Yesterday I had an eye opening experience that definitely fueled my belief in people and the way people can fight adverse conditions to survive. We often think of the entrepreneurial spirit as something that is used by people to escape the 9-5 and follow their dreams but in the case of Garbage City in Cairo the entrepreneurial is used by this amazing community to survive.

Not long after I moved to Cairo I started to hear about Garbage City, a fabled place where a lot of the garbage is taken and all useful items are separated and readied for resale and reuse to local buyers and international corporations This amazingly progressive initiative is completely people led with no help Governmental help and hardly any international help. In Garbage City the saying “One Man’s Rubbish is Another Man’s Treasure” has never been more true.

Garbage City is not a place that will be in any guidebook, on our taxi ride in we started to see the piles of rubbish littered around the edges of the city including a foul smell and even a dead donkey out in the open. At this point I still was not fully sure what to expect when we hit the actual city. As we drove deeper in we reached typical Cairo back streets absolutely spilling with life and wormed our way through the streets up to an area known as the Cafeteria.

The Cafeteria was at the highest point of the city and it was here that we started our education. The minute we stepped out we was greeted with nothing but friendly smiles, broken English and a real sense of joy from the locals. Although the ride in started bad with the piles of smelling Garbage it was clear that there was something amazingly special about this community.

We met our guide Hana and he started us on our tour. Hana has been introduced to us by a friend and he is a truly amazing guy. His English was learned from reading books he found in the garbage as a child and he is now one of the most innovative people in the city building solar heaters and methane gas tanks that produce from organic waste. All of this built for next to nothing, really flying in the face of what green technology involves…. Hana and his cohort are flying in the face of wisdom that green technology is expensive and only for the rich!

Throughout the tour he took us from the cafeteria, showing us one of the most amazing churches I have ever seen and then down through the streets of the city to his home for tea with his beautiful family.

There is no mistaking that Garbage City is poor and the rubbish lined streets could hard to deal with for the average holiday maker however but people are working highly efficient systems that the rest of the world really can learn from and it has to be seen to be believed. Plastic is sorted and shredded to be sold back to manufactures in large bags. Useful items are reconditioned and re-sold. People use scraps to make recycled paper, material for rugs, clothing and more. Every single item has a use. The organic waste used to be eaten by some 300,000 pigs but after the Swine flu issue the Egyptian Government had every single one of these pigs slaughtered, leaving the people of Garbage City with an ongoing dilemma! Goats and Sheep just don’t eat enough!

I just wish the people of Garbage City has some more help and in return NGO’s and organizations can learn from the highly advanced recycling and re-use innovations being refined daily by this highly efficient operation. It really is inspiring!

Ok let’s take you on a little photo tour.

The unfinished building known as the cafeteria at the high point of Garbage City.

At the high point in Garbage City next to the awesome St Simmons Church is the largest Crucifix in the Middle East!

St Simmons, A church cut out of the mountain side... Probably the most impressive church I have ever seen and the center of the Garbage City community

The stands of the 20,000 capacity St Simmon's Church!! Wow, just wow!!

The view of Garbage City from the top of the Cafeteria

A close up of one of the many self built Pigeon lofts that line the Cairo skyline... This one is particularly tall!

Piles of sorted rubbish on one of the Garbage City rooftops.

A man restoring some iron fencing, likely for resale

Chawna, Lara and Hana (Our Guide) on a Garbage lined alleyway

Hana's self built solar hot water heater.... Bringing hot hot water all year round

Hana's self built Methane Tank. It uses a tea compost to produce Methane from organic waste. Sometimes it produces so much he has to let some go!

Organic methane is powering this gas ring

Everywhere I go in Cairo there is a cheeky old lady!! This is one of Garbage City's many friendly residents

Local Garbage City kids, they all rished to see the photo after I took it.

Our awesome guide Hana with his wife and 7month baby.

I hope you enjoyed an insight into Garbage City and found it inspiring. The residents of this city prove what a little hard work and innovation can do even if the odds are stacked against you.

I really think you should visit the city….

I’d love to know what you think about this and any comments you have at all.

I strongly believe that being Frugal means more than just saving money. Being frugal with energy, food and anything that we use in excess will save us money but will also help hugely to save our planet.

Now this is where renewable energy and our part comes in. With technology advanced so much now it’s possible for an individual (That’s you!!) to solar power their own home in a sustainable manor. The savings are never instant but over time you will get your money back and you will save.

We all know that energy resources are on the downturn. Oil is being used up, I am not sure I trust nuclear and it’s just a sensible solution to use natural solutions available to us as mankind! In this case the sun. Installing solar energy at your home may not as expensive as you thought. Some people think it can be done for under $200…

So for a small outlay it may be possible to reduce bills and save our kids futures!

Now I am going to take a look at some of the solar options available to us normal folks….

A solar cooker:
This device uses no fuel for cooking! It’s a small box that can cook for up to five people and boiling, roasting and baking are all available! They can take a while to cook, but it’s free energy!!

Solar home lighting: Cells installed on your roof or property collect power from the sun during the day and then keep your lights powered during the night…. Greatly reducing bills! A solar home lighting system can be very easy to install.

Solar heating system: Definitely one of the popular ones… and some people I know have managed to get government grants for these systems. Basically water is run through thin pipes on the roof and the sun naturally heats them. They work like a treat and your investment can be got back in 3-4 years making hot water completely free from then on!!

If you are thinking about getting a home solar system (and wind too!) then I highly recommend checking out the step by step guide available from Earth4Energy. It’s simple, cheap and gives you all the resources you need.

The need to heat our homes cheaply and efficiently is back on the agenda now with the summer nights gone and the cold October chills are with us.

Image Source: http://www.sharewareconnection.com/fireplace-3d-screensaver.htm

So this is the first article of the Fall here on Frugal Zeitgeist that looks to save a little cash on the heating bills.

One way in which many people are now cutting back on using gas or electricity to heat their homes is by going back to burning fuel. Many people have installed stoves or just renovated their old fireplaces. A modern stove or fireplace and low pollution fuel (that means no coal!) can keep your house warm and cozy for much less, especially if you use recycled paper as the fuel…..

Considering that the average family of four trashes up to 50lbs of paper each week (*1) and just one compressed newspaper can burn for an hour, we are wasting a lot of free fuel.

A small machine can be used to compress your waste newspaper or plain cardboard into low pollution highly efficient burning briquettes.

One machine involves wetting the paper and compressing it into a briquette and then drying for three months…. As it’s October already you probably don’t have three months to wait, so for those not thinking ahead a device that can compress dry paper into a more attractive log shape.

Here are a few of the log / brick making products available on Amazon:

Or alternatively eHow shows you how to roll recycled newspaper logs without special equipment:
Make Your Own Paper Logs

Let me know of your successes or failures with using recycled paper bricks / logs.

Sources:
(*1) http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/TrashGoesToSchool/Throw-Away.html

Original Content by: FrugalZeitgeist.com

Many gas companies offer prepaid gas cards and you can easily buy them from your regular gas station or online. In fact the sale of gasoline cards has been growing a huge amount in recent years as the price of gas has rocketed and people have seen the sense in pre-buying.

Why not go better than a discount…. get a FREE gas card…

A prepaid gas card could fit in perfectly with your budget plans. Knowing how much gas you have to spend will help you work out where you can drive and where you can’t. You will be much less tempted to drive to places that you can walk to or use the car for any other pointless journey. Knowing your limits will save you money.

By pre-buying gas on payday, you will be safe for the month and if you run out of cash at least you will have money to get to work and do any important duties.

Some gas cards will offer a discount. Sometimes pretty large. GasDiscountCards.net claims to offer $100 worth of gas for $80 with it’s gas cards, with high gas prices that is a great discount!

Gas cards could make the perfect gift or safety net for the kids. If you kid is driving back and forth from college, I am sure you will be much happier giving them a card as an emergency backup.

Let me know what other advantages you could see.

There are so many things that you can do around the home to reduce energy usage and cut the cost of your bills each month.

In this article I will look into a few key areas and suggest ways to achieve frugality’s benefits.

Lights:

• If you have kids, roommates (or you are just absent minded!), you may have trouble making sure the lights around the house get switched off.  Instead of punishing everyone to sit and watch Big Brother 24 hours a day (which would be very un-frugal of you), one can try a few other things:  Try sticking a little note in places you see everyday, such as door handles. 
• Show everyone the electricity bills so they understand what is being spent.
• Make sure you switch to an energy saving bulb every time one blows.
• Open your curtains and blinds, make use of natural lighting whenever possible, it’s good for your health.

Appliances & Electronics:

• If an appliance needs replacing, make sure it is replaced with an energy rated product. These have been around long enough now to be picked up second hand, so you will not necessarily have to pay much more for one.
• Always buy a front loading washing machine. Top loaders are not efficient and don’t wash your clothes as well.
• You should also always make sure that everything including CD players, DVD players and Microwaves are turned off rather than left on standby. 
• This is cheeky, but when it comes to portable items, such as mobile phones and laptops, plug them in to charge at work. I have never worked for a company that objected to it’s employees charging phones, MP3 players and cameras. If you can safely get away with the laptop and bigger items, then why not?  After all, I am sure you feel under payed !
• Cooking can be very wasteful if you are not careful. Only heat the food you need. Heating and then rehating again makes no sense.
• Unplug applicances that are not in use, such as the toaster, microwave, radio, hairdryer, razor, vacum cleaner, etc.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, even if these items are turned off, they still drawout electricity.    

Water:
Some places pay flat rate or nothing for water.  However, i believe it is our responsibility to save water and do our part for the environment no matter what!

• When brushing your teeth, only turn the tap on to rinse and wet the brush. Doing this will save a significant amount of water every year.
• Shower instead of bathe. Baths are nice, but use around 2 times that of a shower.
• When boiling water, only boil what you need so you don’t just dump the rest away.
• If you can save water from the bath, sink, or washing machine, use it to water the garden or wash the car. Make sure that your plants are not the kind harmed by soapy water, most are ok!
• Add a brick into your toilet cistern. Your flush should still work fine and you will flush at least a third less water each time. Some toilets already have a low flush option.
• UPDATE: Bryan from GrandMaster B updated this tip: “Actually, you shouldn’t add a brick to your toilet as over time the particles of the brick can break down and clog your toilet. Instead take a 32oz. water bottle and fill it with rocks or sand, cap it off and place it in the cistern”.

Heating:

• Keep doors closed when possible to contain heat, or to keep cool if it’s summer.
• make use of your thermostat. Set the heat to come on just a short while before you come home from work and turn it down a few notches at night.
• Always insulate. If you don’t have decent insulation you ARE losing money every year. Insulate your loft with at least 3 feet of insulation and fill in all walls if you can. You will notice the difference after the first month.
• Look into getting honeycomb cellular shades for your windows. They help a lot when it comes to sustaining warm or cool air. You could always try bubble wrap if you want to be super frugal!

Utilities and Bills

• It’s important that you sit down and look at what you are paying for each bill. You may be able to switch providers or combine some bills to take advantage of special offers. Ask yourself questions like “Do I really need the top speed internet? Do I watch all those cable channels? Am I reading that magazine subscription?”  You will always be able to cut something without too much impact on your life.

I hope that you found some use in this article and maybe it even helped you think of some news ideas. I would love to hear your thoughts and any Frugal Ideas that you have had.

Finally!  We are seeing a future where the electric car will actually be on sale to us consumers. Consumer models are less than a year away and are going to be highly welcomed by many. But we also know they will be ridiculously expensive, and some believe too late. The initial batch will cater for high income people who feel good about helping the environment, but don’t even think about being frugal.

But some people can’t wait.  After reading those who have taken the matter into their own hands by frankensteining their gas guzzlers in order to run on electricity, I thought it would be good to look into frugal alternatives to filling up with gas.

Gas Alternatives

The DIY Electric Conversion

I just found out about this on CBC news yesterday. Many people are converting their old cars into electric cars, making them ideal for short commutes and daily use.

A DIY electric conversion reportedly sets you back around $7-9000.00.   However, some highly frugal people reckon they have managed to do these conversion for under $1000 (see $800 Yugo EV)

The cost per mile is extremely low (approx .03 cents a mile). Apparently, the car also require less maintenance after conversion.

One can expect a converted car to last about 60-80 miles on a single charge and take about 12 hours to recharge.  Think how suitable this system is for city driving!

If you are interested in such a project, I suggest you start here: DIY Electric Car.

Run your car on water

I have been seeing adverts and little snippets about converting a standard car to run on water for a while now but, until recently, did not understand the claims.

Basically the engine is a hybrid. It can harness the power of Hydrogen as a fuel source and claims to save up to 40% in fuel costs. The video is pretty cool, I think!

RunYourCarWithWater.com offers a conversion guide that sells for around $50.  They claim that it costs only about $150 to buy and self-install the parts.  Theoretically, over a year, this would save much more than it costs.

Gas gas, not liquid gas!

Natural Gas technology has been around for quite a while and has been in use for around 40 years.  It is a wonder why we don’t all use it by now!

Having your engine flowing with natural gas, rather than sticky traditional gas, reduces wear-and-tear.  Plus it allows you to run with fuel costs at around 15% cheaper.

Conversion is pretty cheap with DIY kits sometimes being a little over $100 and easily transferable to a new vehicle.

For further reading, Mother Earth News has an excellent article Convert Your Car to Propane.

Bio Diesel

Bio Diesel has been big news over the last few years. First hailed as the great alternative to gas and diesel, then very recently condemned for adding pressure to the food crisis.

Bio Diesel basically involves extracting fuel from plants, such as corn and canola.  If produced correctly, it is carbon neutral. It’s cheaper than gas and is now sold at many gas stations. Furthermore, diesel engines can take the fuel directly with no conversion.

Some people opt to make the exercise of using bio diesel even cheaper by taking the DIY approach. It is possible to literally mix a vegetable oil with standard diesel in your vehicle, or you can build a mini conversion plant that will create fuel from used cooking oil (often from local restaurants), very cheaply. Many farmers have been doing this for years, but now many of the general public are learning these tricks (you have to pay tax on fuel in most places, so check your local laws before doing this!).

It is argued that if everyone made their own biodiesel, it would improve the food crisis situation we currently find our world in! Although their may not be enough used vegetable oil for everyone!

Journey to Forever is an excellent resource for those wishing to make their own bio diesel.

As you can see there are plenty of options diversifying for us all.  Yet we have all been pushed into believing that gas is the best option. From a frugal stand point, it definitely is not the best option right now, for many reasons that extend beyond one’s personal finances. With a small investment now, you can probably save in the future and, in effect, help the environment too!

I’d love to hear your thoughts.