SA Rocks

South Africans are resourceful, passionate and innovative. We like to create something from nothing, success from adversity and potential from disaster.

This is one of the reasons that I love being here and love South Africa. We are just different.

Finally it seems as though the world is beginning to take notice of this in the online/internet/innovation spheres.

SA Rocks blogged about Springleap in February of this year, we are ahead of the game! And now Springleap.com has been nominated for an Innovation 100 Award. Here’s a snippet from the Springleap Facebook event about the voting:

Some fantastic news!!!

Springleap.com (our proudly South African Initiative to promote SA Artists and rejuvenate the SA Garment Trade) has been nominated for the Innovation 100 Awards.

There are 100 companies that have been nominated in 10 categories… and springleap has been nominated as one of the top 10 innovative companies in the world’s retail category – this means we are right up there going against Amazon and the Apple App Store – and this is your chance to help put South Africa on the map by voting for springleap.com and telling your friends to go there and vote.

Please click on this link to go there and vote for Proudly SA:

http://www.thestandard.com/awards/tis100/show_category/5742

It’s a great time to show our South African unity and pride at something that puts SA on the map right up there with the big boys. A precious moment to show that we are springleaping together.

Facebook your friends, e-mail your pals and support South Africa at the Innovations 100 awards.

So what do you need to do?

It’s simple. Visit the Industry Standard website and VOTE FOR SPRINGLEAP.

And on a parting note it must be noted that Vinny Lingham‘s wonder-product, Synthasite is also up for an award so that makes two South Africans cracking the nod of approval this year.

Head over to the Innovations website and VOTE FOR SYNTHASITE too.

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In fitting form the very first Star Actress award at this years inaugural Msanzi Awards went to Ashley Callie.

From ashleycallie.co.za:

Robert Whitehead (Barker Haines in Isidingo) and Steven Miyambo (Orlando in Isidingo) accepted the award on Ashley’s behalf. As they left the stage, they both sent a personal message to Ash. Steven said, “Miss Lee, rest in peace” with Robert exclaiming, “Wish you were here girl!”

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Yes, that’s right, it’s almost the end of the nomination process.

Every nomination counts, so here is my humble request to get voting for SA Rocks on the last day!

Get to the site now and VOTE HERE!!!

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Believe it or not SA has initiated an awards ceremony much like the Emmy Awards in the States.

The first annual Stars of Mzansi is the South African answer to the American Emmy Awards and these awards would be bestowed to the men and women who have been role models in their communities and have helped to shape the history of this country.

I think this is a sterling idea. It’s about time that our celebrity culture stopped revolving around Brit, Paris, Lindsay and other rat-faced-ass-stupid-morons.

Even if some of our celebs are much the same, let’s rather get them in the focus than some American twit.

I digress. This is the very first of its kind in SA and I am proud to say that I support it 100%. Nominees have been laid out in various and diverse categories:

I hope that this awards ceremony is a great success and will become the Emmy’s of SA! To all involved and nominated I say congratulations and goodluck! To all those who don’t win anything, it’s always an honour to be nominated and there is always next year.

If you can get tickets (if there are on sale) then I suggest you do so. If you can’t then I suggest you vote and get involved in that way.

Visit the site here and learn more about the entire event.

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The 2008 South African Blog Awards are upon us. Today voting begins, or is it nominations?

Either way, get over to the SA Blog Awards site now and vote for SA Rocks in the following categories:

South African Weblog of the Year

The Best of the Best from South Africa

Best New Blog

Best blog which was started during the year of 2007

Best SA Podcast

Best independently produced video or audio podcast in SA

– This one is for the SA RocksCast from Last year!!

Best Group Blog

Best blog with more than one contributor

– Let’s reward the wonderful SA Rocks contributors for their great efforts over the past year!

Best Post on a South African Blog

The one post which stood out in 2007

- This one is for South Africa: Murder Most Foul.

Feel free to nominate SA Rocks for any category that you deem appropriate!

Then for my suggestions for some other categories – DISCLAIMER – These are just suggestions, people that I think have done a good job, it is NOT personal, racist or motivated by anything other than their blogs.

Best SA Blog about Design – Marc Forrester, adii
Best Post on a South African Blog – Llewellyn Kriel
Best Overseas South African Blog – Cooksister
Best Green blog – urbansprout
Best SA Blog about Food and Wine – Cooksister
Best Post about the SA Blog Awards – Vincent Maher, how to un-murder Jon Cherry – This one is absolutely hilarious.

If you have any other thoughts or suggestions then please leave a comment. Otherwise get voting and get your grannies, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, cousins, friends, fathers, mothers, neighbours and anyone else you know to vote SA Rocks to the top!!

Goodluck to all who are participating in the awards and congratulations to the SA Blog Awards 2008 team. You’ve all done a sterling job this year.

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Yes, that is two in a row. Last year this time I blogged about exactly the same thing. It’s not often that you can do this sort of thing twice without appearing insane, so I’m pretty happy.

The Soweto Gospel Choir have won the Grammy for Traditional World Music Album: “African Spirit.” What an incredible acheivement for everyone involved. Two in a row. I feel as if the floodgates for SA talent are about to open. Now lets get ourselves a best R&B or Rock album next year!

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Yes, you read it. There are three SA blogs nominated for Best African Weblog this year at the 2008 Bloggies.

Tertia
ShaunOakes – Who I am a bit confused about.
GladToBeAGirl – Who I’ve never heard of till now.

Either way, right or wrong, up or down I think it’s a fantastic acheivement for the SA blogosphere to have three blogs nominated from one country in one category. Africa is a huge place with a lot of bloggers – believe it or not – and if we can win in the category then even better for us all!

Congratulations to all three. Now get over to the Bloggies page and VOTE VOTE VOTE!!

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Who says South Africa lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to eating locally and excellent small producers? Judging by the winners of the Eat In RMB Private Bank Fresh Produce Awards 2007, recently announced at the awards ceremony in Cape Town, it appears there is ample scope for buying excellent local artisanal foods.

The awards, a partnership between the annual food directory Eat In and RMB Private Bank, is the only one of this kind and scope in South Africa that aims to celebrate our outstanding local produce and to support the people who create and market it. From only two awards in 2006, the categories have now grown to five – check out the well-deserved winners:

1. Best New Product

Nomu Stir dry instant pestos (tomato and chilli pesto mix and tomato and herb pesto mix)
Runner-up: Rozendal Farm mixed vinegar matured in oak barrels.

2. Outstanding Outlet – Regional
North: Tapenade Olive Shop, Cresta, Johannesburg
East: Everfresh Hillcrest, KZN
South: Main Ingredient, Sea Point, Cape Town
Special mention: The Neighbourgoods Market @ The Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock, Cape Town

3. Small Producer Awards

Bakery: Île de pain, Knysna: Artisan wood-fired hand-crafted bread such as a 3kg Campanio and a traditional baguette using Eureka Meulens Flour
Dairy: Estelle du Preez /De Pekelaar Farm for their De Pekelaar Mature Cheddar.
Other dairy: Charlotte Ngwenya’s Bombolino Gelato for Italian style ice cream
Earth: Cape Gourmet Mushrooms for their exotic Japanese mushrooms (pink oyster, oyster and shiitake mushrooms).
Grocery/Condiments: Protea Hill Farm for their herb infused vinegars
Paddock: Fresh: The duck lady, Shongweni, KZN for their free-range ducks.
Paddock: Cured: Neil Jewel of Bread and Wine Farm Grocer, Franschhoek for their Spanish-style apple ham and other charcuterie.
Seafood: Fresh: Big Bay Sea Farms for their farmed Oysters
Seafood: Cured: Pisces Products for their cold smoked tuna using Rooibos tea leaves.
Organic: Kraaiboskloof Organic Farm, Knysna for their fresh organic produce
Organic Merit Award: Rozigal Organic Products for their organic yoghurt and cream cheese.

4. Innovation Award

Simply Salads & Peter Bakker for their Kumato®. This black (well, dark reddish-brown), super-sweet tomato hybrid was the brainchild of the Simply Salads’ Peter Bakker and was subsequently developed by a Dutch seed company. It is now thriving in South Africa, one of only five countries in the world to grow it. Simply Salads is the only Kumato® producer in the country.

5. South African Food Heritage Award
Groenfontein Farm, Alan Sonnenberg/ Renate Coetzee/Volker Miros for their research and replanting of indigenous food plants. By working with the indigenous people of the Ceres Karoo and local farms in their district, the farm is helping to reintroduce indigenous food plants (the area has over 200 documented plants that occurred naturally and were cultivated and eaten there) to the area and to the food and tourism industry. The farm is encouraging the local people to grow the plants so that they will eventually become self sufficient.

I was pleased to see that I have recently visited at least one of the winning outlets (Tapenade in Johannesburg) and will be visiting one of the small producers in February next year (Ile de Pain in Knysna). And as Nomu products are available over here in the UK I will be keeping an eye out for the dry pestos.

As for those of you living in South Africa – what are you waiting for – go and support these wonderful producers and suppliers, because local really is lekker!

Cooksister!

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