natural balance SA, the social enterprise that produces the wonderbag, was founded in 2005 with the purpose of bringing about sustainable social change through projects that conserve the environment while alleviating poverty.

Over the years, the company initiated various projects, most notably the 'Take Back the Future' programme. "I realised when working and visiting game farms that the rural people lacked the skills to capitalise on and protect their environment. A new appreciation needed to be inspired. People of Africa had lost touch with their natural resources as they have become urbanised. 'Take Back the Future' was an attempt to re-engage these people, particularly the young, in an appreciation of the land and all who live on it," says Natural Balance founder, Sarah Collins.

natural balance's main focus now is The Wonderbag, a heat-retention cooker that requires only enough heat to start the cooking process. Because of its insulating properties the bag retains the heat and completes the cooking process with no further electricity needed. it can also keep cold and frozen foodstuffs cold for several hours.

The Wonderbag addresses three of the world’s most pressing issues in one project: poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and social change. it benefits communities and the environment in the following ways:

• each wonderbag is hand-sewn by community projects, so The manufacturing process creates jobs and develops skills;

• It improves air quality in homes by reducing smoke from cooking fires;
• Reduces the risk of shack fires;
• Households can save around 50% of the energy normally used for cooking;
• With regular use, one Wonderbag can avoid one ton of carbon emissions every two years;
• Reduced total community demand for wood as fuel in rural areas promotes forest regrowth and biodiversity;
• the Polystyrene in the bag is re-used instead of dumped in landfill sites. 

The Wonderbag heat-retention cooker is South Africa's first programmatic Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project being registered by the UNFCCC, and one of the first in Africa. This means that for every bag sold, verified carbon offsets will be traded on the international market. The resultant revenue will ensure the project's commercial sustainability by subsidising the price at which the bags are sold. It will also be used to support communities of Wonderbag users to achieve "green" lifestyles. 

we are excited to be promoting the wonderbag project, as it is a successful, useful social responsibility initiative that truly makes a difference in people's lives, from both an economic and a quality of life perspective. 

we welcome your interest in becoming involved in this special form of corporate gifting, either in purchasing the wonderbags or assisting with funding to introduce the bags into poorer communities. the bags can be branded accordingly.

the project is run very well and can cover all the aspects of distribution and training, which means that you can decide whether your company becomes involved in the detail or just from a funding and branding perspective.

contact us for more information or click on the product image below to send us a request.