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Photo from ButterflyShaValentine’s Day is here again. It’s that time of the year where love is in the air and being mushy is the order of the day. A day where love-struck couples stroll hand in hand whispering sweet nothings under the star lit skies and professing their undying love commercially, in every sense of the word, with extravagant dinners and over-inflated priced flowers.

If you have already booked a table for that lavish dinner, pre-ordered the bouquet of roses, and had the full celebratory works all planned out way ahead, then well and good for you.  For those still struggling to find any restaurant with tables available, I say forget about it! Yes, ditch all those last minute plans, save yourselves from being exploited by businesses quick to bank on the notion that how much you spend equate how much you love your partner and join me on an eco-friendly and meaningful Valentine’s Day.

Here are 5 un-traditional ways you can celebrate a meaningful and waste-free Valentine’s Day with your loved ones:

1. Forget flowers

Flowers grown with pesticides and sent via air-freight will add to Mother Earth’s woes and leave a large carbon footprint. Instead, try growing a chilli plant which symbolizes “You’re hot” in no uncertain terms to your crush

2. Save an acre of rainforest for your Valentine

Instead of a red rose that has probably been grown thousands of miles away and will wilt within days, present your Valentine with a gift of lush, tropical rainforest saved in perpetuity on their behalf. For every £25 donated, half an acre (2000 square meters) of threatened wildlife will be saved forever.

3. Invest for your Valentine on Kiva.org
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to a specific entrepreneur in a third world country – empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the entrepreneur you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back. Excellent karma.

4. Donate Free Rice
Spend a quiet evening with your love in front of the PC instead of some mosquito infested parks, and do your part to reduce world hunger.

5. Hunger Notes
Take a hunger quiz and make a free contribution to help hungry people. During February 2008, Hunger Notes will contribute $.075, the equivalent of one cup of rice, to Project Concern International for its program to provide support to orphans and vulnerable children and their families In Ethiopia.

The above 5 quirky ways of celebrating V-Day with your loved one will propel your relationship to new heights and giving you both the satisfaction of knowing you have helped protect threatened wildlife, reduced harmful gases released into our increasingly threatened environment, helped the poor stand on their two own feet and contributed to reduction in world hunger. A unique and noble way to celebrate V-Day indeed!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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