Last night our flatmates went out with everyone else, and Laura Shrode and I went to our Finnish friend’s flat. We met Suvi at Bush Camp, and she lives with two other Fins, and an Austrian guy, Bernie, was visiting. We were there from like 19:30 or 20:00 til 2, so it was great conversation and quality relationship building in which we weren’t required to scream over loud music and a large group of ebullient Americans. It was actually just what the doctor ordered, because the people weren’t schwasted and we had great conversation. I talked to Bernie for quite a while about a three-week trip he took into the undeveloped Mexican jungle to start a permaculture program.
Permaculture is a type of farming in which one works with nature and nature in turn works with the individual/community. There are no combines, tractors or even fertilizers. You bring in chickens and cows etc to fertilize, create homes out of materials the land provides, and work with all of the animals and ecosystem as a whole to produce food, and whatever excess is sold at market. He had some absolutely crazy experiences, but I loved hearing a little bit more about a philosophy that I had only briefly heard of. At St. John’s the professors speak about it from the perspective of preserving soil health. The argument goes that conventional farming takes more out of the soil than can ever be replaced, so permaculture is a sustainable (never ending) way to set up a system that works together to maintain itself while sustaining a communities needs for food, water, and income. It doesn’t have to work like a commune, but it sounds like the one Bernie was involved in did.
Yesterday, there were some guys playing volleyball on the beach that were actually good!!!! It was so exciting to play a competitive pick-up game. Then we got in the water to get all the sand off. It was a fun, fun day on the beach. Probably the best we’ve had. After the beach, we had a braai (means a bbq, sounds like br-I) with the whole group. Our task was to bring dessert. Taylor and I bought fruit and the popular custard-flavored South African yogurt and maid a layered fruit dessert. I am glad to say that it was a hit! After the braai we walked the boardwalk at sunset, but it was very cloud, so we haven’t seen a “Hawaiian sunset” that you might imagine. The beach is still beautiful though.
Today, there is a market across the road all along the boardwalk. And there are traditional African goods, like the carved animals, banana leaf paintings and so on, but our tour guide told us that those people are just salespeople and their bosses get the money. The people selling only get a pittance, and it is essentially slavery. So, I don’t know if I want to support it. Earlier, I mentioned a pottery place in New Brighton Township, and I want to support her, because she works from the township and has to transport all of her work onto a bus to fire at the kiln at the university. Not to mention that her work is just AMAZING! I am afraid of traveling with it, considering my suitcase broke from the harsh treatment on the way over. (Don’t worry it’s still usable.) In any case, I would love to find some more direct vendors to buy from as to not perpetuate economic structural violence.
School starts tomorrow, so I plan on relaxing to the fullest extent today, which involves a lot of reading for classes, haha. So, I am off to get a few things done.
Peace and love.
Great post! You write so very well as if I am there, too. You will make friendships, or have already, that span the globe! How wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou well know that buying local is the way to go :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having a fine time.
DawnW