Before we moved to Shabuta permanently, we had very little cultural impact in the community because we spent all our time building the center. Now, we promote African culture all day, every day. Our friends come to Shabuta to get their African spirits revitalized. We felt, just maybe, some of our cultural seeds were beginning to sprout already. Our friend then asked us, “Have you ever seen a traditional African wedding before?” My mind went straight to Baba’s and my wedding almost 50 years ago in East Africa. And we wondered what this “traditional” wedding would be like in 2011.

We suspected some non-traditional Christian elements would be present, just as some Muslim elements were present in our wedding. Ours was in Temeke, a small community near Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. And sure enough, our friend’s ceremony was officiated by their church minister (even though he removed his collar), just as our wedding was directed by the community sheik (religious leader). A sizable group of the community came to celebrate with us in Temeke. We were all seated on colorful mats with Baba, the sheik, and I in the center. It was inside a cool mud brick building.

The Gbanga celebration was outside in the family yard with everyone seated on chairs facing the minister. A group of village elders were all in a row behind a table. And after family introductions, the husband’s father gave a history of the groom describing his carousing bachelor days and admonishing him to forego all that for his new chosen life as a married man.

Elders, Groom's Father, and Minister

In Temeke, Tanzania, long ago, the sheik sat the two of us down before the real ceremony began and gave us a long counseling session. It was long partly because our Swahili was very poor at the time and he was determined that we understand everything before embarking on our new life together and partly because of the matter of cows. He asked Baba, “Where are your cows?” Since Baba had no cows, he decided 2800 shillings or $700 would suffice. Being almost completely unfamiliar with African customs we thought the wedding itself cost $700. But when Baba gave him the money, he turned it over to me!

Money was also a big factor in the Gbanga ceremony. As the father of the groom continued to talk about his son, he described a certain “bird” his son had seen and been attracted to. He spoke of how that “bird” had led him to a particular house. It was this very house that the young man had approached trying to seek out this beautiful “bird” at all costs. Well, the minister told him that he wasn’t sure the “bird” he was looking for was in that house. “What did it look like?”

“Oh, it had many beautiful colors that were shining all in the sunlight.” So the minister sent someone to look for the “bird” of many beautiful colors. When the person returned, she said, “Oh, there are many “birds” inside this house with beautiful colors. How will we know which one you want?” So the father said, “Bring them out and we will know.” Then we heard some beautiful singing and a whole group of women came dancing out surrounding a woman covered in many colorful lappas (cloths). When they reached the groom’s father, he reached out to take off the cloths and they stopped him, saying, they needed some “incentive” to remove the “feathers”. And so, the man had to pay for each cloth they removed. And, to the enjoyment of all, several “birds” had to come out before the real “bird” of his choice was unveiled.

"Bird" Covered with Many Lappas

The groom’s family was prepared for this and started out giving small denominations of money. I thought, “Oh, this is nice. It will only be token payment for ceremonial purposes.” Little did I know that as each “bird” was unveiled, it became more and more expensive to get those cloths removed until I was shocked at the amount of money paid out that day. And there were also gifts of traditional garments given to all family elders.

Elder Receiving a Gift Shirt

Although most of the Gbanga wedding party was already dressed in traditional-styled African garments, the father of the groom, minister, and most guests were in western attire. It gave a mixed modern/traditional air to the event. The bride and groom, however, were in spectacular African attire.

Bride and Groom

In 1960’s Temeke, I wore a garment I made by hand from some beautiful African cloth Baba selected at the market in Dar es Salaam. He wore his newly purchased African shirt. The sheik and all the community were dressed in African-styled garments.

East African Celebration

Maybe that was because there were no second-hand clothes blitzing across Africa as there are today. Tailors did a good business in those days and cloth with African-style designs was pervasive all over Africa. However, by the 1960’s, too much of the cloth was already produced in Europe.

Our ceremony in Temeke consisted of listening to verses read from the Koran. And the most beautiful part was when the sheik asked us for our commitment to each other. We confirmed several times, after which, he took a cord of sisal and tied one of each of our wrists together. He then led us outside to the court yard where everyone was singing and dancing a greeting to us and giving us congratulations. After the live music, we all had food together.

The ceremony in Gbanga was similar in that the minister put on his collar and began reading from the Bible. Then the music, dancing and food began. However, the music was recorded music with an MC and a PA system.

Elders Dancing

So what isa “Traditional African Wedding?”

Zulu Wedding Dance

What were the traditions like before Islam and Christianity were forced on our people? What do Baba and Mama mean by “Our Traditional African Culture?” Who remembers the ancient ways anyway?

Come to Shabuta and see!

Shabuta

Shabuta Cultural Sundays Flyer

As our children began to approach young adulthood, I saw them become stressed out at certain times – just like us. So I taught them a technique I devised to help deal with spikes of stress in my life. I’d just write down all the specific causes of this spike of stress. Then I rated each item on my “stress list” from one to five. Each week I checked the list and, amazingly, I noticed some items dropping from the list while others were causing less stress. And I felt better! I don’t remember what I figured out caused the technique to work.

A week or so ago I began to realize that Baba and I are doing much of the work we do now for the very first time. I must admit we’re living the dream we’ve had for fifty years, yet, in the back of my mind, I still held the storybook image of children and grandchildren coming to visit a big, old house where grandma and grandpa would just do the same things they did long ago: cook the same food, sing the same songs, tell the same stories from the rocking chairs. And, instead, we’re doing all these new things.

Farming

No wonder we’re overwhelmed! It would be one thing if they were all passive first experiences. However, they are mostly very active first experiences requiring plenty of action on our part. Maybe if I just write all the specific “firsts” down and share them with you, you’ll send us some of those inspirational comments you’ve been sending, and we won’t feel so overwhelmed. Maybe some of you have even dealt with being in such a new environment that you have found yourselves dealing with “too many firsts.”

1. Baba and I have never managed more than one-half acre of land at a time. So certainly managing a ten-acre farm and cultural preservation site is a mind boggling first for us.
   

   Trees on the Land

2. We’ve managed hundreds of people for performances and workshops for short periods of time, but never all day, every day. Just managing a staff of ten people each day is a big first for us too.
3. We’ve never dealt with animals at all. I think someone gave Baba a goat once, long ago when we lived in the capital, but we quickly gave it away when we found we had to bring it inside the house at night. I guess we didn’t appreciate goat manure like we do now. And still, aside from bush predators, we’re only dealing with chickens!
   

   Chickens

4. Thank goodness we’ve kept a vegetable garden for many years, but that’s nothing compared to farming in the tropical bush. And even when we had fifty pots of plants one year, it could never compare to the multitude of tree crops, fruits, vegetables, medicinal crops, ornamentals, green manure and “of interest” crops we deal with now.
   

   Tobacco Plant Just Sprouted on It's Own

And then there’s the steep learning curve we’re facing at every turn.

1. A big first for us is that we’ve never been so old before! We’re learning to drive a stick shift for the first time and I haven’t been able to get past the abominable stretch of road that begins at the end of our local farm road.
   

   County Road

2. We prepare all our foods – even oil – from scratch) from farm to table (forget the Magic Bullet). We’re looking forward to eventually getting all the adaptors and connectors that will allow us to connect everything to the solar energy supply we enjoy.
3. So we’ve been living right here in the forest this entire year with only partial electricity, no running water yet, our Humanure toilet, and all of that is a definite first (albeit a proud one).
4. We’ve also been trying to learn an undiluted Afrikan language that requires the mastery of tones, particularly unique sounds, and very subtle rhythmic cadences. Since all the African languages we’ve learned before have been in the category of trade languages, this is a first for us too.
5. A big first is learning to live with so many different kinds of insects. There’s one that we always thought, years ago, was dust. It clings to the walls and is shaped like tiny pumpkin seeds only grey or light colored. Then one day I saw one of them moving! This is definitely the first time we’ve felt so ignorant about so many things. And I can’t find that wall creeping bug anywhere on the internet. What is it??

Not all our “firsts” are so active. Some we experience quite passively no matter how deeply felt.

10. For instance, this is the first time we’ve ever been so far away from our children for so long. Even though our youngest “children”, the twins, are over 30 years old now, we are so closely knit that it’s still like parents and children when we’re all together. On the other hand, Baba and I were actually living with them in recent years and it was more like we left the nest when we came home to Africa.

11. It’s the first time we’ve felt so happy and confident that we’re making the best preparations for our family’s and other loved one’s future. I remember admiring one of our friend’s family’s annual reunion. They all come to their family’s land in the southern U.S.A. Their parents doggedly held on to at least enough land for their entire clan to lodge for this event. At first it was just one person who cared for the site, but gradually they all began to invest in the buildings and renovations of the site. Now they have a fantastic yearly event, conducting a “Susu” where they offer scholarships to the family youth.

12. It’s the first time we’ve felt such an outpouring of love going out from us and such an acute awareness of life. Love flows out for the simplest everyday incident like the innocent look of wonder on the face of a staff member when they see the screen as we start up the computer. Or, like today, Baba and I keep saying we’re going all the way through the grotto to the water, but each time we start out, we lose courage and turn back. Today we started again and were overjoyed to see that someone had cleared a beautiful path all the way to the water. We had never even mentioned it to anyone.

Grotto

13. How do we even describe this feeling of so much life all around us? Everything is resonating with vibrant life. It can be a little scary sometimes or sometimes you just forget to be afraid because the bug (or whatever) is so beautiful, you run to get the camera instead.

Anyway, thank you for listening (reading). I feel better already!

A Bug or a Flower?

We love three associates who work with us at Shabuta very much – like our sons. We’ve been working hard to encourage them toward planting and harvesting, but it seems we failed with one. His hunting instincts overcame him just recently. Maybe you can read the three profiles below and detect the signs that we missed. If you share your conclusion with us, it may help us to see the signs of a true planter/harvester as opposed to a hunter/gatherer. Maybe you can solve the mystery of the secret hunter.

First Profile

The first person’s age is between the late thirties and late forties. He’s married with a child. His wife is a trader and he helps her. She travels more often than he does and he handles the household affairs when she is gone. He is a hard worker, always willing if his schedule permits. His trade is building/construction and he has always maintained a small farm, sometimes with chickens. Having knowledge of both building and farming, two of the primary development imperatives of Shabuta, has placed him in a leadership position in terms of project decision-making. He has been instrumental in staffing decisions as well and when he has led us wrong, has gone out of his way to personally correct the errors of the employees he recommended. He also drives, a rare skill in these parts and willingly drives for us when his schedule permits. Driving in this small African country town involves navigating treacherous roads. He also has to help us make purchases because the haphazard post-war condition of walkways and shop entrances make it difficult for old people to maneuver the streets. He does all this without complaint. However, it is difficult to schedule activities that involve him because of his family commitments. Many valuable opportunities are lost because of this scheduling problem.

Builder's Project

Second Profile

The second person’s age is between the late twenties and late thirties. He is also married and has children. His wife is a farm wife, spending much time in her family’s farm. He is an energetic, hard worker who sees beyond the immediate task. He can add value to his work project and the entire site. His trade is farming and he is an artifacts craftsman. He is also a jeli (singer-storyteller) and doesn’t hesitate to end our meetings with an appropriate tale. He understands the mission of Shabuta and contributes his ideas to the implementation of our mission. His farm projects proliferate on the site from building nursery beds and coaxing my arugula and tatsoi seeds to grow, to planting a one acre-plus area on the south-western border of our land which we’re now harvesting. He has also made community connections with neighboring farmers. He rents lodging near the site for him and his family. Although he has a daily work schedule with us, he has many on-going outside projects including spending time on his wife’s family farm and he is almost always late to work and leaves early. This causes a problem with work and projects that are time sensitive.

Farmer's Harvest

Third Profile

This person’s age is between 50 and 60. He has a wife, children, and grandchildren. He is a leader with experience in many fields. His position is Chief of Security which he handles very well. He shows initiative and excels in follow-through. So he has brought many needed projects to our attention and has either found the person to do the work or completed the project himself. He is innovative and can devise traps to protect the crops from predators. Whenever there is a security person absent, he will arrange a replacement or personally replace the absent person. He always has sensible suggestions for problems that arise and so we rely on his opinion in most site matters. His kindly, but firm manner keeps the security staff in line while maintaining a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere on site. The staff trusts him to act on their behalf. He has built his own home and some other small property which he rents. Because of his age, there is a feeling among some younger staff that he doesn’t present a “strong” enough image for a security chief or that if there is a real emergency and there is need for strength or force, he will not be able to handle it. Because of his age, we hesitate to request him to do any task that requires youthful strength or fortitude.

Chief Trapped a Predator

Please help us out by sending your choice of “secret hunter”. You can either click “comment” on the blog’s page or send your response to shabutaso@gmail.com and we’ll respond with a thank you.

Cashew Tree

Cashew Fruit

Wild Mushrooms

We were truly like small children. A little later on, we got plantain and guava. In this month of September we get to harvest the cornucopia of foods we’ve planted since our arrival, the real First Fruits of Shabuta.

Greens! We’ve waited a long time for African greens: potato greens, water greens, kaless greens (mchicha/kalaloo), and the many other delicious greens that don’t have English names. Baba and I got into raw foods many years ago and I love raw greens. Each year we came, I would try African greens raw, but we could never chew them. So you can imagine our delight to find that water greens and kaless greens picked straight from the farm are tender enough to eat raw!

Water Greens

Mchicha/Kaless Greens

Potato greens, just picked, are tender too, but the raw flavor is so strong, it would take my raw foodist daughters to season them to deliciousness. I did mix some raw potato greens with some raw water greens and that was very nice. I’m just sorry most of these greens are so far on the other side of the farm, but I’ll be there every day picking my greens. Cassava leaf may be Liberia’s all-around favorite dish. It certainly is near the top of our list and it grows everywhere so we can have it whenever we like. We haven’t tried the pumpkin leaves yet. They’re way off in a different direction of the farm. I remember loving them in East Africa. We also planted some arugula, tatsoi, chard, and other western greens. I planted them early in the season and they were simply delicious. Then I tried to plant them again later in the season, but I failed. I’ve learned since then, from the farm workshop we sponsored, that I didn’t store the seeds correctly. Since using the techniques we learned for storing seeds in Africa, most of my seeds have remained viable.

We’re also harvesting the pumpkins. You need ten acres to plant African pumpkin. They run all over everything and love to bear these huge, smooth-skinned fruits that are hiding far away from the original seeds you planted. You have to practice spying them out deep in the foliage and bush.

Pumpkin Hiding in the Foliage

The saying goes that you shouldn’t point with your finger when you spot one, only point with your nose or “they will spoil”. Tomorrow we’ll go pumpkin hunting. I already know where an immensely huge one is, but I’ll save that to share with guests and look for a medium sized one. They are very unlike American Halloween pumpkins. The flavor and texture are more substantial. You’ll enjoy delicious and nutritious eating with African pumpkin.

There are many African foods that are bitter, sour, have a “draw” or are hot. Many of them are eaten for health benefits, but once you begin to enjoy most of them, you really can’t do without them. Take, for instance, bitterballs.

Bitterballs

They are in the tomato family, look like little eggplants and the big ones taste quite a bit like eggplant. The tiny ones are usually our favorites because they have that special African bitter twang to them that characterizes many African foods we love. Bitterballs were planted near the legendary African peppers. Naturally, we have lots of pepper.

Palm trees are ubiquitous on the farm. We love the red palm fruits and there’s nothing like the fresh oil.

Red Palm Fruit

Cassava root, with its more nutritious leaves, is all around too and when it’s fresh from the earth, who can refuse? I just wish cassava had nutritional benefits to match the eating enjoyment.

There have also been some wild fruits for which we don’t know an English word. Our one mango tree that is bearing was picked before we discovered it. We’re watching closely now for next year’s crop.

We feel blessed to have so many First Fruits. We couldn’t put most of our crops in the ground until we got the chickens in their house. They were eating all our seeds and destroying all our beds. At least we got to taste a few delicious ground peas (peanuts) that the chickens missed. The other ground peas, beans, tomatoes, rice, okra, cucumbers, etc. will ripen later, along with the late harvesting ginger and garlic.

Everyone here wants us to plant corn, but the corn seed available to us here is that suspect American stuff and so we refuse. We’re looking for some sorghum seed, though. If anyone has suggestions, please send them along. Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to our rice harvest. With the chickens in their house we hope the rice birds don’t eat it all.

Rice Growing near the Chicken House

Rogue – One who makes devious plots for stealing

Brigand – One who makes an enterprise with others for stealing

When we first came to the land before Shabuta had a name, we told everyone involved that we were building on this land for the community. This land was for the good of us all. So the question is asked all across our continent of Africa. The question is asked of the presidents in their western-styled executive offices to the children picking cashew fruit in the village fields: “Why steal from yourself?”

Our project manager with six years tenure disappeared soon after we arrived in January. The assistant was captured, arrested and deported to the capital three months later. Between the two of them we lost property and cash that set our project back thousands of dollars. In spite of this catastrophe, we give thanks for all our blessings. And most important of all, we’re still on course.

Bennu Bird Emerging from Fire and "still on course"

The staff we inherited upon our arrival was part and parcel of the thievery. They were woven into the fabric of the roguish exploitation of the land, for instance. Some destroyed the bamboo grove to make palm wine and we discovered they actually erected a “wine shop” at the intersection of the public road. We have always allowed staff to grow food for themselves and their families, but some grew cash crops and sold them. There were countless rogue schemes going on from “renting” the center for sleeping places to “renting” the land for producing charcoal. So when we moved in, they felt dispossessed. We’re just now seeing the disappearance of the attitude, “this was my land, my place to do with as I wished. You are unwelcome strangers.” This attitude is slowly being displaced with “this is our land”.

And yet, it’s not just a matter of firing the old staff and hiring a new set of people. Of course, the flagrant rogues were fired as soon as we confirmed their guilt. For others there’s no clear proof. In a village community you must take all possible repercussions from decisive actions into account. It takes more time. We just managed to let one old staff person go last week. That went well because we dangled the possibility of contracts coming his way later. There’s one more definite rogue left with two “maybes” still here too. There’s also the fact that since we hadn’t been living at Shabuta in recent years, we’d always counted on our management to select staff. So our selection process, acting as management ourselves, is very slow as we put everyone under the microscope.

Before the war, we never noticed a characteristic that we now see all too often in some people when they enter the center or even the compound. While they are greeting us with a cheerful voice and pleasant smile – their eyes! The eyes are darting over and scanning the entire area as if they are making a mental note of every item which might be of use to them. It is most distressing and discomfiting. For some of them, this mannerism has become a habit. They have no sinister intentions so they may unconsciously ask about something they didn’t see here before. For others, a plan to get those desired items takes shape in their minds – by thievery, roguery, or brigandry. In the old days before the war, I remember people displaying a very relaxed air when entering someone’s place with a sincere greeting in the eyes as well as the voice and the smile. When someone enters in this relaxed way it is such a treat. We all relax and truly enjoy each other.

There is also a small group of people we deal with – thankfully none on our staff – who stop just short of violence to get what they want. In fact, their language, both oral and body can be quite violent. These are the true brigands. They can be the easiest to deal with when we just let security handle them.

Managing a staff of seven to ten people all day, every day but Sunday, is pretty intense for us, even though we had a large enough family for many years: six to nine at various times. But we raised our own children from birth. There’s a big difference when you’re dealing with people other folks raised. We end up involved in the staff’s family “confusions”, their families’ celebrations, illnesses, deaths, and we’re always called upon when they have financial woes (at least one person almost every day). As far as they’re concerned, we could never have a financial woe. After all, we have “inside toilets”. Little do they know!

Thank goodness for friends, supporters, and guardians. Just as the thieves, rogues, and brigands are a sub-species of the hunters and gatherers; the friends, supporters, and guardians are a part of our circle of planters and harvesters. We’re always building this valuable circle and it’s truly growing. We give thanks.

Vai Alphabet Representing "Friends, Supporters, and Guardians"

Question: Why steal from yourself?

Answer: We don’t know who we are.

Question: Figure it out! Who are you?

Answer: I am ________, __________, _____________. (You fill in the blanks.)

Clean Slate

When the imperial powers decide to destroy a nation, a society, a culture; the strong nationalist voices are assassinated first. Only the pacified leaders and their zombie followers are in place to implement the imperial will. All the traditional culture is buried under the rubble of war and then even further buried under the imperial super-structure built atop the rubble.

People asked, “Why are you returning to Africa with all the terrible wars?” And I often said, “We’re returning because we see the possibility of renewal.” During the kinds of wars we’ve seen instigated across Africa, the collective consciousness of the people is subjected to a kind of “scorched earth” treatment. What is left can be seen as “a clean slate” – a big, new, shiny blackboard. We can rewrite, reseed, recover the best of African traditions and build on them.

However, cultural renewal is not usually given prominence in the rebuilding process. As soon as the “clean slate” is visible through the smoke of destruction, action takes place rapidly. First come the destroyers themselves with their weapons; hunting and gathering the choice areas on the “slate” (landscape) and forcibly securing them. Then they bring the lackey government officials hunting and gathering for their masters who assign them positions on the “slate”. Next enter the foreign opportunists hunting and gathering the cheapest, poorest quality goods and services to sell to those already in place and those to come. The local opportunists are then allowed to hunt and gather. They bring scams and schemes to take direct advantage of their fellow country people. The indigenous zombie population is then allowed a spot on the “slate” to be host bodies for all the parasitic hunters already in place.

Is there any room on the “slate” for planters/harvesters? Yes! On the big blackboard that was so clean and shiny for a brief moment in time, it seems the ancestors have preserved a small and beautiful section for us, the planters/harvesters. Some of us have found our spot on a “slate”. And although our areas might be idyllic, finding other planters and harvesters is not easy. We are surrounded by hunters and gatherers – just like anywhere else on this planet. We may see that spark of light in the eye of a farmer in the village – an exciting and rare experience, but we’ve learned that nurturing that spark is critical and time sensitive.

We were separated too long from a beautiful, potentially strong planter/harvester and she became a jaded zombie by the time we returned. What a loss to Afrika! To find planters and harvesters among those educated in the western system is also rare. When we meet them we treasure and work to form a lasting bond with them. We give thanks for the planters and harvesters that form our bridge-builders all over the world, building Kpawo, the bridge. We’re planning rigorously to have a group of you here together in the not too distant future and on a regular basis thereafter.

All over Afrika there are small groups of planters/harvesters preserving our cultural life-force through our music, dance, visual arts, oral arts and our literature. When you travel across the bridge, look for us in our areas on the not-so clean “slates”. We welcome you!

Welcome! - Dan Hospitality Spoon

The huntress was forced to return the captured money.

The story is finished.

Peace

They came on Sunday, as promised, with good samples of just what we needed, real cotton Country Cloth. She quickly had her husband write up a contract. It included cloth (which is woven in strips), some of the strips sewn into lappas (wrappers), shirts, and a gown (men’s long over-garment). We gave her the cash. “We always deliver our product one week before the event,” she said. Our friend who referred her had said, “Watch her quality. Visit her studio regularly because, if rushed, her quality suffers.”

And so we did visit her studio very frequently at first and she visited the center often, bringing other excellent samples, coming to dinner, and never failing to raid a fruit tree or some crops before she left. After a few weeks she and her husband began to be absent from their studio when we came there – “on workshop” somewhere else. It became clear to us that we would not have our entire order ready on time. We only hoped the pieces we had seen in production would be ready.

One week before the event we went to collect whatever she had ready for us. Nothing! “The day before, come. You will get it.” she said. The day before the event was, of course, very hectic. Baba couldn’t go, so I just passed and grabbed the cloth strips she gave me. Only those four items were ready of the ten specified in the contract she wrote up. I brought them to the textile expert, Baba. “This is not cotton”, he said in disappointment. “It’s not traditional Country Cloth. It’s plastic and can’t be sold in our center. We promised real Country Cloth and so did she.”

Real Cotton Country Cloth

So back to the huntress who claimed it was cotton and brought us the thread spools to prove it. The labels in the spools said “100% polyester”. She and her husband begged and pleaded ignorance and we were so stressed by then that we had nothing to do but accept the fact that we’d have no cloth.

She showed up early for the event. She worked hard in the kitchen preparing and gathering and packing all the food she could – for herself. We gave thanks that the event went extremely well. We even took all the artists home (including the huntress) and thought that we’d just have to find another artist to get Country Cloth to our guests.

The next day I received a beautiful thank you email from the leader of the group of guests we had hosted at the center. She was so happy with the event. And thanked us for sending the woman who, at the end, had followed her to her car just before they drove off and sold her “Country Cloth” shirts and lappas ….

So the huntress was in peak form. She hunted, spying out everything possible to steal and she captured her booty gathering it all in her lappa (knapsack). Then she had her victims carry her home without knowing their goods, food, and money were in her possession. One young woman on our staff said, “She’s one hell of a woman.”

Hindsight is 20/20 and this story is not finished.

The War Horn

Baba's Painting - "N'ko"

It seems that being cultural artists and farmers is a perfect balance for living and working in Africa. In the rainy season we are working hard planting on the farm and at the same time, planning and preparing our cultural arts projects. In the dry season we work hard presenting our cultural arts projects and planning and preparing our farm projects. And so, right now, during the rains, we are writing a lot about farming because we’re doing a lot of planting.

Mama's Farm Tools

Another reason we write about farming is because we are continually amazed at the immensely broad applications in life of all the lessons we learn from farming. For instance, we had our first farmers’ training here at Shabuta. The agronomist came from the farm research center near Gbanga. One of the images he used to bring home the importance of farming is one of those applications that goes way beyond farming. He told us that our ancestors were hunters and gatherers. They were blessed with much land and had few people. They were able to live in an area and survive from hunting and gathering until the resources of the area were exhausted and then they would move on to another area and repeat the same process. He then had us imagine one of those ancestors dropping a fruit seed and noticing, after some time, that it was becoming a tree. And so, farming was born.

The chickens on our farm are prime examples of hunters and gatherers. Only the chief rooster and the hen bother to really gather. And that’s for the babies, just to protect their captured food long enough for the chicks to get there. These chickens wake up in the morning and announce that they are on the hunt and if you have anything to eat, come immediately! The only time you see them not hunting is when the sun is hot and they have to find shade to hide in. We don’t kill and eat them because we only want them for the compost they can produce. Trying to entice them to stop so much hunting, we built a house to feed them, but these are bush chickens and it seems they must be in the fields to pillage and destroy all our crops and compost. They can burrow under the chicken house, they can pry the chicken wire loose, and they throw themselves onto the screening until it breaks loose – very determined to hunt and gather. Many people are hunters and gatherers in contemporary society all over the world today. Some people are as dedicated to hunting and gathering as our chickens.

I think of hunting and gathering as spying out and capturing the elements needed for your and your family’s survival from resources you had no input in producing. It implies an imminent threat to your survival and the need to put reciprocal considerations aside, keeping only survival paramount. Our family has been in the hunting and gathering predicament a few times. Each time we were moving quickly to exit the hunting and gathering mode and move on to planting and harvesting.

Planting and harvesting can begin when you find a need in your surroundings which resonates with your life path so that you can create a means to fulfill that need and still reap a harvest for you and your family – a harvest that allows you to flourish in the life you want to lead. Our farming workshop trainer even said that once the ancestors discovered they needn’t pick up every few years and find a new place to begin all over again, they had time to meditate and grow. They could watch the stars and become astronomers or look within and without to become cultural artists.

Hunting and gathering in modern society is a sad thing to see. War can be a cause. During and after a war it may be inevitable. People may be forced to live in the crudest of dwellings, forced to grab something fast before someone else gets it, to eat wild food found in the bush or grab food in the market before others get it. You may even have to eat all your seed grain or sell or trade your tools and instruments. The critical issue is to be able to recognize when the seed can now be allowed to fall on the ground and take root – and other seeds planted; to realize the value of planting before harvest, and to have the strength and courage to make the change-over from hunting and gathering.

To see a contemporary society in perpetual hunting and gathering mode is  appalling. Theft is rampant, cheating is considered “normal”, and there is no honesty or trust among the members of the society. It can happen that some members recognize that the opportunity to plant and harvest has been ignored and they form a “planting and harvesting” group within that society, a group determined to follow the path of reciprocity. It’s a miraculous phenomenon to witness or to be a part of.

And if entire nations are hunters and gatherers, you have what we see in this world today. What could be more terrifying than the rape and pillage of weaker nations by the devourer nations? The destroying nations have stable and very high standards of living; their survival is certainly not threatened by any of the weaker nations they continue to plunder. Their refusal to make the change to planting and harvesting has to be caused by their sickness – the sickness of insatiable greed.

We learn a lot from farming.

Reciprocity

The Talking Tree

#1

Once upon a time …. There was a young man 20 years old. He said he would come and help us on the farm. We remembered his helpful and pleasant manner as a small boy ten years earlier and he’d kept in occasional touch via phone and email while we sent money for his school fees. We consulted with his family, got their approval, and decided to allow him to stay at the center until his technical school term began in July. I said, “It’s been 10 years since we’ve been around you. Who are you now?” He sat under the talking tree and said, “I’m a good boy. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I don’t steal. I will be Baba’s personal body guard.”

Immediately, he showed amazing talent in all matters electrical. Our project advisor was astonished when the young man was able to handle the solar installation. And he was still the personable and respectful young man we remembered: up at 6am to heat bath water for us, always willing to help and take over any heavy or cumbersome task Baba or I needed help with. It was the same with everything he touched from carpentry to frame making, composting to cooking and sewing. He caught on quickly and learned to value excellence in his work. So we gave him access to any tools he requested including the computer and tutored him in any new areas of study he expressed interest in.

One day he “got missing” for a day. He turned up the next day, apologized saying he took a day off and it wouldn’t happen again. Several weeks later, he came home one afternoon and passed out in a drunken stupor. He swore someone got him to try palm wine for the first time.

Then one day, fifty dollars was taken from Baba’s pocket after he’d fallen asleep in his chair. Only the two of them were in the room. We began to look through our stored boxes and found various electrical apparatus missing. When we sent him home to get his mother and return with her to discuss the issues that had arisen, he had already taken the laptop and digital camera that very morning.

We moved quickly enough to recover the computer and camera (with memory card missing), but he was a shocking and heart-breaking sight in police custody, screaming and denying everything until his accomplices’ confessions forced him to confess too.

What was the untold story we never heard under the talking tree?

#2

Once upon a time …. There was another young man about 40 years old. We knew him well for over ten years. He was easy-going, always pleasant and never in a rush. When others insisted on riding, he was content to walk. He worked slowly at his mason’s craft and seldom completed his project to Baba’s satisfaction. He always seemed to leave off finishing the project and never got back to make it look “correct”. If he said he was coming tomorrow morning, it might be in a day or two or at least late the next day. I remember leaving without him, on occasion, when he’d be late. He sat under the talking tree and said, “I’m a simple mason and that’s all.”

On the evening we called to tell him the computer and camera had been stolen. We were surprised to see him arrive in the next 30 minutes! He said, “That boy has not left the area. I will be up tomorrow at 6am and catch him!” Baba and I said, “Hunh, we’ll never see those things again.”

About 7am the next morning we got a call from our “simple mason” and he said he’d been at the road which exits the town since 5am. He almost caught the thief and he was still waiting in a hidden area and would catch him.

It took the rest of the day, including a high speed chase on motor bikes, a crash, and a chase in an abandoned farm before he finally got the rogue and his gang. The next morning he was here at 7am rushing Baba out to recover the stolen items. He stuck with the case for several days until all was recovered and the thief dealt with.

What was his untold story we never heard under the talking tree?

The Talking Tree