ZA

Godeguedacht

Arrival

Friday the 5th of december, 1st day

It’s my arrival in South Africa and as my brother noticed it’s the first Anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela. Maybe a wink to the beginning of the rest of my life !

Airport

About my project 

Why am I here ? What am I doing there ? What’s going on for me ? Well, you may be surprised. My project is very quick to explain. I want to be a cooker in a vegetable suburb-garden and cook it to show the interest of the agriculture for the urban people thanks to good fooding. So, at first I have to know vegetables. It’s why I am here : to understand better the planting, the growing and the harvest. I wanted also make a break in my life to take the time to reflect and to prepare more quietly my project, start again with a new energy. What do I think to have learnt in Abalimi ? I’m learning the tools to develop gardening in urban areas and especially in very poor quarters. I’m also learning to meet people with simplicity only to share something with them. I have to learn about the gardeners, their difficulties and their achievement. At last I’m learning english to allow me to welcome everybody in my restaurant and to network with others countries. Finally I’d like to create a place around the restaurant to welcome meetings about urban agriculture improvement. A place which gather way of life, tradition and reflection.

Abalimi

Abalimi is an urban agriculture association created in 1982 by Rob Small to raise some people out of poverty to feed themselves. It operates in the townships of Khayelitsha, Nyanga and surrounding areas on the Cape Flats near Cape Town in South Africa. The aim is to re-learn some people living in the town-ships to grow some fresh food for a family of 5 needs. The micro-farming movement also allows self-help job and poverty alleviation and environmental renewal, because it improves organic agriculture. 

Abalimi 

Six-district museum

9th day

After lunch at a little cafe in the Observatory quarter, I decided to prepare my museum’s  visit in Capetown. I chose the Six-district museum and the Company’s garden. About the Six-district museum, a crazy and terrible story forced 60 000 black people to leave their quarter in the sixties, because of a new planning decided for the city by the local government. After the expropriation, a lot of townships were created to welcome these people in terrible conditions. It was also the result of the segregation laws decided by the South-African government. While many people had to leave quickly their quarter and also for most of them their place of birth, nothing was built on its area again. Nowadays all houses have disappeared and it looks like a big garden area. 

Afternoon braii

10th day

That’s it. It’s my tenth day in South Africa. I had no idea where and how I would be ten days ago. It was the winter, it was cold, wet and grey in France. Today, I woke up at 8:00 am and I began to learn english and to take my breakfast. After, at eleven, some people from the hostel and me left to a dancing-braii in a township at 15 minutes by car from our hostel. It was crazy. All these people kill their time on the dance floor and around the table to eat some grilled bread with pope and vegetables. There were a disc jocket and a jazz band. It wasn’t too hot but stifling because there weren’t some air enough under the big iron roof. Then, I decided to leave for several minutes outside. Lucie, our animator, was very worried because she didn’t find me. Maybe she thought I was kidnapped or killed by township inhabitants. Maybe it’s dangerous to walk alone in the townships street when you are a white man. But we don’t know what time and where it is dangerous. 

Johannes & Lucie

Catholic church

17th day

I went to the catholic church next to the hostel to discover the atmospheer of the celebration. It was almost as in France. There weren’t many people in the assembly  and each one was on his own sit, alone. It didn’t seem me a real community. It was a bit sad at the beginning but after it became more happy, thanks to the cantics, the religious songs and the congratulation to a husband and his wife for just celebrating their 50 years wedding. It was emotional. By the way the priest said it was possible to stay married so long time. 

Two french guies

17th day

They always try to be fun, to say the right sentence at the right time. It’s not always interesting and it’s not especially relaxed. I think this attitude belong to a class and a generation of french people. We may call them «snob». It’s not by any chance we met them in a jet set place ! But I think they aren’t happy. They’re always looking for something to do, to talk, to reach, to be surprised and so to feel alive ! To feel alive is for them not to see inside them but see around what it happens. Life is not a start but an arrival for them. 

African cafe

18th day

I’m always waiting the end of the morning to take my lunch in the small restaurant next to the office. It’s always a good time. I enjoy this atmosphere, eating a Chakalaka with pop or rice, a cheeseburger or a green (or greek) salad. The meal is fine and the time relaxed. 

English

19th day

I feel I speak english less than before ! But it’s change from person to person. When I feel confident with someone, I speak better. When I meet all these Dutch, Belgium, Swiss, German people who speak so well english, I want to speak like them. My goal for the next year is to understand all the movies in American, because I think it’s a real handicap to exchange with other cultures, and the once way to talk to the Nothern Europe for example is to speak english well. We must above all speak and understand well. I try to make effort to speak with a lot of people, but I don’t succeed to understand all they say. And when they ask me something I am a bit afraid and therefore it doesn’t make me relaxed in order to speak fluently. I think I have to take a decision. I have to find some hear-phones to listen to my english lesson and the BBC news every day. Not easy ! I have also to find some american movies with english subtitles to help me to understand better english. I can’t stand anymore to feel excluded from conversations among people of all countries. I have also to learn several english and american songs in order to get used to talking more english. I have to change my method. 

Marianne, Alan, Johannes

Asiatic

21th day

So my first article will deal with the asiatic tourist. We saw a lot of asiatic tourists yesterday in Table Mountain. It’s very curious because they don’t look friendly when you meet them. However they are not bad. But, they never look at us when you meet them in the street or on a path in the mountain. They often bring a tablet or a smartphone on them and they focus only on it. It’s surprising because there are never exchanges of look between us. They also look sad and not very spiritual. It’s certainly a popular belief but it also the reality. In Paris for example, a a lot of shops and bar-tabac are taken over by the Chinese people. They often are not friendly, smily and they never speak french correctly. What’s going on ? The most popular french shops are taken over by Chinese people whose the culture is so different from ours ? I understand the owners who sell their shops prefer to sell more expensive and it’s why they sell to Chinese people who are able to pay more and in cash. We also can talk about the Japanese people who often wear a mask to protect   themselves against pollution or allergies. They don’t look really happy and they don’t seem to want us meet. The phenomenon is identical in Paris. 

Cricket Stadium

23th day

The stadium in which I’m playing the guitare is very strange, because it is always empty. I never see many people practicing sport like running, stretching, etc. I am always alone training on this space. 

Cricket stadium of Observatory (with Sacred Ibis)

Jubilee's church

23th day

After a quick breakfast, I walked with Jeffrey to the Jubilee church. It was my first time. I discovered a kind of religious concert played by a rock band. There were non priest but ministries responsible in the celebration. It was really alive and happy. It wasn’t too dancing and demonstrative. So, I prefered this kind of ceremony. Afterwards, we had a coffee with Jeffrey in a good atmosphere. Around the main room in which stood the ceremony there are a lot of big rooms in which you can meet many people, drink something and reading. It’s a good way to meet some people. 

About it, each time I spend alone in a foreign country I think again about C.. again and it disturbs me. I dream of her more often than usual. I should meet somebody, but it is not easy here. I don’t master the language enough ! Then, we met a Jeffrey’s friend. He was really sympathetic and friendly. He took us with him by car to pick up his daughter. She was also very nice. She gave us a hug. After a lunch with the colleagues I am writing my diary in font of the TV. It is not really comfortable but I’m working anyway.

Jubilee's church of Observatory

Security system

23th day

There are a lot of security system in South-african buildings. On all the walls of the houses, you can see glass pieces or electric strings on it. All is protected from the robers but nothing is really secure. The violence doesn’t happen during the day but during the night. In the morning after waking up, we can notice a lot of broken car-glas. By the way, Alain, my bed-neighbour told me that, as a practionner of medicine, he welcome a lot of physical pain at the hospital every night. It’s more often due to crimes and fight than real accidents. There are a lot of poor people in Cape-town and in its suburbs. Each time you leave from home, a person meet you to ask you some money. The meeting is never free. Actually, we don’t feel really the violence. It appears when the people are drunk or under drug and it’s very difficult to control them. For example, one week ago, we met a strange guy who introduced himself in the bar-room where we song and played the guitar. He began to sing very quickly a kind of rap on the guitare melody. And it was fine. But he didn’t stop. A friend ask him to stop just one minute to choose another song. But he became really angry and looked for fight with him. He was already nervous, when he came to us, but we didn’t imagine he became like that. 

Outbay

Observatory

Helicopters

29th day

Time flies ... and the helicopters too. There are too many helicopters every day in the sky of Cape-Town. I ask me why it is not forbidden. It’s so noisy ! And most of them flies for tourists ! Like Marian, a backpacker from GE, who decided to fly only for R-5000 ! It’s crazy and not respectful for inhabitants and animals. It’s a whim of tourist and above all a stupid decision from the local government of Capetown to authorize this kind of tourism so noisy for everybody.

Waterfront in Capetown

Lion’s Head

30th day

On tuesday we woke up at 3:00 pm to hike to the top of Lion’s head in order to see the sunrise. It was nice, but not amazing. The sun rised late because of a cloudy weather upon the mountain. But anyway it was nice and interesting to see so many people hiking the mountain between 5 and 7:00 am only to see the sun rising. When we went down from the top, we met a lot of people. I’ve never seen so many people hiking a mountain even not in the Mont-Blanc. So crazy ! Then, we decided with Alain, Johannes and Marianne to go down to the beach in Camps Bay.

Capetown from Lion's Head

Cooking

30th day

I like cooking at the hostel. It’s for me a way to feel at home. When I choose recipes from my grand-mother, I feel in her village. So it’s also a sharing moment with my friends at the hostel. I like they taste my meals. Last time, I made an meat-pie, but I hadn’t put enough salt and oil into and it was too dry. But I think my friends enjoyed because they still ask for that ! I like use pastry roller and above at all I love making a proper pastry ! Anyway I have to learn real recipes to respect the dose of each ingredient. I like especially make the salty meal instead of making cakes or sweet pies. I like using a whisk to prepare a quiche for example. I like making cooked up meals like bourguignons or veal blanquettes. I like using pans, saucepans, casseroles, ... to cook for everybody. The most important in the cooking is the sharing, the discovery and the pleasure. In short, sharing what it makes us good.

Mikal in his kitchen

English (2)

30th day

I feel myself very bad in english. I feel to speak english like an american indian in the western movies. I think this language should be learnt very early. At the latest at eighteen years old. I regret not being left in a english speaking country before ... when I was young.  I feel that most of people in that backpacker hostel understand all in english and succeed to adapt themselves to different accents : american , south-african, english, swiss, belgian, etc. I feel alone among all these people who speak english very well. I try to learn english every day thanks to «Six minutes english» on the BBC, the book «A long walk to freedom» from Nelson Mandela (kindly loaned by a the owner of a flea !), english songs I learn to memorize and above all my discussions with my friends from all the countries at the Green Elephant Hostel. I dream that when will wake up tomorrow morning I will all understand. But this morning never comes ! I don’t know really. Maybe gradually, we become more and more demanding. But I am convinced that I have big difficulties to understand, especially the american accent. It was certainly worst before. I know ! So, what solutions ? I think I have to be more relaxed with its language and I have to force myself to approach people to speak with them. This is what is most lacking to my learning. And I need also somebody to talk with and to correct me. 

Alain, Sarah and Niasha

Rain

31 day

Today it’s raining. Everybody are used to saying they don’t like the rain. But I think it is a good break in a stay in South Africa. We are never too hot but the sunlight is really too strong and our eyes get tired. So, a little rain in this bright summer makes me well ! It’s also important for growing the vegetables in the gardens in Khayelitsha. It’s fine for the soil even if it is a sandy earth and if the water flows very quickly deep in the earth. But it is good to get wet the surface of the earth. The rain is fine for gardening but not really for the townships houses. They are built on a sandy soil and not very robust. So they are vulnerable to the strong wind but also the strong rain. The roofs are irony and the wood walls are not very solid. It is not fixed to the soil because there is not any foundations. More gardens would allow to absorb the water and also to have some shadow when the sun is strongly shining. But these houses are too close to each others to grow some vegetables. There is also the problem of the propriety. We cannot know exactly who belong each area to. So if we plan to make a garden at any place, it  may be not accepted by others people. So the rain is fine but not sufficient to grow vegetables in Khayelitsha. 

Sunlight

31th day

Since Christmas time, the days have been getting shorter. It is funny because at the same time in Europe, in which I live, the days have been getting longer. It is one of the main differences between the two hemispheres, southern and nothern. When I arrived, one month ago, the sun rised at 5:30 am and today already at 5:50. I find there is a big difference with the beginning of my trip especially in the evening. I am used to jogging, stretching et playing the guitar between 6:00 and 8:00 pm. Nowadays, I must to leave at 8:00 because it’s too dark and I don’t still dare to leave the stadium too late. In a last e-mail, I asked my father why the longest day in South Africa is shorter than the longest day in France. I suppose it’s because of the geographical position of South Africa closer to the pole than France. But we have to check this hypothesis. Even if this country is closer to the pole, the sun burns although the air is fresh. It may be due to the angle formed by the sun rays and the earth surface. This angle is more important than in Europe. So, in South Africa, the sun sends more energy on a same surface than in Europe.

Smily

31th day

A lot of people are smily in South Africa. Or rather, the people are not afraid to smile to somebody else whereas it is not the case in France. And the people are not afraid to speak with you even in the train, which is however a suburb train ! When I play the guitare in a park, there are very often some children around me to sing with me. Smiling adults also walk in front of me when I play and they stop sometimes to listen to me or sing with me. It’s very pleasant to find a kind of spontaneous behaviour among the people. We know that it is not always the case especially in a town where there is a lot of violence. But, the people are not afraid by showing a fine attitude with you. Last time, we went to the swimming pool with a friend to play the guitar. While we began to play, almost twelve  seven years old boys came to us to sing and try to play the guitar. They staid at least one hour with us. It was very funny and friendly and I think the parents found it normal. So I like this free and polite behaviour of the people in Cape-Town. Of course, a lot of persons bring you up in the street only to ask you for money. It was very often at the beginning of my trip but I feel it’s less frequent right now. 

Alain and the children at the swimming pool

Tourist

31th day

It’s funny and in the same time frightening how the backpackers in South Africa are always anxious to have a good time and then to live a lot of things, as uncredible moments. Their planning must be quickly full. It is always suspect to stop activities. There are also a lot of tourists who come here to have the benefit of a cheap life in South Africa. It’s why a lot of them decide to fly by helicopter because prices are very attracted for european people. Of course, most of them don’t know that this kind of machine, that makes a lot of noise and fly over our head at three hundred meters altitude each ten minutes, don’t disturb anybody ! Of course. I think the tourist has not come to share something with the inhabitant. Maybe only his money. The proper share-out is to let a sustainable and durable benefit fot the concerned persons and for their social and natural environment, whereas a trip in helicopter is not really something peacefull for anybody. It generates a lot of noise for the inhabitants below and pollution for everybody. I wanted to say that we forgot, especially when the industrial Revolution began, to contract with the nature. It was possible de read the Story in trying to know to work with the nature to progress in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and environmental fields. But we missed to do it. We chose the consumption in excluding the nature from the meal ! And we forgot our meal is provided by the natural ressources. So, the massiv tourism is one of the Industrial Revolution sons. We consume without giving back to the nature. Give my nature back !

Clifton beach

A gardener

34th day

I met a gardener from Abalimi last time once the association welcame the Namibia’s delegation. He talked to me about his gardener’s engagement. He’s only twenty five years old and works every day in the garden. Since he’s worked here, he definitively feel better. He left his delinquent condition to join Abalimi and to find his place here. He said that before joining Abalimi, he had a lot of enemies who wanted to kill him. But since he’s become a gardener, after several months, these bad boys began to respect him because they considered he got a noble and honest job. He works for the community without looking for still more money. Since he’s become a gardener he feels good more and more. It’s interesting to notice that all people can get redemption even in a hostil social environment. It is not always true bit most of time even the worst guies may see the generosity and the truth in the soul of somebody.

Zuki in Godeguedacht

The culture

35th day

I am going to talk about Capetown , because I won’t do any generalities about a country  I don’t know completely. But I can say about Capetown that it’s really a Britannic town with some injections of African culture into. But we can not talk about a proper African town, because we don’t find a true culture in religious, economic, social and  food  fields. As an example, here are not really any south-african meals  and we don’t find any kind of social rituals  at home, at school, in the shops, in working… All is finally really western. But we could notice that most of black men and women have this  typical  way to speak and get in touch with you,  that is very different from  the white people, more cold,  stressed and less sweet. Even if we find a lot of violence in  the cities and the suburbs - especially during the night -, the relationships with black people are often more progressive and relaxed. The violence is sometimes hidden by a sort of sweet nonchalance. As a summary we could say that white people are more in the project than black people, but less  in the present, but also less fatalist. I precise it is not the case of all the white and black people , but anyway, all the evil that European people did to African people because of  the apartheid and before, the slavery,  is found in this current south African society. Discrimination still exists because apartheid generations are for most of them still alive. The school system has not allowed black communities to train some managers  and to learn to master and to invest in production tools. South Africa looks like a small Francafrique but with all the France in. European people succeed to maintain African people in a situation of dependence with few people who have mastered production and transformation tools. We have taught to African to work hardly at a precise location of the production chain without explaining how this chain worked. It’s also why Nelson Mandela never wanted to expel white people from South Africa, because black communities should have reinvented all the ways to product and transform the ressources and above all training  some people very quickly. That was  impossible in a so short time and without money ! And anyway large companies  would have asked to USA to intervene in order to maintain European et American economic  interests. It is the same model in all Africa. Even if  all the state heads are African, all of them serve the western interests. In African History, while  some heads of state or warlords  wanted to recover production tools like Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso, Patrice Lumumba and Laurent-Desire Kabila in Congo Kinshasa. So, we still cannot find now days any African countries  whose all  production and all transformation tools belong to African people. In Africa, people who master all the production chain are in Western (and also in Asia). In South-Africa, this Western is into the country.

Mikal and the team of the Permaculture Festival

The nothern suburbs

39th day

The nothern suburbs of Capetown are really interesting for visiting and walking. It is really less tourist than Cape-Town and even if there are less sights to see, we can better understand the history of the quarter, thanks to the conservation of many buildings erected between the nineteenth and the twentyfirst century. All the bulidings are not often restored and some of them have been completely  preserved since their construction. We can discorver a big diversity of house’s architectures from the Vicitorian’s to the modern age including the  Decorative Arts from the 20th century’s beginning. However, the Victorian style is the most present in the streets, with some pillars in front of it, two or three floors and sometimes a small garden ahead. If you look at the picture lower on this page, you notice that the time seems to be stopped. Why ? I don’t know actually. At first, because all is different from France and after because there isn’t too many adverstising signs on the street, the people don’t look very fashionable and the presentation of the showcases make me think about the 80’s or 90’s fashion. By the way, the most used car is the first golf model from 1974, renoved and still sold nowadays. Volkswagen company has called these cars «Chico» and the model is «CITI». Certainely to remind the GTI model, the most powerful and expensive of the Golf range. You can also find a lot of more or less big public parks. There are some classic gardens, stadiums, playpens, botanic gardens, dogs squares, ... And you often find some big trees in it. In South-Africa I feel we let the trees growing a long time and becoming big and high. I miss it in France because without rightly reason we don’t let the trees growing more than 100 years. We talked about security for the people but I don’t really believe it.

Salt River district

Waste

39th day

On the sidewalks, the roads but especially in the parks and still more in the townships, the floor is covered by waste as plastic bags, bottles, fat papers, clothing pieces, etc. All people throw their waste always everywhere. I don’t really understand why but I have my idea. During the slavery and apartheid time, the public area didn't belong to everyone. All the public areas were planed by the colons and then by the white-european leaders. Thus, African people used not to respect these public areas, because it wasn’t their own building. We can observe it in Lebanon. Because of the civil from 1975 to 1990, public areas were become fight spaces and often no man’s lands. So, a lot of people throw their waste on these places condisered as foreign. I think there are others reasons according to South Africa. In Burkina Faso, people throw also their waste  in the street, but above all because there are not a lot of garbage and bins in the street and people are not educated to respect the cleanness of the city. But I have to get more information concerning South Africa.

Kajelinsha

Townships

39th day

I’m going to describe what I see everyday in my township of Kalininsha and around. These  quarters look really poor by seeing these shantytowns. But the inhabitants are always well dressed and decent. A lot of people don’t have their own car and thus use the mini-bus, a Toyota bus with 12 sits which can contain more than twenty passengers ! There are a lot of small irregular shops and inhabitants try to live with some money got from the mini bus driving, market, trade-off of everything, prostitution, drug business, etc. By the way, Abalimi try to improve other jobs in these townships in order to raise some people out of poverty to feed themselves. We can always see a lot of persons walking on the street and not on the sidewalks because it doesn’t exist. So walkers circulate with the car and sometimes a police car ring to move on the road the people away. The townships are also characterized by the kind of earth and climate of these huge dune areas on which townships were built during the Apartheid  : extreme temperatures, sand dunes and gale force winds. The huge dune sand area. I don’t dare how can be the life conditions when it rains really strongly on these irony and wood fragile huts. Of course, according to the article before, the floor is covered by wastes which are regulary picked up by cleanness agents in the street and also on each site of the highway ! People are ofter smily and welcoming. They always react favorably to your smile or when you say them «hello». But we don’t see any white people in theses quarters, only by car. I don’t really understand because, as in Abalimi, a lot of white people are well known in the township and could walk in the streets among the inhabitants but it is never the case. Maybe because white people always risk not to be recognized in the street and this be attacked by somebody. I don’t know actually. 

Dogs

39th day

Only white people walk with a dog in the street and in the parks. I feel that the dog is only a friend for white people. It may be stupid to compare black and white people but it is the reality. Every evening in the stadium next to my home white people come by car with their dog to walk or run with them. So the question is why white people need to have a dog more than black people ? Is it due to the loneliness maybe more frequent by white than black communities. I don’t know actually. Or that is a question of culture. European people have used for a long time dogs for guarding or as a friend. But I don’t understand why the dog culture hasn’t reached the black culture. We say that South Africa is the rainbow nation but each community is not really close to the other. If people can meet themselves, the communities don’t keep in touch. Maybe the dog is also a way to protect themselves from the attacker or form a black community which  is more numerous than white people. Maybe i allows to a white person not to feel too lonely among all African people.

Initiative

39th day

We had a conversation with Rob, the Alabimi’s director. He said to Fabiola and me that in Abalimi as in South Africa, it is necessary to have initiatives. It means that we have to get the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do. In this organization, we haven’t to wait for working, doing something with a colleague or building a project with somebody else. We must propose some projects and ideas for the association. Rob said it’s particulary the case in South Africa. If you want to get something you have to fight yourself. He precises it was not really the same in Europe because we needn’t. We have a social and care policy which allows us to be assisted. What I think : when there are not initiatives anymore, the unemployment grows and the mental health of people is decreases. We have to fight and to create a robust project in all the countries to make what we want. Help yourself and God will help you ! I wanted to make a reportage about Abalimi’s gardens, so it is good news. I’m gonna prepare it with Fabiola who works for the assessment of the garden’s production efficiency. So it would be interesting to choose ten gardens with different habits and different contexts to relate the story of these gardens and gardeners from Abalimi. I don’t have any specific know-how to propose to Abalimi, but I am here to understand, exchange and manifest about this nice association. At the beginning of my trip, I hoped to work in the gardens, but I realize it’s not really possible if I make only it and if I don’t have any car to moove around the townships. So, I think the documentary is  actually a good way to  gather my goals of my trip. It will allow to relate for Florac school but also for my NGO Bahr Loubnan what’s going on in Abalimi organization and how it works. The goal is to exchange between the two associations because they twice take place in the same kind of climate. The NGO wants to improve a network with other village and medium towns around the Mediterranean sea and it would be very interesting, according to the Fabiola’s assessment to develop  collaborations. 

Tagores bar

40th day

Every tuesday or thursday, we go to Tagores bar to play music with Alain who plays the piano, Reiner the solo guitare and who sing and me guitare and voice. We generally play some rock music and sometimes a little soul music. It’s very pleasant. We manage to gather some people from the Green Elephant Hostel to come listening to us. Above all it’s a sharing time with some african and foreigner people. Before each concert we practice with Alain some different songs. We begin to have a good songs list as «What’s going on», «Psycho Killer», «Mary don’t ou weep», «Summertime», «That’s alright», «Surrender», «Suspicious mind», «Sympathic», «Proud Mary», «The Joker», «110th street», «Sunny»,  «An englishman in New-York», «Viva la Vida» and soon «Don’t stop me now», «Karmacameleon» and «Could you be loved». We can play just before the DJ is coming. We can use all the sound material we need : microphone, loudspeakers and the way to plugg our instruments. The piano is in front of the wall. So we cannot see Alain. It’s a shame, but however he always says he needn’t. It’s for him a way to focus on his instrument. It’s really a sharing time and it remembers me the concerts we did in Paris six years ago.

Our concert bar in Observatory

Management

40th day

Once we arrive in South-Africa, we observe all the security guards and other employees are black African. When we discover the manager, he’s most of the time, white. In fact, I read last time that more than 75 percents of the managers are white people in South Africa. I wrote about it last time and it is true. We live in a african system that we can find in all african continent. White people mastered all production and transformation tools and let to African people only employees jobs to execute what the manager plans. And the state-head allows to maintain this system in giving some money, assisting and dealing employees jobs to black african people. The Apartheid still exists in South-Africa because the system was also created to keep the production tool’s control for white people. And we have noticed not al lot of evolution for the last two decades. It’s also explained by the lack of education and training of a large part of black people. Young people between eighteen and thirty years old are the Apartheid’s childhood. They were born just before and after the Apartheid period. And their parents are still kept in a passiv attitud to train their children in order to succeed in their career. So, it will require a long time, maybe still two or four generations to make black people ambitious and undertaking. But all I say is a taboo for the authorities, like otherwise the word «Township».

Vati, Rob, Mama Kaba, Dave at the annual evaluation of Abalimi

Green Elephant

40th day

A friendly and welcoming backpackers hostel in a old nothern suburb called Observatory. It’s like a big home. I sleep in a six bed’s room, so it’s not too crowded and noisy. There is a small swimming pool ahead the house, a big colonial style balcony to be peaceful, a tv room and a big kitchen for cooking and eating. It’s a good way to meet some people from all the countries, especially Germany and USA. But I would prefer more privacy especially for cooking. But we cannot get all ! I would like to precise that all the staff is very friendly, vigilent and considerate with me and all residents. If I have a tear in my pants, they propose immediately me to repair it. I feel admitted as at home. The only problem is the fact that we cannot leave outside or sleep in another place without the staff ask us where we were staying last night. Me, who don’t like to be watched ! I wanted to leave earlier but I think I’m going to stay more long time. I will leave the 16th of February to travel around Capetown and South-Africa, especially to visit national parks. It will be the end of my contract with Abalimi. At this period there won’t be a lot of tourists as in January. I will have to find others accomodations for two weeks and I will come back to Green Elephant on Sunday, the 1st of march just before leaving to the airport. 

Why aren’t we always happy ?

40th day

It’s very interesting not to be close to his home because we realise that the trip is not enough to forget all his problems left at home. We fell it at the beginning and little by littel all these bad feeling come to be transformed in something more objective. However, it’s always difficult to release from mental pollutions. We can feel really good and one hour after sad and tired. Anyway, our memory hasn’t changed ! Neither our story. Only our sight about our feeling and our story have changed. So it isn’t our story which makes us sad but how to see it. And the good way to see it is to be in the acceptation. So we have to train to see things with more objectivity and neutrality. Meditation is certainely the a best solution to reach this neutrality. But however it doesn’t restrain to build some project. On the contrary ! When we are washed by a river away it is more simple to be saved if we accept without mental pollution the situation.

Lundeka and me

Gardens 

41th day

Maybe the warmest day since I’ve arrived at the beginning of december but with always a fresh wind happely. As the Britain in summer but with a burning and very bright sun everyday. I visited for all the morning almost ten gardens for the picking list, which allows us to know about how many vegetables we will harvest for next week. As usuall, gardening methods are often very different among the gardens. Some of them are not watered enough, so a lot of vegetables can be sold and others not, only for eating. These gardens have some water enough but the problem is provided by the irrigation system, sometimes approximate. We often observe some broken tips which run away in all the directions. I mean much water could be preserved thanks to a better system which would work from the evening to the morning. Because we also notice the gardens are watered during the day, even when the sun and the wind are really strong. Maybe it is made on purpose. However I am not sure. The second problem is the use of the manure, chicken dung used to fertilize the soil. Sometimes, gardeners use too old manure ; so it is not usefull for the plants anymore. They suffer too lot and look like plants not enough watered. The goal is to find a good balance between the water and the manure. It why Dave and ... check every week the gardens to advice and to find some solutions to these problems. A third problem that I found is the workers management. In one of the visited gardens, there were a lot of workers, among 25, assigned by the local government to help in the gardens. But they have to work from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and they often leave at 2:00 after having a break. The problem is they are too many to train, to motivate and to manage them correctly. Dave said four people would be enough. Moreover, the main gardener told us that young people don’t often work in gardens because they mean it’s for the people who have never studied. I think it’s always because it is a physicel and often tiring work, especially in summer. The last problem met today is the occupation of the space. Some gardens are too much extensive whereas thez could have a best density of vegetables. I would allow to save some water, manure, shadow, windbreaks and energy ! 

Townships streets

41th day

I’ve only drived for the moment in the townships except when I was staying at a afternoon braii at the beginning of my trip. When we visit the garden, we enter in a closed area sometimes keeped by a security agent. We almost never have to walk in the townships. So, I observe the street when we are driving with Dave or Brigitte. I see many people walking in the street without sidewalks with always a smell of burning waste. There are often a lot of braii, little shops, clothes selling on the floor. It’s dusty and often dirty whereas people are often clean. There are no trees to get shadow next to the fragile houses which are tiny and so hot in the summertime. People are always walking but we don’t know where they go to. 

Good energy

41th day

Dave notice that the guy who entered in the Abalimi office had a «good energy», a positive attitude, whereas Abalimi’s staff was a bit tired. It was true. Although the heat, this man was happy and welcoming. Maybe because I had just seen him with a pretty girl upstairs earlier. However it was pleasant and peaceful to get this good energy especially at the beginning of this sunny afternoon. At this time, we realize it is not impossible to be happy because we always envy happy people. So, we have only to imitate them. 

Sarah and Niasha

Weather

42th day

The weather often changes in Cape-Town. It can be very warm one day and very cold the day after. Today is cloudy and fresh. It makes me good because it is very quiet and pleasant, fine for the eyes, the skin and the brain. The weather is rarely wet and warm but dry, burning and too much bright. During the summer we always wear a shirt, a pants or a short and some sun-glasses and often a hat to protect ourselves from the burning sun. When we have a trip from the morning to the evening, pull-over or a jacket are suggested because of the evenings are quickly cold. But I think it’s relatively a good and healthy weather thanks to the regular fresh wind which blows from the Altantic Ocean. It allow to vacuate the pollution very quickly. If it was not the case, a lot of pollution would stay in the townships because of the burning waste. 

Train

42th day

The train looks like an old fashion english train. Maybe some old locomotives and wagons built to England in the seventies. I have to check. Anyway, it’s a very useful way of transport in Capetown, according to the price and the time to reach another district. It even allows to reach the beach because the southern railway of Capetown lies on a part of the shore. When we leave Observatory, which looks like a really urban district and we join the sea after twenty minutes, it’s obviously magic ? The railway and its bridges are often not really beautiful but each railway station is very nice and sometimes look like proper noble houses ! In the train, the problem is not the comfort but the visibility. It’s almost impossible to see through the window because of a too bleary glass (and not trouble ...). So, if you don’t know word for word all the stations and the order of these and if you don’t count in the stations, at each stop, you must go out to check the station thanks to the sign ... If you have the fortune to find it ! It happens also a lot of events in the train. Last time a woman entered the train to propose everybody to pray and sing with her to pray the Christ. It was mazing because all the people staying in the wagon accepted this time without be surprised.

On the road to the North

Outbay train station

Garden plan

42th day

With Dave, we have just begun to make the planting and harvest plan according to the contents of the boxes for one year and the plan production guide. Seedling and seed variety and quantity are planned and ordered based on what Harvest of Hope wish to see in their box, combined to with what farmers like to grow and what grows well in the climate of the Cape Flats. Once a year, we prepare a detailed production plan for the coming year based of the following variables :

• total area of land available in all the contracted Harvest of Hope Farms
• estimated growing space
• estimated growing capacity based on members of farmers per micro-farm
• growing seasons
• market prices and cost
• available vegetables varities
• organic growing principles
• desired HoH content

It allows to anticipate what the gardeners will have to provide for each week. It’s a bit complex because we have to include several datas as the period of seeds and seedlings ordering, harvest, vegetable growing, the public holidays, times of seeds and seedling reception, the time we can harvest the vegetables. For example, cabbages can be harvested one time whereas spinach have to be harvested for six weeks because all the spinach plants don’t mature at the same time. The problem is to know how many vegetables is required for each harvest. This exercise is necessary to be sure to get the right kind of boxes we wanted at the beginning of year. Afterwards, we are not sure to get exactly the right quantity and variety of vegetables in each box according to the predictions. But finally on one year, all the variety and quantity of vegetables will have been dealt in each box. Then, the next difficulty is to manage each garden to order the right quantity and diversity of vegetables. 

Driving

42th day

It’s not really difficult for an French to drive on the south-african roads, even if the left driving is requiered. The wheel is on the right side, the gearshift on the left but all the other  tools in the car like meters are on the same side as a left-driving car. In contrast with France, we can drive without his safety belt, travel in the trunk without be worried by the policemen. I have ever made this experience several times, when I drived around the townships to visit the gardens. There are a lot of minibus often drived by african people form the townships and which can contain more than 20 people. We meet also coach-bus on the road which pick you up for the same travel as in mini-bus but with proper halts. When you stop at a gas station, you notice that the the petrol or diesel prices are almost the same as in France. You pay between R-10 and R-12 for a liter whereas it represents in France R-16 for the diesel, according to the fact that the average salary of an employee is less than the half of ours. I notice that the south-african are not too speedster. They also respect the driving code. The roads also look really undamaged and mantained. It’s not like in other african country with a lot of damaged roads plenty of gaps and often built with earth only. 

Capetown, not Southafrica only

42th day

Yesterday a german woman (Capetown is crowded by German People) said to us that we coul know well South-Africa if we stay only in Cape-town. We have to travel around Cape-Town to realize the proper identity of South-African people. We already watch it on south-african movies. Ok, but if we don’t want to be a tourist but a traveller, we have to live in a only place to understand better the local culture. Visiting is not understanding and still less living like inhabitants. Or we choose to fly by or we choose to be in the present time. Or we choose to do or we choose to be. It is my conception of the travel : to live here as you would live at home. To find a new home to live completely. It is true that you can live if you are a nomad, but for sedentary people like us, the best way to feel the country is to stay  more long time time in the same area. Most of tourist who book at the Green Elephant hostel are always a bit stressed because they have a plan to achieve, often for a too short time. And I often feel in contradiction with them. They propose me a lot of animations and trips but most of time I really don’t mind. I prefer to walk around my district, to have a dinner with my friends, play music in the bar close to my home, make sport, read, ... As in France actually !

In the North at the Permaculture Festival

First Abalimi Meeting

43th day

Today’s morning was a meeting day. All the field workers come together and discuss ideas, solve problems, set dates for workshops, plan implementation of changes, address. It’s a time to exchange and to understand each project and each other. We talked about check in, starting times Field Team meetings and summer work day, seedling order, fertilizer, UCT exchange nutrition training, Garden Center open, tomato harvest, farmer payment issue, replacement staff, lead gardens, proposed traines for apprentiship, Wesbank report required, assessment, ... 

Beach

47th day

There are a lot of beaches in Capetown and around. Most of them are windy because a strong constant wind blowing from west ocean side as on Camps Bay beach On the one hand it’s fine because it brings some fresh air, but on the other side, it’s boring because we cannot be really relaxed. Sometimes we find some covered beaches thanks to the rocks and the bay, as on Clifton’s beach. These great beaches remind me the Britain but added with a really strong sun and a very cold water. Except Musumberg beach, all the others I visited have a cold water and it’s almost impossible to bath. It may be about 14°C  cold. Really too much for me. I find it’s magical to go to the beach by train. There is a nice railway lied on the shore between Musumberg and Simon’s town. When you get off from the train you can reach the beach in two minutes only. That’s beautiful. It also reminds me the Lebanon with new houses and hostels (Camps bay and Clifton’s beaches) built right on the shore and sometimes old buldings from the beginning of 20th century. Sometimes it’s nice, sometimes it’s bad. But all is always clean. There are beaches for the families, for the rich and poor people, for gay people but it’s always relaxed and I think each person understand each other. The morning and the evening are better to stay on the sand. And it’s really impressive to stay until the sunset.``

Clifton beach

My things

47th day

I loose everything. I may leave by plane naked like a worm ! Last time, I lost my glasses in a garden and the day after I let my clothes on the beach even after checking everything with my friend. We were twice and we didn’t notice anything. I don’t understand. I’m really absent minded and carless. Every week I loose something. At the beginning of my trip I had already lost my hearphone, my cape, my shirt, my teeth cream and right now my sun-glasses, my jacket and my shirt. It is always my prefered articles I loose. But I have not to add my anxiety to my misfortune. It is really usefulness. So I must say to me that it’s a way to change my life and to live something new without always living in the past. A kind of sacrifice to be born again. However I will continue to look for it ...

Garden reportage

47th day

Thanks to the assessment of the garden managed by Fabiola, I’m right now able to meet some gardeners in order to make a reportage about their work, their relations with Abalimi and their life. So, I need to interview them and to stay at least on day with them to understand them. My goal is to report these meeting for my NGO Bahr Loubnan and the Agronomic High School of Florac to explain how Abalimi works in order to improve experience exchanges between our organizations. So, I need a car and to meet five or ten gardeners with Fabiola for my two last weeks in Abalimi. What the different stages of this work ? At first, we need to select the gardeners and to contact them to say to them when we will meet them. Afterwards, it is necessary to organize the day : interview, working, pictures. So we have to ask each gardener. I propose to begin to work with them early in the morning, to take some pictures and make an interview during the lunch time. We have to prepare all the meetings before with Fabiola. 

Ledziwe with a gardener

Cost of living

48th day

I’m going to rent a car next week from monday to friday and for the following week too. December, January and February are the pick season for the cost living. But anyway, the rent for a day is about R-180/ day. It is equal to 15 euros/day whereas in France it costs more than 50 euros/day for two weeks. It is really cheap even if the petrol prices are high for the south-african life level. It is comparatively to France very cheap. A meal with proper cheeseburger and cheaps cost R-50, so 4 euros ! But a twenty cigarettes pack costs R-80, so 6 euros, as in France. An accomodation for one month cost R-3300, so 250 euros. A nice wine bottle cost R-50, so 4 euros. But we can notice that Capetown’s accomodations are very expensive comparing to other cities in South-Africa. So, we can live without too much need with only 700 euros/month, only if we don’t travel too much !

Outbay market

Segregation

53th day

I noticed at the office that the staff is often divided in two groups. We think it is because of the colour of the skin but in fact it is above all because of the language. People who belong to a Xsosa or Zulu community are going to stay and to exchange together. It is normal because it is more easy to exchange and to share the same humour. I wanted to say that the behaviour of white people is special. They are not very relaxed maybe because there is a mixture between superiority and inferiority complex. They don’t dare to show they control because it is not politically correct and because the African will be always a cultural reference in a lot of fields to feel belong to African people. So white people are shared between theses two conquests !