Fundraising is under way for the Giant Flag project in South Africa, which will be made up of millions of coloured desert plants and a four-megawatt solar farm.
“The Giant Flag will not only claim its place as a natural wonder, but also as a new model of economic stimulus for previously disadvantaged communities.” states the project web site. “Job creation, clean energy and tourism come together in a world first green innovation project that’s making change happen in South Africa!”
To be constructed in a barren part of the Camdeboo region; the millions of succulents and cacti used will offset 87,318 tons of carbon a year and the solar panels will power the equivalent of more than 4000 homes.
The Giant Flag is being crowdfunded – donors can ‘adopt’ a plant from one of the colour sections or a section of road and soon, a solar panel. Sponsoring a cacti or succulent costs USD $10, a section of road $100 and a solar panel will cost $250.
The red section of the flag will be planted with Mexican Fire Barrel cacti, the green with Spekboom succulents, the blue with Blue Butterfly and the yellow will be Golden Barrel cacti. The white part of the flag will be the road and the black will be made up of solar panels.
Viewable from space, the Giant Flag will cover 66 hectares.
The project organisers say the initiative isn’t “just planting a few cacti, we’re growing a community that could become a model sustainable development.”
The project is intended to result in 700 permanent jobs in the impoverished area, which has been hit hard with high unemployment.
At the time of writing, just over USD $601,000 had been raised – approximately 24% of the target. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
The Giant Flag project is supported by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs and has some major corporate sponsorship as well, including Google and Toyota.
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