Last edited: 25 April 2017
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Holms and Friends is a solar energy consulting enterprise located in Hartbeespoort, South Africa. It was started by Henning Holm, an architect offering solar energy consulting services as well as implementing energy strategies in the built environment. Thea Holm joined the team in 2003. As a trained and award-winning Educator for Sustainable Development, she actively transforms individuals, companies and the local communities through awareness, capacity building and practical implementation of changes for supporting a conscious way of living.
In September 2011, Thea participated in the six month Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) leadership training in Berlin, Germany. According to Thea, Holms and Friends will be focusing their expertise and training to provide services in helping exclusive hotels find their way to become more responsible tourism destinations. There is also a student education component called the "Energy Detectives", which has local students survey a hotel to try to find areas where energy is being wasted. Read more at Stories of Change
When the survey took place, Holms and Friends provided the hotel chef with a solar cooker to prepare the meal for the students. After the program the solar cooker was donated to the student's school. The Holms began teaching solar cooking in 2008.
Their goal is to raise consciousness about solar cooking using a different approach than is typically taken by foundations promoting and subsidizing solar cooking methods for poor citizens in Africa. They plan to create solar cooking consumer demand through awareness programs such as their hotel survey project, and help other hospitality projects become more energy efficient with their operations. Their plans also include opening their own eight room bed and breakfast, already passive designed and energy efficiently built, to be run solely on renewable energies and rain water harvesting and operated with environment conscious methods in mind.
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