So where did that go? It seems like only yesterday that we were running around trying to get our start-up off the ground and now we’re sitting here 3 years later having donated over 51,528 months of clean water (including 3 co-funded wells) in the Central African Republic, avoided 19,441,814 single use water bottles going to landfill, and avoided the same level of CO2 as planting 14 868 trees.
So, give yourselves a big round of applause because it is you guys and girls, the consumers that have created that just by making a choice to buy something that gives back.
Climate change, linked to global warming, has been misunderstood and mischaracterized by many. For those people living in climates experiencing polar vortexes, the common theme is to laugh and say “thanks, global warming!” The reality is the Earth is heating up, but that doesn’t just mean the entire planet is warmer all the time in every location. Instead, it means that the planet’s weather patterns are changing. We’re now experiencing irregular weather and while some places experience things like a polar vortex, others have warmer than normal temperatures.
Enjoy this deep dive into some of the reasons why we have chosen to work with Water for Good. Also, don't forget to be incredibly proud when you read this, because by being a Yuhme change maker you truly do make a difference in the lives of people in the Central African Republic.
Who better to ask these questions than David DeArmey- the Director of International Partnerships at Water for Good. Thank you David for sharing your knowledge!
When aiming to live as sustainably as possible, we must be mindful of the whole process behind the things we use, buy and consume. And that’s exactly what Alex & Alex, the power couple behind Yuhme, chose to do when they wanted to create a product that combined their passion for not only sport but also for the outdoors and giving back to people in need.
Lots of posts have been circulating the internet recently on whether we are shooting ourselves in the foot, so to speak when it comes to being sustainable. More specifically the discussion has been around the fact of whether it is necessary to buy all these sustainable products in order to “be sustainable”?
One can start by asking what does “being sustainable” mean to you?
After the rain stops we head off to pick up our guide, no journey in this country is a simple route A to B, there is always a detour or someone to pick up. When we reach the guides camp he isn’t there but of course there are two other guys that know where he is. Not for the first time plans change and we head off to the town of Bayanga. Driving in the CAR is essentially slower than running, the inhospitality of the roads has to be seen to be believed...
After surviving Neil Armstrong’s lobotomy, which I presume is a control for ebola or yellow fever, I move into what i assume to be the next room, but later discover is actually the main body of the airport. The room is like an over-packed club where the doorman has let in too many people, on top of that there appears to be a random queuing system whereby other people show up and deliver other people’s passports? These people then go to the front of the queue and I’m like the rest of the athletes at a Usain Bolt 100m race, just disappearing backwards.
Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, is a bustling town settled in between the rolling hills along the OuBangui river. As I am writing this the rainy season is drawing to its end and the trees on the hills are deep green, birds are busy catching insects and flowers are growing seemingly overnight, invading the city with lush vegetation. The roads are covered with red mud and the river is dark bulging and rushing past over big grey rocks. Fishermen fighting the current in wobbly dugout canoes as they cast their nets. In a couple of months this place will look a lot different, the river will be low and big sand banks will appear, looking like exotic islands with sparkling white sand in the clear water. The fishermen will be wading out into the water to collect their nets.
Then I see it, the expanse of green lushness interspersed by, what I will learn are the red, sandy roads that typify the Central African Republic. For two years now we have donated six months of clean water to Water for Good for every Yuhme water bottle we have sold and now I’m in the CAR to see first hand what the impact of this money has been. The feeling of calm and contentment and purpose fills me as the stifling heat hits me as we disembark, then an altogether different feeling hits me as a thermometer is shoved in my ear by a man in something that resembles a space suit. Welcome to Africa!
We have had the amazing honor to steal a few moments of Mats Torring’s time and will now share this legends thoughts with you guys. He is a business developer at Stena Recycling, and some would call him a recycling expert.
We are starting our new blogging series/commitment by giving you a blog post a month. These blog posts will hopefully provide you with fact, figures, and knowledge about a variety of issues that align with Yuhme and our mission. In case you have forgotten our mission- Yuhme stands for You Us Humanity Me Environment. Meaning our cornerstones are Humanity, Environment and you the Consumer. More often than not these blog posts will be centered around an expert that will be interviewed by us.
