Takes the cake
“We both had different ideas for businesses,” Lala says.
“For me everything had to be sustainable. I’m originally from Fiji. All these plastics washed up on the beaches there. You see how far singleuse plastics can go.”
The pair decided to enter the world of small business together with a firm commitment to an environmental focus. They saw a gap in the market and started their research, discerning what products met their commitment to keeping items out of landfill and sourcing products, from how they were made to disposed of, that would not badly impact on the Earth.
By August 2018, Funki Trunki had launched, which Eva and Lala promoted as a one-stop shop for kids’ birthdays using reusable items to reduce single-use plastic waste.
“With single-use plastics, we’ve noticed it’s so easy to go and buy $3 worth of plastic plates that you don’t have to wash. Plastics never degrade.
“It breaks into microplastics and that never leaves the Earth.”
Lala adds: “That all ends up in landfill. There are more plastics than fish in the ocean. We hold parties for children and we are trashing their future with plastics.”
There are a range of packages available with Funki Trunki, from just plates, cups and cutlery – which are delivered clean and removed dirty, and cleaned by Eva and Lala – to the whole party set-up, including games, tableware and furniture.
Since launching the business, demand for their parties “has been nothing we can’t handle”, according to Lala.
They’ve catered for kids’ birthday parties and more recently a baby shower for 50 people but the pair have growth in their sights.
They are planning to hold workshops with children to educate them about single-use plastics. Eva and Lala are also working on goodie bags and the eco-friendly products that go in them, with plans to make them available nation-wide.
“We are aiming for compostable party kits,” Lala says.
“They will be products that can go in the compost straight away rather than sitting there for 500-1000 years, maybe longer.”
Eva and Lala acknowledge that changing habits can be a tough road.
They regularly share ecofriendly party tips on their Facebook page, one of which is encouraging people to stop using balloons at parties.
“We are big on not using balloons,” Lala says.
“It’s taking time for some to get the message.”
They suggest so many other options in lieu of ballons, such as tissue pom-poms or even paper fans, paper lanterns, bubbles, bunting and banners, ribbon dance streamers, kites, garden spinners and pinwheels.
But there are so many other conservation messages they are yet to spread.
If a bin gets contaminated with food from a pizza box, for example, that renders the entire bin contaminated, according to the pair.
They are encouraging people to be more aware of their purchases and to make smart choices.
“You may feel like you are not making a difference as an individual,” Eva says. “As individuals we have so much power. If 100,000 individuals change their habits it would impact the big companies and they would have to change.
“The biggest thing is trying to change peoples’ habits,” Lala says. “If you make it too hard for people you are not going to get them to make change. The changes have to be small. You soon realise it’s not hard to always look for that eco alternative.
“We want to make it as easy as possible. We come in and set up and then we pack it all down.” THE benefits of reading to children every night are well and truly proven.
Early childhood literacy expert Brian Caswell, who developed the MindChamps Reading and Writing Programs, has revealed his top five tips to give your child a headstart in reading.
“Reading is about actively engaging with and understanding the written text, thereby, enhancing the child’s thinking processes,” he says.
“By experiencing the narrative, the child’s emotions and intellect are engaged, deepening comprehension of what is read – what we call Active Understanding. Here are Brian’s tips to give your child a headstart in reading: 1. Actively engage and excite your child about reading Studies have revealed that frequent reading boosts intellectual progress in vocabulary, spelling and even mathematics. Other possible benefits include helping children process and absorb new ideas and concepts in school and beyond. 2. Use reading programs These programs teach children practical strategies to help them actively understand, store, recall, and synthesise information and concepts to read more effectively. 3. Set goals Before starting, talk about what you want to achieve from reading the book. Are you ana- THE Call My Doctor service is now operating in the Mareeba and Tablelands region, and is offering 100 per cent bulk billed after-hours in-home GP consultations and telehealth services.
Patients will be connected to a trained team of nurses and health professionals by calling 13 47 11, where non-urgent and lysing a character or learning something new? After completing the book, talk about what you learnt and whether you achieved the goal. This gives your child an understanding of why you are reading and the benefits of it. 4. Read to your child every day According to studies on early literacy, young children who develop a ‘love of stories’ by the age of seven, particularly children who regularly have quality stories read to them in an engaging manner, are highly likely to become active and skilled readers and writers for life. 5. Choose a book that caters to your child’s reading ability Children have a short attention span, so it is essential to include interactive elements while reading to keep them engaged. Compile a reading list with books of varying difficulty and start with a title that is below your child’s level. non-life-threatening situations will be booked in for an inhome consultation.
The service, funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN), will be operating from 6pm to 8am, Monday to Friday, from 12pm on Saturdays, and 24 hours on Sundays and public holidays.