A small gathering with big impact
Sometimes making big waves for a great cause begins with building community for a small group of like-minded eco brands. So on the 23rd of May, we invited our brand partners for a very special and intimate evening of connecting!
Sharing our ethos, big & messy
The people behind the brands we work with are such awesome humans. We decided it was high time we got a few together to see what would sprout.
After all – at our very core – minus all the nuances and subgroups that have since sprouted from Oceaneers – we are still a relatively small crew who believe that ‘to the Oceans, our food choices matter.‘
I wanted to share that ethos with our brand community over a plate of good food. And to turn that idea into reality, we concocted a bring-and-braai-esque concept laying aside all notions that brand-initiated events needed to follow a meet-and-greet style formula with canapé-laden platters.
We were going conscious burgers and they would no doubt get big and messy.
Even better than a red carpet? Iggy with his big smile
Basically, we as Oceaneers sorted out the ‘braai’ part of the burger; Fry’s nugglets (as Kaspar fondly refers to them) and aubergines & mushrooms. We invited the brand fam to contribute to the ‘bring’ part by way of any burger topping that inspired them.
Camissa Moon, the magical microgreens of Muizenberg, had given us access to their rad little venue. With Iggy perched on the steps of our humble space, we lit a fire, and some tea-light candles and crossed our fingers that the weather and the vibe would pan out.
Once all the humans behind the brands had rocked up, settled in and made friends with a cold booze-free bruski, everyone got comfy inside for casual intro rounds.
Kaspar and Craig of Hang Ten Cafe in Muizenberg
Iggy holding the welcoming fort
The power of vulnerability
At Oceaneers, we make it a habit of encouraging each other to step into vulnerability, and Kaspar uses pretty much every opportunity to create a safe space and nudge people into that direction. This evening was no exception: We had folks from a wide range of micro brands and beautiful startups there, all sharing their origin stories with open and tender hearts.
It’s quite a thing to be sitting in a room of people who have only just met and to be able to feel how tenderly they are revealing often unspoken truths. Kaspar likes spicing up his intro rounds with extra prompts like ‘what’s your biggest fear?’ or ‘when does your heart sing?’
Gabi from Glow reported that she’s most afraid of the dark. Her brand of yoga clothes made from recycled materials was her way of switching on her own light. She’s also helped other women switch on their lights through a local empowerment programme in teaching women to sew and find placements in the local fashion industry.
Other fears that were shared were not finding a true community (perfectly aligned with the theme of the evening, dying, environmental degradation and many more.
A handful of the Oceaneers brand community members, sharing stories
Turkish delights made from sea moss? Why not!
When Leone shared about his product, Moss in the Cape – healthful algae he had known from his home in St Lucia – Razak leaned in. He knew the wonders of sea moss too – from growing up in Scottland. And right there, he discovered a new surge of community.
Razak’s business, Thank Goodness Foods, offers delicious and healthy vegan alternatives to favourites like peanut butter cups and Twix bars.
Standing there listening to all these great, inspiring stories, my mind conjured a vision. Perhaps Razak and Leon should collaborate? Maybe a sea moss Turkish Delight treat will emerge from this new connection to their community? They could make it Blue! And call it Ocean delights!
Original Photo by Caglar Araz on Unsplash, editing by Andrea for possible concept of blue seamoss Turkish delight ;p
Stitching hearts together
Oceaneers as a brand had a soft desire for the night to harvest collectively beneficial ideas.
But it turns out, that what this brand community needed most, was a group of like-minded folk sharing a space for all to hear and be heard.
This incredible crew of creative and innovative humans are all on similar journeys of figuring out what helping out our Oceans looks like for them. And as they all shared – it’s not an easy road to walk. It’s a road of putting your heart into your very best offering daily. You have to believe what you’re doing is somehow helping the collective.
In that candle-lit room, and later around our modest fire crackling under a wind still canopy of stars, I watched the magic of community stitch these hearts together.
What unfolded was a genuine celebration of the one thing we all had in common – love for Ocean and empowerment through food choices.
Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash
Thank you…
…to all the golden souls in our brand community who honoured us with their presence, their stories and their personal reasons for being on this journey. We couldn’t be more stoked to have you on the wave with us:
- Razak from Thank Goodness Foods
- Leon from Moss In the Cape
- Tash from Nourish’d
- Gabi from Glow
- Tanita from HerbiRaw
- Cailin from Earthchild Yoga
- Chavonne form Troo Natural Toothpaste
- Liam from CamissaMoon
- Craig from Hang Ten Cafe
And big thanks as well to our Ambassador Tammy and Fry’s for sponsoring their amazing nugglets – they worked both as finger food before the meal as well as burger ingredient!
We’re already working on the next gathering – so stay tuned!
Andrea
Creative content force behind Oceaneers, and mother of Iggy
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Hi. I would Love to attend your next event please.
So happy you joined!