#9 Sail-powered shipping - turning the tides: a radical perspective with Alex Geldenhuys of New Dawn Traders

Breakfast & Beyond

For episode 9 I welcome to the breakfast table Alex Geldenhuys, founder of sail-powered cargo company New Dawn Traders. If you don’t think of ‘shipping’ as being your kind of topic, I’d urge you to think again; Alex is led by a radical, optimistic belief in the power of people to collectively do good by each other and the planet, and this transfers into an amazing network encompassing growers, producers and makers, boats and their crew members, and customers – from traders to individuals - based around the world.

This conversation is about climate action and cutting carbon within the global shipping trade. But fundamentally it’s about putting people first, supporting small-scale growers, challenging the whole global shipping system, and creating meaningful connections between people and the environment to generate empathy and awareness, which in turn galvanises action towards sustainability.

In the month when Cop26 took place and there’s a common call for more radical thinking from policymakers - that the current system that puts economic growth first needs to be replaced if we are to live within our planetary boundaries - perhaps Alex’s unapologetic approach to not just reducing carbon emissions but constructing systemic change is exactly what’s needed .. and leads to the question of how this approach can be translated beyond the shipping sector to our own work and personal lives?

Breakfast with Alex was seasonal-and-sail inspired, utilising fruits and vegetables grown locally paired with sail-powered rice and coffee from New Dawn Traders. We began with a warming Pumpkin and Apple Compote, followed with Breakfast Fried Rice with Kimchi and Wild Mushrooms. You can find the recipes, links to producers and growers, behind-the scenes photos from our breakfast along with more information about New Dawn Traders and the sustainability issues we discuss via the Episode 9 web page.

Huge thanks to organic skincare company Phoenix and Providence for their ongoing support of the podcast. To browse their range of beautiful, hand-crafted products - which include face and body oils, face masks, soaps, body balms, bath salts and more – as well as receiving their free Seasonal Self-Care Rituals guide, head to www.phoenixandprovidence.co.uk and enjoy a 10% discount using the code BREAKFAST10.

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