And this is the view from the toilet!
Our fantastic new compost toilet constructed together at Space of Love!
funny things me making...
Steynsdorp dancing girls...
Sangoma's a'plenty
Just me or me and Sarah for a while, more electrifying lightning and thunder storms moving through the valley, and we planting still, weeding, and preparing for the Space of Love, excited-like. The gas runs out and we have a week of no gas and wet grey cold weather, the wood is wet and hard to make fire. There is a new bottle of gas at Sarah’s house but we have no way of getting it here… till Sarah’s dad comes to visit, but the track is wet and his car not working… Not much activity with the kids cause it’s holidays and they are here and there. Tertius is away, we cook one day and have loads of leftovers for a few days more. Sarah teaches me how to roast peanuts and cook mealie-samp swazi-style on the fire, and we try to preserve some mealie cobs by parboiling them and then hanging them out to dry. But the weather is too wet and the naughty rats get them. A constant battle with rats. They act like they own the place, and run into the hut before dark and then the whole night they are running about and shredding things. We have to put all food into metal cupboards and slowly they get the message that outside there’s more food. I am writing, writing, writing. Children’s stories and then my life story – just the whole account so I can cast it to the wind in an unprecious way, have thoughts of making it into some kind of rolling stone myth… My secret longings for deep love and home overwhelm me… I make a trip to Nelspruit about a potential part-time job lecturing English 1 and 2 to students at the Business Graduate Institute, a multi-national owned money-making racket out of students it appears to me, but maybe I can give them a fresh perspective and maybe it will be good experience for me, I would have to commute and stay a few nights at Megan’s, but to earn money would be great! It feels quite exciting, back to the importance of being earnest! But sadly, although the interview is ok, maybe my CV is too wild, I don’t get it. Maybe it’s cause I have to get an academic transcript, and I am back at Umphakatsi and don’t see e-mail from Rhodes saying I have to pay R250 for that, and a further R500 for my UK MA to be evaluated.
The anticipated Huge Space of Love Gathering only brings a few people, but lovely ones: Ewald and Soozi and daughter Luca who loves to play and baby Fleur who is always smiling and laughing, and Jean another young sangoma who drums and chants and does ceremonies morning and eve and rushes about looking for medicine plants; Tertius; lovely couple Vaughn and Karen and their outspoken fresh daughter Keyo; and networking wizard Haroun Kola and his bevy of lovely lady friends Rianna, Tsholo and Vuyo; and Nonkululeko, priceless poet friend of Sarah’s gets here with them too. We all help to build a new compost toilet on top of the old one, now it’s like a watchtower with an amazing view over the valley, and yesterday’s offerings hurtle down a long long drop that will take years to fill! A group of children from the village and tutored by Thoko, walk to come and dance for us, and Soozi and helpers produce a huge amount of rice and beans and pumpkin for us all to eat. And then in the afternoon Sangoma Mandla arrives on a visit with accompanying sangomas dressed in the most regal finery, and we have a full-on photo session and the ancestors dance and speak to Ewald through Mekwaas and another sangoma too, accompanied by wild drumming and jumping. We chant and drum around the fire in the eve, and the next day walk up to the waterfall, where everyone is blessed with a water ceremony under the waterfall. We do Chief Arvol Looking Horse’s pipe ceremony envisioning peace and co-operation among all Life’s kingdoms, with Soozi’s beautiful new pipe and aromatic herbs! And we have a long cozy dozy story-telling session on mattresses in the hut, that turns into a bit of fooling, where we all become characters in the story and make it up as we go along! And Soozi and Luca bring a whole box of crayons and paper and beads for me to use with the children! Thank you so much.
And then everyone’s leaving! I catch a lift with Ewald and Soozi to Badplaas for the internet, to send more details of Thoko’s activities to Shoprite Women of the Year award. I have nominated Sarah in Educator category and Thoko in youth mover category! If they win they will get R100,000 for their projects! Hold thumbs! I am offered a couch to sleep on by Keith, who lives in a cottage with his little son Keyo. He works at the nearby Inkomati mine which tears out about 19 tons of minerals from the earth each day – there’s everything there, gold, uranium, silver, copper, platinum and loads of asbestos. Poor people who work there! It is owned by someone called Mr Matsepho who is reputed to be the 9th richest man in Africa. He apparently started mining with a huge input of Russian funding. Keith would rather be growing vegetables and shows me his big veggie garden, where he has loads of things growing, including huge bushes of basil and chillies. He gives me seeds to take back to Umphakatsi.
And then I’m back at Umphakatsi, with Sarah and Tertius. According to the natural time calendar we are in the central column, the spine, of the Tzolkin, which is the Court of Magic where things transform and turn around. We go through a bit of a wobbly in the group which helps us to reclarify our visions of abundance generating projects that will bring income and sustainability to us and the community of Steynsdorp. We fill in lots of forms applying for funding all over the place. My money is getting low. I have to generate some money for myself to carry on subsisting, so a trip to the outside world has to be made for a while. I am also starting to feel kind of isolated and feel a need to reconnect with friends…
So, please connect! Am on internet for a month! Love
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