An island called Samso, located in the North Sea, 120 kilometres from Copenhagen in Denmark, is attracting worldwide attention and lots of tourists. It's a very small island, only 114 sq kilometres in size and it has a population of just 4,000 people.

The reason for the interest?

In 1997 Samso was totally dependent on oil and coal for its energy needs. Today, Samso is totally self-sufficient in energy generation. In fact, it's far more than self-sufficient. It actually exports energy to mainland Denmark.

In 1997 Samso won a national competition to become a prototype community in the use of renewable energy sources. The centrepiece of the energy system are 11 wind turbines which generate 28,000 megawatts annually which is enough to meet the community's electricity demands, supply the islands public transport system and provide a surplus to sell. Income from sale of energy is used to invest in a variety of local renewable energy systems including:

• manufacture of ethanol from oil seeds for use in tractors and other farm machines,
• transferring heat generated from 38oC milk - (the temperature of milk when it comes from the cow) to household heating,
• solar panels on homes
• four generators that supply heat and electricity which are fuelled by hay, a plentiful commodity

Farmers are also studying a system used on a model farm in Jutland, which recycles gas and waste from raising pigs and uses the gas as an energy source and the waste as fertilizer to grow tomatoes.

Samso now has many visitors. They include officials from foreign governments, environmental experts, journalists and students from around the world.

The ambassador from Egypt recently stated that the island was too small to serve as a global example because it only has a small population. He told Saren Hermansen, co-ordinator of the island's energy academy and pioneer in the local environmental revolution, that four thousand people was about the same number as would be found in three apartment blocks in Cairo. Hermansen told the ambassador "Egypt doesn't need to revolutionize the whole of Egypt at the same time. Perhaps you should start with those three apartment blocks." He went on to say "What each of us has to do is to think in local environmental terms and act locally. The rest will resolve itself. Think globally and act locally."

One farmer on Samso believes that we must look beyond the market price of oil and coal. "At first glance the cheapest fuels are oil and coal, but both have many hidden costs that aren't expressed in the market price" he explained.

One factor that has made Samso such a success is the high degree of participation by the islanders and their willingness to invest economically in the process. Now they are private owners of the wind turbines, the solar panels and the Samso communal heating system.

Each country has its own special features. Norway has waterfalls and Norway generates a lot of energy from hydroelectric power. New Zealand and Iceland have geo-thermal power. Australia has sunlight and the ability to generate solar energy. In Samso they have wind and straw. They harnessed the wind using off-shore turbines They always burned straw and they burnt it outside. Now they burn it in highly efficient boilers.

If a small island of farmers can achieve energy independence in just 12 years, what could we achieve in our communities?

*References:
ipsnew.net

Indian spiced kale with potatoes

Ingredients
500 grams of potatoes
1 bunch of kale
½ cup of chickpeas
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of turmeric,
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds,
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon of coriander
2 cm knob of ginger
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt

Method
Soak chickpeas over-night in 3 cups of cold water. Cook chickpeas for 1 hour making sure they do not boil dry.

Remove the stems from the kale and put leaves aside. Cook potatoes. Leave till cool then peel and cut into chunks. Crush garlic cloves. Peel and dice onion. Peel and grate ginger.

Saute garlic, ginger and onion for 3 minutes in oil. Add mustard seeds and cook for another 2 minutes. Then add salt, curry powder, coriander, turmeric. Stir continuously for 1 minute to allow spice flavours to come out. Add kale leaves and cook for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and stir gently till they heat through. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Green Vegetable Stir-fry

Ingredients
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of chard or silver beet
½ cabbage
1 red or green capsicum
2 spring onions
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt
Ground Pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1cm knob of ginger
1 tablespoon of soy sauce

Method
Remove kale and chard (silver beet stalks). Chop leaves. Slice cabbage finely. Remove capsicum seeds and slice. Slice spring onions. Peel and crush garlic. Peel and grate ginger.

Heat oil in frying pan. Add garlic, ginger and spring onions and fry for 2 minutes. Add green vegetables. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add soy sauce before serving with rice or pasta.

Kale with Rice and Lentils

Ingredients
1 cup of long grained rice
½ cup green lentils
1 bunch of kale
4 cups of boiling water
200 grams of butter
¼ cup of olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper

Method
To cook this dish you will need a frying pan with a lid. Soak rice and lentils for 1 hour. Drain. Heat butter and oil in a frying pan. Boil 4 cups of water. Add rice and lentils and cook, stirring constantly, till the rice starts to brown. Add the boiling water taking care not to burn yourself with the steam. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes and remove lid. The rice and lentil mixture should have a small amount of water that has not yet been absorbed. If there is none, add ¼ cup of boiling water and the kale. Replace lid and leave for 5 minutes. Stir kale, salt and pepper into the rice and lentils.