshire Blue Cheese
A great company that I have been following lately is called charity: water. They are providing clean drinking water to millions of people around the world. What really sticks with me is that they give 100% of your donation to building wells; all their operational costs are funded by a private donor group. Clean drinking water is the number one cause of disease in third world countries. I love to see companies that are doing meaningful work and providing sustainable solutions for the poor – this is one of them. Here is a video about a company that really touched me:
woodsmoke intern |ˈwoŏdˌsmōk| / noun / woodsmoke is offering an internship that will change your life.
mission |ˈmi sh ən| / noun / we are looking for a creative, motivated, and fashion-orientated student that wants an internship with meaning and the chance to be a part of something greater than themselves.
The intern will be involved in sales, marketing, business development, fashion design, and the chance of staying on with an exciting new company.
promise |ˈpräməs| / noun / a meaningful internship that actively supports education in Africa. All interns have the chance of visiting Africa on a buying trip with the owner.
Email sean_coetzee@hotmail.com to setup an interview and send your resume.
To find out more about Woodsmoke go to: www.africanwoodsmoke.com
Miriam Kamanthe is a fellow mother from Nairobi, Kenya. She has three amazing children and through your help we have helped to educate one of Miriam’s children for a year in Kenya. In Africa education is not paid for by the Government and many mothers in Kenya struggle to afford the many costs of sending their children to school. Meet Miriam HERE.
Through YOUR help we have educated one of Miriam’s children for a year. For every 258 scarves purchased we send one child to school in Africa for one year. Miriam has another two children that she would like send to school but she cannot afford the many costs associated with school fees. This Mothers Day we are stepping in and pledging to help support her. We pledge to sell 516 (258 x 2) scarves by July 25 to send Miriam’s two children to school. This Mothers Day give the ultimate gift to another mother by helping to put her children through school. To purchase a scarf and change the lives of two children in Africa click HERE.
Here is my speech from African Gathering Conference yesterday where I spoke about how Woodsmoke was started and how to use storytelling in your marketing through social media platforms.
I am really really excited because we have accomplished our goal to sell 258 scarves by March 9 to educate one of Miriam’s children for a year! The only reason we were able to do this is because of you. So thank you very much for all the support that have given us to make this possible. Wether it was purchasing a scarf, facebook / twittering about the project, telling friends, or hosting a party – you have directly helped Woodsmoke to change the life of a child in Africa.
Education is the greatest gift that you can give and now Christopher, one of Miriam’s children will be able to go to school for a year because of you. We actually smashed our goal because of everyones support and have ended up selling 280 scarves when the goal was 258 – that absolutely amazes me. When you do something that has meaning behind it, work hard, and never give up you can make great things happen!
I am leaving to go back to South Africa tomorrow and will be blogging about my trip. Megan and I are doing a cycle race in Cape Town (with Lance Armstrong) then we are going back to Durban for a while to meet up with artists. I will keep you posted on the trip and I am super excited to get Miriam the money – THANK YOU!
Goldfish is my favorite band out of South Africa. They have so much vibe, soul, and beat that it blows my mind. If you have been to one of their concerts then you will know what I mean. Goldfish goes really well with Woodsmoke because they have the beat of Africa in their music. This beat is Woodsmoke and this beat only comes from Africa. It is freedom, soul, and a vibrancy experienced no where else. So I am going to share with you my favorite Goldfish song that can be heard at all of our Woodsmoke evenings. To purchase a Goldfish cd click here.
South Africa is ready to hold the 2010 Soccer World Cup. This I assure you. Many people have been doubting the possibility of an African country holding a sporting event of this magnitude. There have been news stories, blogs, and rampant gossip that South Africa will not be able to handle it. This is not true I promise you. South Africa is a first world country that beckons the world to come and experience the vibe of Africa. South Africa has world class cities and infrastructure that competes with the West. The difference is that we also have wild Africa on our back doorstep. You can be in a city drinking a latte in the morning and by evening watching a wildebeest migration in a game reserve. This does not happen in other countries and makes South Africa a must see. Here is a video that was put out by South African tourism, it shows the best of South Africa. Enjoy.
When I was in Vail last year, waiting tables at a pizza joint to fund my winter ski season sojourn, I would sometimes dream of home; A wishful nostalgia that every human who has lived in Africa undoubtedly experiences. And nothing is more quintessentially African than the Transkei region of South Africa. And so it was that I would find myself, at times, holed up in the snow in our condo and my mind would wander back to road trips through the rugged wildness that is the Transkei.
The Transkei (meaning the area beyond [the river] Kei), used to be a Bantustan homeland which essentially is an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity. Simply put, throughout its existence, it remained an internationally unrecognised, diplomatically isolated, politically unstable de factoone-party state, and at one point even broke relations with South Africa.
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