Africa Clockwise is the name of the epic journey Mark Sampson and his family are undertaking around the circumference of the continent from 2013 to 2015 in their Big Green Truck, running on cooking oil and solar power.
It’s also the title of his latest comedy show, which premiered at South Africa’s National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2011, and has since played at the Liberty Theatre on the Square in Johannesburg and at the Masque Theatre in Cape Town in 2012 to rave reviews.
Sampson, his wife Sam Pearce, adopted son Zola and biological daughter Ruby P are on a mission to investigate whether Africa can show the world how to cope with climate change. With our ecological clock ticking, he is setting out to explore 40 countries, one year up the west coast and one year down the east.
It is also a quest to discover whether it is possible for his kids to live happily without a TV or water on tap – like the majority of the continent’s children. A quest to investigate whether a future without fossil-fuelled luxuries may not be such a bad thing, helping us to focus on quality of life, not quantity of possessions.
The journey in the Big Green Truck, called Big Reg, is ‘clockwise’ – both as a direction, and as an awareness: time is crucial and we all need to wake up and take proactive steps to safeguard our future.
“Our aim is to inspire people with positive stories to challenge images of the overwhelming doom of global warming and ‘darkest Africa’, and to hold hands out across the continent, spreading a message of connection and support. We will also be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest journey on alternative fuel,” said Sampson in a statement.
The family spent a few days in Namibia last week. They had repairs done to Big Reg at M&Z Commercial Vehicles, visited Joe’s Beerhouse and spent time with DHPS’ environmental group.
They picked up used cooking oil from Joe’s Beerhouse, Ocean Basket in Post Street Mall, Mountain Eagle Spur, Pick n Pay at Auas Valley in Windhoek and Engen Service Station in Okahandja.
Follow the journey on www.africaclockwise.co.za, or like them on Facebook and look out for ‘Africa Clockwise’ the show on its return in 2015!
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