UMPHAKATSI TILL XMAS & COP17
Soon after rainbow, I saw One Earth Festival was happening at Elandskrans in Watervalboven, not too far away, and not having danced in a long time, just had to go! Caught a bus at 5.30am with my backpack to just after Badplaas, where the laughing bus dropped me at the turnoff to hitch to Machadodorp. I eventually shared the back of a bakkie with some friendly people, and the eloquent Swazi driver dropped me on the N4, where after a while a kind Sotho driver transporting tanks dropped me at the road into Watervalboven. As I walked into town a kind Afrikaans lady offered me a lift to Elandskrans, gave me her packet of slap chips and lectured me all the way on how Jesus was the only one who could save the world!
I was officially the first unofficial arrival at One Earth, but they graciously told me to set up my tent and await orders for working a shift for my ticket. As I was resting, Derek who’d been in our Namibia expedition, arrived with Candy, and Hugo, his DJ friend, and Steph and Anthony and gradually Karolina and Michael and more… and all camped at my tree too! Then followed 3 days of ecstatic and continuous dancing to amazing music! I wrote the daily mayan dreamspell energy readout on a big board, and Ewald and Soozi arrived with Kathy and Fleurbaby, an d did a lovely 11-11 pipe ceremony. On my shift at the gate I worked with Yvette, and met her friend Trippy, an amazing artist who had created a 4-elements chill tent and made totems for the 4 directions in the circle, and beautiful dreamcatchers. On the last night was having such a lovely dance, just went with the wild storm that ricocheted through the stretchie while we were all gyrating underneath!
So I was exhausted on Monday and missed lifts, ended up having to walk out on Tues right till the highway, where I got a lift to Machododorp. I stood hitching for a while, but it was already too late to get the bus from Nhlazatshe to Steyns, so I went looking for a place to sleep… In Build-it buying some gas for my little stove, the kind shop lady asked me about where I had been and where I was going, and then she ran off to ask a tannie if I could sleep in my tent on her lawn. The kind tannie graciously led me to a patch of lawn, offered me the tap, and let me use her bathroom! Next morning early I was on the road, and got a lift with a kind Zulu man who dropped me at a taxi stop where I was soon off to Nhlazatshe, with time to internet before catching the bus! The walk back from the village was hard, but I made it again!
Then Sarah, who was just off to Egypt, asked me to escort 2 young people to COP17, to join a group of young people there. Managed to get in contact with the kids and Walter Mugove Nyika, from Malawi seedingschools project (www.seedingschools.org), who had organised this trip to empower young people to speak out creatively about climate change. Me, Ndumiso and Smange, two teenagers from Steynsdorp finally reached Durban after a high endurance trip of 3 taxi trips and joined the lovely crowd: Walter Mugove, a permaculture trainer in Malawi, Alex and Millie, two volunteers from UK who had raised the money for the children’s caravan project, Kerry-Ann, a volunteer UK drama teacher who had come to formulate the performance with the kids’ poetic offerings, Gertrude, a community permaculturist and amazing lady from Zambia, with Mayeba, a young Zambian boy. From Malawi came two amazing kids, Jasper and Iptisaam, who had written beautiful poems. And from Eastern Cape, Nokwanda and Mzamo who had also helped organise everything, with Nonhle, a music motivator, and 3 lovely young people, Siyabonga and Lovu, amazing dancers, and Portia, an amazing singer and dancer. And there was also Chiya, the admin asst. for the project who was always smiling, and we were joined briefly by Charles, a gentle smiling man, who was on the board of trustees, from Malawi.
And the next day all the young persons produced their offerings and together with Kerry a performance was created! Of singing, music, poems, a small play, and the Mayan invocation to all the directions! We had a great time practising at Banana Backpackers where we were all staying, meeting loads of people from all over the world who had come to attend COP17 and eating abundant meals together which we shared in preparing. We attended some lectures at UKZN, the children performed there, and were recorded singing live on SABC3, got a trip or two in to the beach, and the children attended a tree-planting workshop, registering to become active representatives for planting trees. And Gertrude and I, because we were both vegetarian, together with Chiya, got to go the Vegan banquet sponsored by Master Ching Hai at the Olive Convention Centre, which was a real treat! We were treated as honourable guests by hosts and hostesses dressed up in beautiful costumes from around the world, and served a six-course gourmet vegan meal while listening to speeches and the film 11th hour, about how the highest contributor to climate change is actually the livestock meat industry, which pours tons of methane into the atmosphere, not to mention the deforestation, overgrazing and cruelty that goes with it. The livestock industry generates more than 50% of total global emissions. Because methane dissolves faster than carbon dioxide, if we stopped eating meat, the situation would rebalance far faster, in fact within a few months!
But of course, who of you meat eaters are going to stop? Just like who is going to stop frantically pursuing profit despite the fact that our current lifestyle and business approach obviously are a danger towards our own extinction! Unless we take the giant step out of this enslavement to a greedy dinosaur system that ignores the spirit of Life, and become warriors for taking care of ourselves, our fellowman and our earth, this is our one-way ticket mate!
I opted out long ago, and although I live a totally insecure life, I have become immensely stronger in being with whatever happens, happy with what I have, content with simplicity, and trusting and grateful every day for what the universe provides. I have met and connected with so many kind and amazing people, and given, received and shared. I am still a trainee on the path of maintaining intent, and I still go for crisps and chocolate when I am in mall and supermarket world, but I am hugely glad when I escape the environment that goes with it of ugly buildings and concrete and huge motorways and millions of cars, and I can lie back on a cool rock under a tree. ‘We’ve got to come together now to listen to our hearts, we’ve got to come together now and turn living into art.’ That’s a song of mine.
So back here at Umphakatsi and faced with the challenges of working to change the mindset of only money can create and of destroying nature, here I sit again. I would love a home and deep love and a space of love natural paradise and community, children all around, making beautiful things and singing and dancing. It is sometimes hard to keep going, but I just live from day to day, and somehow regenerate trust that my intent will manifest someday, if I just do what needs to be done today.
Soon after rainbow, I saw One Earth Festival was happening at Elandskrans in Watervalboven, not too far away, and not having danced in a long time, just had to go! Caught a bus at 5.30am with my backpack to just after Badplaas, where the laughing bus dropped me at the turnoff to hitch to Machadodorp. I eventually shared the back of a bakkie with some friendly people, and the eloquent Swazi driver dropped me on the N4, where after a while a kind Sotho driver transporting tanks dropped me at the road into Watervalboven. As I walked into town a kind Afrikaans lady offered me a lift to Elandskrans, gave me her packet of slap chips and lectured me all the way on how Jesus was the only one who could save the world!
I was officially the first unofficial arrival at One Earth, but they graciously told me to set up my tent and await orders for working a shift for my ticket. As I was resting, Derek who’d been in our Namibia expedition, arrived with Candy, and Hugo, his DJ friend, and Steph and Anthony and gradually Karolina and Michael and more… and all camped at my tree too! Then followed 3 days of ecstatic and continuous dancing to amazing music! I wrote the daily mayan dreamspell energy readout on a big board, and Ewald and Soozi arrived with Kathy and Fleurbaby, an d did a lovely 11-11 pipe ceremony. On my shift at the gate I worked with Yvette, and met her friend Trippy, an amazing artist who had created a 4-elements chill tent and made totems for the 4 directions in the circle, and beautiful dreamcatchers. On the last night was having such a lovely dance, just went with the wild storm that ricocheted through the stretchie while we were all gyrating underneath!
So I was exhausted on Monday and missed lifts, ended up having to walk out on Tues right till the highway, where I got a lift to Machododorp. I stood hitching for a while, but it was already too late to get the bus from Nhlazatshe to Steyns, so I went looking for a place to sleep… In Build-it buying some gas for my little stove, the kind shop lady asked me about where I had been and where I was going, and then she ran off to ask a tannie if I could sleep in my tent on her lawn. The kind tannie graciously led me to a patch of lawn, offered me the tap, and let me use her bathroom! Next morning early I was on the road, and got a lift with a kind Zulu man who dropped me at a taxi stop where I was soon off to Nhlazatshe, with time to internet before catching the bus! The walk back from the village was hard, but I made it again!
Then Sarah, who was just off to Egypt, asked me to escort 2 young people to COP17, to join a group of young people there. Managed to get in contact with the kids and Walter Mugove Nyika, from Malawi seedingschools project (www.seedingschools.org), who had organised this trip to empower young people to speak out creatively about climate change. Me, Ndumiso and Smange, two teenagers from Steynsdorp finally reached Durban after a high endurance trip of 3 taxi trips and joined the lovely crowd: Walter Mugove, a permaculture trainer in Malawi, Alex and Millie, two volunteers from UK who had raised the money for the children’s caravan project, Kerry-Ann, a volunteer UK drama teacher who had come to formulate the performance with the kids’ poetic offerings, Gertrude, a community permaculturist and amazing lady from Zambia, with Mayeba, a young Zambian boy. From Malawi came two amazing kids, Jasper and Iptisaam, who had written beautiful poems. And from Eastern Cape, Nokwanda and Mzamo who had also helped organise everything, with Nonhle, a music motivator, and 3 lovely young people, Siyabonga and Lovu, amazing dancers, and Portia, an amazing singer and dancer. And there was also Chiya, the admin asst. for the project who was always smiling, and we were joined briefly by Charles, a gentle smiling man, who was on the board of trustees, from Malawi.
And the next day all the young persons produced their offerings and together with Kerry a performance was created! Of singing, music, poems, a small play, and the Mayan invocation to all the directions! We had a great time practising at Banana Backpackers where we were all staying, meeting loads of people from all over the world who had come to attend COP17 and eating abundant meals together which we shared in preparing. We attended some lectures at UKZN, the children performed there, and were recorded singing live on SABC3, got a trip or two in to the beach, and the children attended a tree-planting workshop, registering to become active representatives for planting trees. And Gertrude and I, because we were both vegetarian, together with Chiya, got to go the Vegan banquet sponsored by Master Ching Hai at the Olive Convention Centre, which was a real treat! We were treated as honourable guests by hosts and hostesses dressed up in beautiful costumes from around the world, and served a six-course gourmet vegan meal while listening to speeches and the film 11th hour, about how the highest contributor to climate change is actually the livestock meat industry, which pours tons of methane into the atmosphere, not to mention the deforestation, overgrazing and cruelty that goes with it. The livestock industry generates more than 50% of total global emissions. Because methane dissolves faster than carbon dioxide, if we stopped eating meat, the situation would rebalance far faster, in fact within a few months!
But of course, who of you meat eaters are going to stop? Just like who is going to stop frantically pursuing profit despite the fact that our current lifestyle and business approach obviously are a danger towards our own extinction! Unless we take the giant step out of this enslavement to a greedy dinosaur system that ignores the spirit of Life, and become warriors for taking care of ourselves, our fellowman and our earth, this is our one-way ticket mate!
I opted out long ago, and although I live a totally insecure life, I have become immensely stronger in being with whatever happens, happy with what I have, content with simplicity, and trusting and grateful every day for what the universe provides. I have met and connected with so many kind and amazing people, and given, received and shared. I am still a trainee on the path of maintaining intent, and I still go for crisps and chocolate when I am in mall and supermarket world, but I am hugely glad when I escape the environment that goes with it of ugly buildings and concrete and huge motorways and millions of cars, and I can lie back on a cool rock under a tree. ‘We’ve got to come together now to listen to our hearts, we’ve got to come together now and turn living into art.’ That’s a song of mine.
So back here at Umphakatsi and faced with the challenges of working to change the mindset of only money can create and of destroying nature, here I sit again. I would love a home and deep love and a space of love natural paradise and community, children all around, making beautiful things and singing and dancing. It is sometimes hard to keep going, but I just live from day to day, and somehow regenerate trust that my intent will manifest someday, if I just do what needs to be done today.
Planning at Banana Backpackers base with Walter Mugove Nyika
From back row, l-r: Kerry, Smange, Siyabonga, Iptisaam, Portia, Nonhle, Ndumiso, Jasper, Lovu, Mayeba - the performance grouop
back row, l-r: Kerry, Gertrude, Alex, Ndumiso, Chiya, Siyabonga, Smange, Mzamo, Mayeba, Millie, Portia, Iptisaam, Jasper, Lovu
Nonkwanda & Nonhle
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