Sustainable living |15 May 2020

Long-life LED bulbs last for 25,000 hours and use less power, compared to CFL bulbs, which last 8,000 hours

Surviving the ‘new normal’

COVID-19 has shocked the world and has had a devastating impact on the tourism and the hospitality industry. Without tourist arrivals, our islands are facing a severe lack of foreign exchange, which has devalued the Rupee overnight and increased the cost of imported goods.

To cope with higher living costs, consumers will have to manage their finances carefully. Shoppers will expect higher quality products in return for higher prices. In short, consumers will become “lean and mean”.

Now is the time to buy local produce instead of expensive imported food. By purchasing local produce, we will be supporting our own industry while saving precious foreign exchange for our country. And what's more, local vegetables and fruit have a low carbon footprint.

This article provides simple cost-saving tips to help housewives and home-makers cope with the ‘new normal’.

Reducing utility costs

1. Power.

• Switch lights and air-conditioners off. Remind members of your family to switch off lights and appliances when they leave the room. There is an added benefit; you will get fewer insects in the room because they are attracted to light.

• Buy long-life LED bulbs, which last for 25,000 hours and use less power, compared to CFL bulbs, which last 8,000 hours. Avoid original incandescent bulbs which only last 1,200 hours. LED and CFL bulbs are available in most grocery stores.

• Don’t leave porch lights or security lights on all night. Install a timer on the light switch and set it to come on at 7pm and switch off at midnight, or later if required.

• Don’t boil a full kettle of water if you only need to make one cup of tea. Boiling water consumes a lot of energy.

• Laundry consumes a lot of water and power. Reduce the consumption by 75% by setting your washing machine onto the 30 minute run instead of on the Cotton setting, which runs for 2 hours.

• Wait until you have a full load of dirty laundry before running the machine. This applies to dish-washers as well. Only run the dish-washer when it is full of plates and utensils.

• Ironing consumes electricity. Don’t switch the iron on until you have folded your laundry into the correct shape and placed them nearby. Don’t leave the iron on while taking a phone call or doing something else in the house.

• A full fridge consumes much less power. If you have empty space, fill it with bottles of drinking water. Don’t leave fridge doors open.

• If your air-conditioner is old, then consider investing in a new model which has a dual inverter compressor and will reduce energy cost by 70%.

2. Water.

• Install low-flow taps in your kitchen, and low flow shower-heads in the bathroom.

• Don’t run the washing machines unless you have a full load of dirty laundry.

• Place large plastic bowls in the kitchen sink, one for soapy water and one for rinsing the utensils. This will avoid having to turn the tap on every time you want to wash or rinse a glass.

• During the dry season, you can pour the grey water under the fruit-trees and flowers. Dish water does not harm them. However, do not pour bleach, Jik or Javel onto plants as it will harm them.

• If you water your garden every day, then you could harvest rainwater from your roof. Install a 500 litre tank and attach a hosepipe to water your plants and herb garden.

         3. Keeping vegetables fresh

Useful tips on how to keep vegetables and fruit fresh for longer.

Leaf Lettuce: Place the head of lettuce in a plastic freezer-bag, and add a drop of cool water around the root. Seal the bag and keep upright in the fridge – not in the freezer.                                                                                                                      Cucumber: Wash the cucumber and wipe it dry. Wrap it firmly in silver foil and store in the fridge.

Broccoli: Completely wrap the head of broccoli in silver foil and keep in fridge.

Bananas: Wrap each individual banana in silver foil and put in fridge.

Ginger: Place ginger in a glass jar, fill it with drinking water, and keep in fridge.

Freezing food

Egg-plants, breadfruit and avocados perish quickly, but can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Breadfruit: Slice the breadfruit into cubes of about 3 cm (this is the size for making ladob), or long thin chips about 1.5 cm wide & 6 cm long. Blanche them in a pot of boiling water for 7 seconds, then shock them in a bowl of ice-cold water for 7 seconds. Drain and pat dry with tissue paper. Put required quantities into freezer-bags and freeze.

Egg-plants (brinjal): Peel the egg-plant and slice into rings about 1cm thick. Blanche the slices in a pot of boiling water for ONE minute. Plunge them into ice-cold water for a minute and then dry them on kitchen paper. Lightly sprinkle lime juice and some salt onto the slices. Dab with kitchen tissue and place the rings into a freezer-bag. Seal and keep in freezer.

Avocado: The best way to keep this fruit is to make a Guacamole Dip and freeze the dip in zip up bags. Seal the bags after removing any air bubbles.

Contributed by Mia Dunford

Photo sources: Mia Dunford

(Mia is an eco-tourism expert and consultant on sustainable living)