Sunday, November 29, 2009

UMCEBO TRUST gets a Blog !



Hi Everyone
This blog has been established to allow friends, supports and the curious to blog around the topics and news contained on our web site www.umcebotrust.co.za
I encourage you to make your comments and stimulate dialogue.

Best regards

Robin Opperman
Director - Umcebo Trust

6 comments:

  1. We are furiously preparing for 2010. Running a shop means that Christmas becomes another day of the year with nice gifts and more food. Once you are in Retail,you tend to be planning for holidays, as opposed to switching off for them.The tree is looking good, and is growing upwards. Desperately trying to get everyone to keep their wine corks and 2 litre bottles, as a 6m tree eats materials at a furious pace. Onward and upwards. Will keep you posted, and please visit the Eco Tree link on the site, which we are regularly updating.

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  2. Just back from the launch of the 2010 Stadium Art. Hats off to Ethekwini and Carol Brown for giving us the opportunity to get two very large pieces into the stadium. Please check out the brochure on the site for details and images. Feel very positive and excited for what next year holds in store.

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  3. I am hoping to take a team of crafters this year with to the 2010 Cape Town Design Indaba. For the past two years I have attended and represented the Trust, but I feel it is now very important that we take crafters with, and that they learn and benefit from this experience, the way that I have. I also feel that it is very important for them to be there to represent the work that they have authored. I am going to spend this festive season looking for the money to make this happen. Want the crafters to fly and stay in a good B&B, so they are proud of going on this trip, and also so they can give of their best at the event. This will be four days of very hard work for them, and not a holiday at all.

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  4. We are furiously working on our Eco Tree. Surprisingly we have been battling to source recycled materials (wine corks and 2 litre cooldrink bottles). Private individuals have been very supportive in collecting for us. We have found most restaurants and functions venues battle to see why it would be important to consider recycling, versus just throwing materials into the bin. We approached a large well known conference venue, who open thousands of bottles of wine, and they said that they would only give us the corks if we would purchase them. That said, as we get back into the swing of things, we are confident that our friends and supporters will be able to help us secure sufficient materials to complete the tree, in time to get it to the unveiling at the 2010 Design Indaba in Cape Town (end of Feb 2010). We will keep you posted on our progress.

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  5. We are back from the 2010 Design Indaba. We took three crafters, the giant Eco Tree, as well as a new collection of chandeliers. The work went down very well, and the crafers performed like stars. Our aim is developing capacity, and to create a group of versatile and all round Master Crafters. The crafters despite going on an aircraft for the first time, and staying in hotels for the first time, were really a pleasure and an asset to travel with. They manned the stand, and dealt with customers, the media, and even got a chance to talk with Martha Steward. We are posting content on the site about the visit, and we are already excitedly planning for the 2011 event.

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  6. We currently have eight PR students from the Durban University of Technology, doing a final year six month work placement with us. We are using their amazing skills to get out the word about the work we do, and especially the tree project. We are in discussions with a Canadian group who do musical performances with children, around environmental issues. We are hoping that they can come out to Durban and perform with local students around the tree. We then hope to fundraise for them to purchase the tree, and to take it back with them. They will then have a further series of performances with the piece, and then we hope that it can find a home in a gallery, museum, or other public space, which is visited by the public. There it can spread the message, and allow us to fund our 2011 recycling project.

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