On national women’s day holiday in South Africa I sacrificed to board a fully loaded tax to visit my friend who stays 30km away in low density suburbs. The welcome I received upon my arrival shows that they were longing to see me, my friend, his wife and even his neighbor who heard the warm welcoming shouts and spied couldn’t contend himself and shouted welcoming greetings. The last time I visited my friend was in March before the COVID 19 lockdown and I thought it was the reason they gave me such a warm welcome but I found out that I was wrong there was much more than that.

My friend’s homestead have a big backyard where his wife used grow almost all kind of flowers, their house is at the center and the front is paved nicely with only one big tree at the corner where there is nice round portion of green lawn under the tree. Upon my arrival without even settling down my friend’s wife took me to the backyard, to her flower garden. As she opened the backdoor I was awestruck , the garden which used to bloom with flowers was now colourful and greener with food and medicine. She stepped aside so that I can take the lead and have the full view of the wonderment, stepping on the small stone pathway I bend down to pick the colourful leaf of the red butter head lettuce to munch, it was juice and delicious, the way her face lit up and smile as I was munching the leaf I saw that she was totally happy to see someone eating the food she grew with her own hands. Consumed by the way the flower garden was turned in five months to be a food garden, I was awakened by the musical sound that comes from the far corner. The music that lured me to Kingdomcome was produced by hens preparing to lay eggs before I could go and see the chickens around the corner of the house comes the tap tap sound that sounds like the old school dancing shoes on the dance floor. The sound comes from the hoofs of two healthy young Boer goats they were racing towards us with their shining red heads and white bodies, it was all, oh wow, so wonderful, my heart stoodstill. Still totally frozen in my amazement I was startled by the old bitch which was the only living animal they used to have, every time I visited I used to cuddle and caressed it , so she barked for attention. The old bitch comes to us whining , when I was caressing her, giving the treat she dearly loves my friend calls us to the dinning room.

Approaching the dinning room my nose was filled with the smell of delicious food. The dinning room table was displayed like the one displayed by a professional restaurant attendant, and the food that was there looks like the one cooked by the professional chef with many years of experience. I couldn’t believe that my friend was the one who cooked the food that was on the table but the fact that the food was steaming hot and there was no one in the kitchen beside of him and his three years old son. I was totally impressed by how the young couple have changed their lifestyle in only a matter of five months, my friend was now a good cook not only a husband and they were now growing their own health food. We ate the food, lightly discussing the impact of the the Corona virus pandemic to the economies and how it affects the social well-being of societies. After eating my friend carried three camping chairs and he instructed me to carry other two extras I didn’t know who was going to sit on them because we were only three of us, their son carried his own little small chair.

We took the chairs to the big tree which provided a nice cool shade and the lawn under the tree adds the refreshment. His wife brought cool homemade pineapple wine which they brewed themselves, my mouth watered as I last taste wine and beer before the lockdown. Without wasting time I filled my wineglass to the brim and justed drained it at once my friend and his wife laughing at the way I was drinking. Laughing together joyfully we were interrupted by the knock at the gate and her wife rushed to open the gate and there comes his two neighbors and their wives which means two more chairs were added because we were now seven. The way their neighbors greeted me even though we didn’t shake hands because of the Corona virus disease their warm greetings to me showed that they were more than happy to see me and before I could figure out what was going on, I realized that I was the guest of honor when my friend’s wife brought a flag of country Zimbabwe waving it while everyone cheers Zimbabwean lives matter.

When the cheering ends and everyone was settled, my friend’s neighbor who was older than all of us said , we are more happier that you are with us today, and we want you to shade some light about what is really going on in Zimbabwe as you are the one who is capable of getting first hand information from your family and friends who are there. My friend laughingly joked that, Farai knows nothing about Zim current affairs I haven’t seen him posting the trending hashtag on his profiles or status on social media you better ask him how to live sustainably in a politically unrest, corruption ridden country otherwise his answer is ‘ run away to ….  . My response was to scratch my head, I was really dumbstruck because I am not used to political discussions and I view politics as a game played on media with no real solutions to the problems we are facing even my friend knows that I loathe politics but he was pressuring me to answer this day and he knows how to makes me answer. His question that made me respond was,

Do You Think That The Trending Hashtag Will Bring About Positive Change That Will Sustain Zimbabwean People

Before answering I wiped sweat from my nose, oh man, I was sweating my nose and I was a bit trembling. When I looked at the seriousness in every face, I felt like a thousand eyes were looking at me. Deep in my thoughts I lifted my wineglass and sipped the delicious homemade wine, in the process I gained courage, and the first words that comes to me, I know that everyone was going to criticize them including me, myself , but I just said them with a clear bold voice , politics is not the answer,  I said  and paused to check every pair of eyes,  the message in every face told me that I had caught everyone off guard with my answer. Then quickly before being interrupted I continued…

‘ In 2017 the majority of the the Zimbabwean populace celebrated the removal of Robert Mugabe replaced by  Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa the Crocodile. The whole nation enchanted endearments including some of the influential artists the General Chiwenga was regarded as a hero. Everyone was happy about the new leadership not the ability of that leadership to change the economy for the better. They were given power by people instead of it back so that they will be given more they keep it for themselves. The real issue is that our politicians don’t know what is leadership, instead of leading people and have them follow them, they push them , they are not leaders but they are managers. They use the power that they given with people willingly to exploit people and loot from the economy, and the saying that says ‘ politics is a dirty game ‘ looking at our politicians it is true.

You all know that politics is failing us , for a example if you look at the issue of climate change, climate change is real and every leader either political or cultural even family heads must be aware of it but these so called politicians are turning a blind eye to it and the world over politics goes with corruption and oppression we can’t deny it. Politicians to me are just individuals who think they can manage the lives of others better than they can manage themselves. These politicians are taking a lot of things for granted all they think is their political self interests are noble somehow than the economy they run.

On my own point of view, I find no reason to believe that this guys, the politicians, have gained knowledge and learned to have a better say on how I live my life and raise my family than I do. All these politicians are weaponize everything depriving commoners to grow and prosper like this pandemic it is used as a weapon to gain political muscles, weakening other oppositional political parties. The situationtuation in my country is  so touching and sensitive me to say politics is not the answer to people’s cries, because people are witnessing these politicians especially from the ruling party and elite individuals ganging up to take the resources given unlimited to the population for their own use over detriment commoners. In Zimbabwe we have a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs some of them so young and bright but are affected by the atmosphere brought about by politicians and felt very negative. Commoners have no rights to land ownership in Zimbabwe taking away the responsibility of individuals to provide for themselves and their families.

I have seen people being relocated from their lands where their ancestors lived and prosper on small farms for decades to unhabitable settlements just because an elite individual with a strong political arm have his or her self interests on that land, the good example is Grace Mugabe the wife of the former president the late Robert Mugabe, she dislocated a community of many families who were earning a decent living from the land she wanted to use just to earn her own income at the expenses of fifty something families’ lives and legacies. The ruling party forerunners facilitated the closure of big mines which were not only positively contributing to the GDP of the nation but where thousands and thousands if not a millions were earning  a living, we have Shabhani Mashava mines  thousands of mine employees were left to suffer without any income other than illegal mining which is dangerous and some were left to die of illnesses caused by the mining environment due to lack of healthcare and compensation, furthermore to add adversity upon them, they chased them out of the mine compounds so that they may run school businesses Great Zimbabwe State University ‘GZU‘ – Midlands State University ‘MSU’ , oh man hell s**t , where are those graduates going to work after you give them those *******, as for me, I myself, if I were a graduate from GZU Mashava campus or MSU Zvishavane campus I would have been ashamed, it is a devilish shame to take a *******  that will never change my life and my economy at the expense of thousands of poor souls. They put people in desperate situations, because it limit them to self sustainability. Their ignorance caused mainly by their evil intentions made them unaware that self sustainability is to become self sufficient not just from a food source but an income source as well, so it is totally impossible to be self sustainable on an unhabitable settlement or a confined place without an income or a productive activity.

The fact that politicians thinks that their political self interests are noble, they don’t choose their appointees on the basis of the merit of the people appointed, they do it on the basis of their political cloud. Recently the president Mnangagwa the crocodile appointed his vice president the General Chiwenga  as the minster of health and child care after the former minster Obadiah Mpofu was removed from the position because he was accused of being corrupt exposed by the political prisoner right now Hopewell Chin’ono , aka Daddy Hope on social media ,of which the corruptive deal include Mnangagwa’s son and his company Drax.  The General Chiwenga’s merit on his newly appointed position is negative because he was and I think he still is against employees serving on the health sector, he thought that their demands of fair salaries and better working conditions are absurd, devaluating and demotivating them which compromise the already malfunctioning health sector which is too dangerous during this difficult times of the pandemic. These politicians judging by what they are practically doing they are saying to us, ‘we are managing your rights, so we must earn all the income and take away all the opportunities that are available’.

The unsustainable leadership in Zimbabwe, where leaders are not in touch with the people their lead, where leaders dread to be in the shoes of the people they lead and where the military force is used to take away the rights of citizens to a larger extend this unsustainable leadership is the one that is gravely trashing our economy. I can say from the mouth of these politicians democracy and freedom means nothing like s**t and f**k out of an hip hop artist’s mouth. What I see when I looked at the situation in my country is that the pandemic comes as a blessing in disguise to these politicians it brings opportunities to satisfy their their own political interests.

The time I said, politics is not the answer, what I really meant was with the use of social media, as politics is a game played on media we are now being easily controlled and manipulated by arguments that are only made to appease advocacy losing our solid goal on the way.  If you were my fellow Zimbabweans, I would have asked you what do we really want to achieve to be our better selves and show the world that we really matter? Is it right to action, right to grow our own incomes, right to properties, right to self sustainability , right to grow and prosper or we need managers of our rights. Change is welcome, yes ZANU PF Must Go, but if we don’t have solid goals for that change we better stop playing politics. The trending hashtag can be a catalyst for a change if we Zimbabwean people develop a self trust of a positive growth and take responsibility for our actions and be on the lead, we must not be lead by the outside world, the struggle is ours spectators with banners, we better fight for what we believe in , fight for the unjust oppression .

Lastly exhausted I said there will be never a politics or micro economy of sufficiency until there is a culture of it that demands it. Collective action, community engagement is really need for us to solve our problems, political unrest, economic hardships, environmental problems and social justice.

Everyone one laughed when I lifted my wineglass saying my last words to close the matter, respect hashtag Zimbabwean lives matter …oh salute resilience, I love Chinese. We all retreated to the backyard to be soothed by the greens listening to the music produced by chickens from the coop. The trending hashtag departed from my mind now I was thinking about how can I take this garden to my small compound so that I will be partly self reliance because I dread to go to the supermarket to buy food contaminated with super bugs.

Population growth is skyrocketing while deserts are advancing causing economic hardships especially in the Sub Saharan Africa. Looking at the poorest countries in Sub Saharan Africa economies the growing population rely on domestic food production so due to climate extremes and poor soil productivity people are caught in the middle of a poverty trap.

The case of sub Saharan Africa seems hopeless, water is becoming scarce and the fertile topsoil is eroded putting the agriculture sector at risk. Malnutrition, starvation, and ingestion of contaminated food and water is the leading cause of illness and death in the sub Saharan Africa particularly for children. So what should be done?  Are we going to apportion blame to policy makers or political leaders? Weather is not controlled by government, and we can’t blame it for the lack of rain. Helpless people are crying pointing their fingers to corrupt political leaders and poor governance but the disasters seems to worsen. Poverty and droughts forces great numbers of the youthful age (skilled and unskilled) to migrate to other countries creating socio-economic pressure to the designated country, for example there are 4 million estimated Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa and there is job competitions among Zimbabweans and South Africans that leads to xenophobic attacks. So what should be done to eradicate poverty, starvation and malnutrition? Survival and sustainability is the most important thing, which we can achieve by improving the natural capital value of the land.

Soil is the only life saving grace in this crumbling planet

S Solution

O Of

I Immortal

L Life

‘There is no need of smart tools or fat pockets to control the climate change, just look at the natural ecosystem and try to solve the eco puzzle why that black beetle is dribbling a ball of sh*t like Messi?, why God put the blind mole underground ?, why the giant baobab tree grows and giant elephant lives in dry savanna rather than in the equatorial rainforest?

As the only way to sustain high population growth in the sub Saharan Africa is to improve the natural capital value of land, is there any need of huge amounts of cash from poor food producers or governments to improve the natural capital value of land. No, I don’t think so, as there is no need of expensive machines, chemicals and technical know-how , what we need you and I is to understand how the natural ecosystem works and reproduce natural processes we see in the natural ecosystem when building our economies. Reproducing natural processes we repair the ecosystem solving our economic and social problems sustainably. All over the world natural resources have been depleted by the demands of the growing population. The production of food and modernization denuted natural landscape vegetation causing global warming and food insecurity mostly in sub Saharan Africa. So to survive and sustain our lives in the sub Saharan Africa we need to solve the environmental problems improving the natural capital value of land so that we can curb the impact of climate change and better up our lives.

The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all

Wendell Berry

Firstly we can start by bringing back to the soil the life that needs to be there to improve the natural capital value of land. This under life I am talking about brings back the condition of health to our communities not only in the sub Saharan Africa but to the planet. In order for us to bring back to the soil the life that needs to be there, the life we killed with our own ignorance and modern science, the life that brings the condition of health we need to imitate the natural ways. Good root system need to grow deep into the the soil, dead plant materials and animal excretions must cover and manufacture nutritious rich organic soil. Organic content promotes a greater diversity of micronutrients, taste, tenderness and nutrient density. Chemical free fertilization of the soil is ecologically health because it enriches the biotic living system increasing soil productivity and high organic content produces more nutritious grains fruits and veggies that tastes better. Fertilizing the soil organically we are investing in the soil fixing the broken food system.

Good soil condition makes farming easier and more profitable

Crop failures and disease outbreaks that are causing chronic droughts are not only caused by climate change but by poor unsustainable farming. If we look at the natural savanna vegetation it consists of grass, shrubs, trees and different species of insects and animals , but the farmer destroys the natural ecosystem and farm less resilient exotic or hybrids crops and animals that increase farming costs. In the sub Saharan Africa there is crop and livestock diversity, crops and animals that are adapted to a  wide range of harsh environments. These crops and animals survive and reproduce without depending on expensive feeds and medicines , they evolved alongside our cultures suiting specific environments and providing a wide range of necessities.

To break the poverty trap in the sub Saharan Africa we need to create a sustainable food security system. As we are now facing erratic summer rains, longer dry spells and rain deficit situations we can create a sustainable food security system by conserving our own indigenous seeds and practice climate resilient agriculture. We need to grow grain crops and legumes like guinea millet, finger millet , pearl millet, African rice, wild sorghum, sorghum, lab lab beans , cowpea, bambara nuts and many more that are facing extinction but thrive through climate extremes and they are ecological plants they grow very easily and they grow very easily without the use of pesticides , fungicides and inorganic fertilizers. We need to integrate beneficial weeds, shrubs and indigenous trees in our farming activities for example the leguminous weeds that fix nitrogen into the soil and others that we can include in our diets like blackjack and moringa which  is nutritious and have medicinal properties. Some of these weeds withstand the dry season feeding our livestock during this taxing period and protecting the soil from direct ultraviolet radiation which sterilize the microbiological habitant. Right plants triggers fertility in the barren landscapes creating a diverse system addressing food security much better.

I think policies need to be enabled, policies that can protect the indigenous livestock , crops and environment.

Farai Mugadziwa

Population growth and market economy which is profit driven led to over consumption of planet resources creating environmental problems. Farmers opted for exotic or hybrids that grows fast but less resilient to the environment.

In the sub Saharan Africa we are encountering the highest population growth while facing the real calamity of climate change and water is becoming scarce investing in water security is another important economic game we need to win. By healing the landscapes, arresting soil erosion and promoting infiltration reproducing the natural processes the atmosphere and hydro cycle is created and constantly renewed. Rainwater harvesting is another sustainable development that needs to be implemented as a water conservation system.

If we improve the natural capital value of land by reproducing the natural processes we empower lives and eradicate poverty and malnutrition sustainably. Improving the natural capital value of land in an eco-friendly way keeps the planet in equilibrium solving climate change bringing positive economical and social outcomes.

Population growth and market economy which is profit driven led to over consumption of planet resources creating environmental problems. Farmers opted for exotic or hybrids that grows fast but less resilient to the environment.

In a health community, health soil=health plants and animals=health people

We need collective action and community engagement to create a health community

Growing up in the remote rural place of Zimbabwe, I used to walk about 10km to the bus station. There with my teens we wave ‘ joy yeah!’ to every car that pass by. I used to dream about the urban areas as paradises with skyscrapers, robots, vehicles, light soft skinned people who dress to the nines eating and drinking delicious food and enjoying many fantasies l crave.

I hate the mud grass thatched huts, yes back then I hated them , yet there was a certain magical feeling, I feel deep inside me when I was in the jungle, I loved animals, domestic and wild. Memories of me and my age mates trapping finches and feed them in small cages, catching grasshoppers and round them up enlighten my soul. Gathering wild fruits, veggies and tubers competing with my teens was a sweet soulful experience. Hunting rabbits and scaring monkeys and zebras away from our crops , chasing foxes away from our goats and sheeps used to give us a sense of responsibility.

Now I am grown up I moved from city to city and I fail to find peace. I crossed the borders there is nothing that can help me out of my miserable life. Now what I need is to turn back , turn back to mother nature . Turning back , yes turning back restoring what we have disturbed. The fields that we exploited, the soil that used to provide which is barren now, we must regenerate it now to sustain life.

We must grow those trees and weeds that used to grow abundantly in the wild. Marula fruits are a delicacy , granite mangosteen, false wild medlar, forest waterberry, octopus cabbage tree , blackjack, all nutritious medicinal herbs and lost crops we need to grow them back. We need to see honey pot ants honey dew, stingless bees , sweet bees digger bees , dung beetles , all insects used to play an important part in the natural environment. Enriching the soil organically and growing indigenous plants is the only way we can provide for our needs sustainably. The mushrooms that we used to collect in the wild must come back if we imitate Nature’s Plan.

Researching, writing and living close to nature is my passion, and my purpose is to pass health living habits from generation to generation. I am not bright at all but I am persistence and I am learning the natural revolutionary processes everyday.