Khuluma_Lowres_Strung_May

RACING
THIS MONTH?

SPARE A
THOUGHT FOR

THE GOOD
FOLKS DOING
YOUR DIRTY

WORK

56 MAY 2017 kulula.com

CLEARING OUR STREETS LOCAL HERO

Ever wondered
what happens to those
goopy energy sachets
strewn all over the show
after sporting events? Thanks
to people like Lorraine
Hendricks, you’ve never

had to give them a
second thought.

I t’s a Saturday afternoon in Ocean won’t be doing most of the littering at Plastics SA for six years now. She
View, Cape Town, exactly 16 hours anyway. ‘The spectators are far worse,’ she started out as a cleaner herself and her
before the start of the Cape Town says. ‘And they have no excuse!’ natural leadership abilities saw her being
Cycle Tour that would eventually be promoted after four years. But she insists
cancelled because of fierce winds. Still, though heads are shaken, no one on still doing the dirty work, too. ‘I have
is deterred. Because for most of the crew to, because people look up to me. If I don’t
A large group of people are gathered members, work is scarce – and events work hard, why should they?’
at Lorraine Hendricks’s house and the like the Cycle Tour provide a much-needed
excitement is palpable. Not because financial injection. On race day, the crew will get up at
they’re in the race, but because they’ll 2.30am to be dropped off at their cleaning
once again be a part of the event – ‘Cleaning up after these big sporting stations along the route before the roads
as cleaners. events brings joy to the people of close for the race. Lorraine divides them
Ocean View,’ says Lorraine. ‘We feel
Lorraine (58), a supervisor for Plastics privileged to work in and around into teams, stations them along
SA’s waste cleanup services at sporting our neighbourhood and keep the route, and makes
events, is explaining in detail what will be it clean. There’s a lot of sure that garbage bins
required of her team on the day: They’ll unemployment here, are placed at 1km
be stationed at various intervals on the so people are very intervals and that
109km route and provided with bags; motivated to do this the cleaners
they should keep their area as clean as job. We look forward have enough
possible, but no one is to walk onto the to it every year.’ refuse bags on
roads until all cyclists have passed. But, hand. ‘On an
she lets them in on a secret, the cyclists Lorraine has been average race
a crew supervisor

kulula.com MAY 2017 57

LOCAL HERO CLEARING OUR STREETS

‘If you see a day, each cleaning station will fill about 70 be at their best, but they’re always eager Words: Delia du Toit; Pictures: Supplied
bin, throw your bags,’ she says. ‘And we have around 15 and hard-working.’
garbage in there stations on the Cycle Tour.’
and not along Lorraine also supervises cleanups
Typically, after the race, the crew will during and after the Two Oceans
the roads. If still be at it until 5pm, and come back the Marathon, the SA Navy Festival and some
you don’t want next day to clean up what the Southeaster smaller sporting events as a contract
to do it for the might have strewn farther away. worker for the company. Her main source
environment, do of income for the rest of the year is to
it for your fellow And the excitement doesn’t wane make crafts from recycled bottles, which
man.’ – Lorraine as the day goes on, Lorraine says. ‘One she sells at events like the eMzantsi
of our regular cleaners is known for Carnival and the Cape Town Carnival. With
Hendricks running behind the cleanup bakkie for the this she’s supported her five children for
entire length of the race. He could win more than a decade now.
marathons! We call his team the A-Team,
because they’re always first to get things ‘Before this, I worked for Coastcare
done. But all my crew members do a and helped to keep the beaches clean.
good job.’ And I still really like being a part of these
cleaning crews,’ she says. ‘It’s important
After the events, the material gets to me to keep the beautiful Cape clean
sorted for recycling and handed over to and protect the environment. Plus, I get to
companies who manufacture products work outside, which I love.’
from the waste, explains John Kieser,
sustainability manager for Plastics SA Lorraine only wishes others shared her
and co-ordinator for their waste cleanup enthusiasm. ‘Even though recycling is
at sporting events. ‘It truly is amazing to more popular now, people just don’t care
see how excited the cleaning crews get enough for the environment. Please, if you
about these events. Some people think of see a bin, throw your garbage in there and
this as a thankless job, but [the cleaners] not along the roads. If you don’t want to do
are happy to be a part of something big it for the environment, do it for your fellow
and positive – it’s inspiring. And the vibe at man – garbage doesn’t just disappear,
these events is infectious. When they get someone has to pick up your mess after
there at 3am, you don’t expect anyone to you. Reduce, reuse, recycle!’

58 MAY 2017 kulula.com









AIRBORNE NEIGHBOURS TRAVEL

STRANGERS Toufwranaitrfcplyhlaiinnngge’sibneitnqoguaoivnawilfiettnyhtroofupnedople
Chia Kougianos.
planeONA

kulula.com MAY 2017 63

Tell-tale signs: His gadgets

are on trend, but his jeans

and sneakers aren’t.

Reading material:

Whatever’s on that digital

screen glued to his hand.

The lowdown: Here are the Mr Suited and Booted
hyper-connected men and
women who show signs of
Internet Withdrawal Syndrome

The Tech Junkie within seconds of being told Tell-tale signs: Laptop bag and a pair of
to turn their devices off. They leather loafers.
have aux cables, power banks
and chargers for every occasion.

The high-end utility also includes Reading material: It’s an Excel

the latest high-tech camera with spreadsheet, and he’s adding big numbers.

a matching remote-controlled selfie stick, and they have planned their The lowdown: Meet the ultimate

whole trip around using it. Their iPads are crammed with holiday and businessman – a three-piece-suit-wearing

travel apps, and they’ll be receiving online reminders every moment frequent flyer who navigates the aisles

of the trip. Except, now that you’re prepped for take-off, their like he’s in his very own house. He’ll be

gadgets are disconnected and lie together in vain in an Monkey see, on a call up to the very last second
overcharged, overpriced pile of equipment. monkey do. before take-off, while boldly making
Pro: This one’s too busy swiping left and right to talk your Sure, we humans are good reference to his company’s annual
ears off. at spotting stereotypes, but sales report into the receiver of a
we dare you to use this flight Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
to reach out to a stranger, Pro: At least he’ll leave you in peace
connect with someone while he’s securing that big deal.
new, and get real.

The Gate Hoarder Tell-tale signs: He has one eye on his watch and another on the Illustration: Pete Woo, Fosin/shutterstock.com
boarding gate.
64 MAY 2017 Reading material: Since he’ll be the first to his seat, he’ll have time to
read everything.
The lowdown: You’ll spot him skulking, hovering, waiting at the
boarding gate, hoping he’ll be the first to board. He lives by the belief
that everything in life is a competition and knows in his heart that

the first one through the door (or, in this case, onto the plane) is the
winner. See him race over to the front of the queue the instant the
announcement is made – they may only be letting parents with small
kids onto the plane, but he’ll be standing there with his boarding pass.
His biggest fear in life is that the plane will leave without him.
Pro: He doesn’t have time for small talk.

kulula.com

oinn-lyflpigehrstosnapfaetyyinbgriaetfitnengt. ion AIRBORNE NEIGHBOURS TRAVEL

'She’ll be the
to the
Her eyes will be wide and her lips
witllhbeepclahnewe iansgshuepttahkeeastimt aolslpihne.'re in

Tell-tale signs: Eyes wide with excitement.

Reading material: Sudoku. Chatty Cathy

The lowdown: Meet the frenetic flier who will never Tell-tale signs: Travel stories for daaaays.
Reading material: You wish.
leave you alone. This flight will ultimately be the best The lowdown: Aboard every flight there’s that defining
moment: the overhead compartments have been shut and
thing to happen to her this year – and she wants you to cellphones have been switched off. The aisle hogs have taken
their seats, and the sound of buckling seatbelts has lulled.
be a co-star in this defining moment in her life. Then there’s that split-second look at your neighbouring
passenger that will determine whether she chooses to
Driven by sheer enthusiasm, she’s so overcome with politely smile back, give you a blank stare, or speak. And
never stop speaking. Chatty Cathy will always speak. And,
giddy excitement that she’ll be the only person paying soon after the first words have departed her mouth, she will
get lost in thought. Thought, in fact, will seem like uncharted
attention to the in-flight territory, because this professional conversationalist doesn’t
really show signs of a link between the mouth and her mind.
safety briefing. Her
The ensuing monologue can best be described as an
eyes will be wide and audio assault – small talk will erupt on a massive scale. ‘So,
whatcha got going on in Cape Town?’ is a standard ice-
her lips will be chewing breaker before the eternal interrogation begins. ‘How long are
you away for?’, ‘Where are you staying?’, ‘Don’t you hate the
up the atmosphere in wind?’, ‘What do you do?’, ‘Married?’, ‘How many children?’
Plus, of course, every variation on the issue of weather
the plane as she takes before the banter about health issues. The standard ‘ignore
them and they’ll go away’ advice won’t help much. Neither
it all in. Even those will pretending to be deaf. Chatty Cathys will make all your
books, magazines, iPods and laptops seem inconsequential
overhead buttons – she will be heard, no matter what you try.
Pro: It’s a domestic flight – just imagine if this were an
are a thing of joy international trip!

– pity the poor cabin

attendant running to

see what Lizzy needs

this time. Once she’s

fiddled with all the

knobs, she’ll proceed

to flip through her

Dizzy Lizzy magazines, make
small talk, cough

and sneeze, read

a little more, and

finally start her series of walks to the lavatory. She’ll be

up down like a toilet seat, so you’d better hope she’s next

to the aisle.

Pro: All flights must end – eventually.

kulula.com MAY 2017 65

n eighbourLOVE THY
She thought she was an out-and-out
city girl, with the pulse of the urban
jungle coursing through her veins. Then
Allison Foat visited McGregor, a tiny town at the far end
of a dead-end road. Now she owns a house there and is
spending more and more time in the countryside, getting
to know – and love – her neighbours.

66 MAY 2017 kulula.com

THE VILLAGE TRAVEL

N estled at the foot of the
Riviersonderend Mountains, McGregor
feels like one big neighbourhood,
buoyed by old-fashioned amiability, camaraderie
and a culture of support. It is an enchanting
hamlet in the Western Cape’s Langeberg Valley,
and it wooed me with the promise of tranquillity
right from the start.

It literally seduced me into abandoning my
metropolis lifestyle – well, part-time anyway.
Over a year of returning regularly, I’ve witnessed
how the community’s way of life enhances the
well-being of those fortunate enough to call
it home.

A two-hour drive from Cape Town, McGregor is
home to just 4 500 people – that’s despite being
settled way back in 1861. Whether you’re a nature
lover, a fitness fiend, or simply after soothing
isolation, it’s a getaway that just about has it all
– except, of course, smog, traffic, frayed tempers
and angst over getting to meetings on time, and
where to park. Walking just about takes care of
most transport needs, and cycling here doesn’t
require dodging fast-moving minibuses.

kulula.com MAY 2017 67

TRAVEL THE VILLAGE

Evie Arendorf and
Geraldine Davids (left)
dish out home-baked pies at
their little Sistars bakery; the
potters at Millstone (above right)
are local legends; and Patricia
Werdmuller von Elgg (below)
inspects the vineyards

on her sustainable
estate.

The village is bordered on one side by onto strangers and residents alike, and

the Krans Nature Reserve, where well- a pay-it-forward ethos exists, which is

marked paths snake past the dam and an indicator of good neighbourliness.

though scented fynbos, renosterveld and The dorpie brims with innovators,

Karoo succulents, easily accessed from and there’s a sense of boldness when

Smit, Van Reenen it comes to making

and Voortrekker 'People here do dreams a reality. Frans Jacobs – owners of How Bazaar,
streets in the village, things for others, Some believe that ley a café and gift shop – have given an
so no need to drive expecting nothing lines, ancient mystical enterprising gent a vegetable patch for his
to any starting alignments of landforms earth-to-table produce; while Mary Corpe,
points. For those in return, and or old buildings, have a former dancer from London, offers free
seeking a hiking or the care extends influenced the creative ballet classes to scores of children.
biking challenge, across the whole dynamic here. Whatever
there’s the easy- community.’ – it is, McGregor certainly ‘People here do things for others,
going Kleinberg Trail Barbara Jacobs radiates a special expecting nothing in return,’ says Barbara,
and, for the more ‘something’ that no ‘and the care extends across the whole
ambitious, the 14km one can quite fathom. community.’ Conversation in these parts
Boesmanskloof is unhurried, too, and with 3G connectivity
hike leads all Geraldine Davids and not yet at optimum and fibre nowhere in
the way through Evie Arendorf with their sight, gadgets generally don’t interrupt
tiny bakery, Sistars, the flow of real-life interactions.

the mountain are famous for their Then there’s Patricia Werdmuller
von Elgg, a woman who'll make you
pass into Greyton. Mountain bikers are pies and home-baked fare. Sung-Yee celebrate old age and unstoppable
entrepreneurship. Patricia is a feisty
attracted by numerous dirt tracks, and the Tchao, a French-born, American-accented nonagenarian who zips around her
vineyards on a quad bike. Her estate,
Ride2Nowhere MTB race draws a loyal business law specialist and world traveller, called Houtbaai, operates under her
strict sustainable-farming philosophy
following each year (8-10 September). immigrated to McGregor two years and produces a crisp, organic Sauvignon
Blanc. Patricia oversees the day-to-day
It’s the people of McGregor who are ago and makes the creamiest organic

its unique point of difference, though. probiotic-laden yoghurt ever. And he

As in most small towns, the sense of cultivates extraordinary Cherokee purple

community is strong. Welcomes are tomatoes that he gifts to friends around

hearty, and a spirit of generosity falls the village. In the same spirit, Barbara and

68 MAY 2017 kulula.com

















#LOVECAPETOWN TRAVEL

10

A many splendoured thing 6 Whether you’re up for adventure,
looking for luxury, keen to try
Never underestimate Cape 9 out world-class restaurants, find
Town’s size. It’s inner city may be one-of-a-kind artworks, or go on a
small enough to saunter across
in a few minutes, but its diverse recce of after-dark haunts, Cape
neighbourhoods are sufficiently Town Tourism has an itinerary
dispersed that it’s geographically for you. And, thanks to a
larger than London. It’s misleading partnership with
dimensions include the old seaside kulula.com, you can fly to
resort of Muizenberg (6), still Cape Town from Durban
considered a prime spot for or Joburg, and get two
first-time surfers and ideal for nights accommodation
family beach time, and the Victorian plus two days' car hire for
naval base community of Simons R1 999 per person sharing. To
Town (7), known for its African
penguin colony at Boulders. Then book, visit kulula.com or call
there’s Woodstock (8) with its 0861 KULULA.
endless design studios, galleries
Words: Keith Bain, Images: Benny Martin/iStock, and terrific graffiti murals; Sea Point
courtesy of Cape Town Tourism, Steven Benjamin and Mouille Point (9) with their
skateboard-friendly promenades; and
Hout Bay (10), where there’s a feisty
harbourside market at weekends.

7 8

kulula.com MAY 2017 77

TRAVEL JOZI’S HOODS

Joburg50 SHADES OF
Iga Motylska takes in the varied sights and
sounds, cultures and colours in the vibrant
neighbourhoods of Africa’s Big Apple.

78 MAY 2017 kulula.com

JOZI’S ’HOODS TRAVEL

T he candlestick maker was
nowhere to be seen. I did,
however, find the kosher
butcher and the baker – both along
Sandringham Strip (as the locals call it)
on George Avenue. This little shopping
complex, across the street from Yeshiva
College, caters to the Jewish community
of Glenhazel with products from Israel, as
well as local and imported kosher goods.

A few blocks away, Friends Deli and
Restaurant on Swemmer Road serves
kosher Israeli food and has a meat,
milk and parev kitchen. The falafels are
accompanied by dollops of hummus and
oven-roasted vegetables that are wrapped
in a laffa (a kind of Middle Eastern
flatbread) the size of a dinner plate.

Before leaving, I eye out their bakery
and deli and promise the owner I’ll return
for the shakshouka breakfast of poached
eggs in a tomato base with onions and
chilli. Or perhaps the herring plate with its
selection of chopped, pickled or mustard
Danish herrings. As with most Jewish
establishments, they close early on Friday
afternoon to observe the Sabbath, and
reopen with the appearance of the first
star on Saturday evening.

LITTLE PORTUGAL

Which means, if you’re searching for
lip-smacking grub at the start of the
weekend, it might be worth heading for
Rosettenville. Every Portuguese person
in Joburg – well, at least all the ones I’ve
asked – has Restaurante Parreirinha on
their list of authentic Portuguese diners.

It’s here, on 6th Street, that my friend
Jay Jay Gregory, an urban geographer,
narrates the Portuguese heritage of
Joburg’s southern suburbs over a dinner
of prawn curry and peri-peri chicken.

kulula.com MAY 2017 79

TRAVEL JOZI’S ’HOODS

'In the 1960s Lusito Land Festival at nearby Wemmer Market in Fordsburg Square (best visited
Portuguese Pan celebrates Portuguese heritage with on weekday evenings or at weekends).
immigrants put up 160 000 annual visitors. He enthusiastically shows me around the
flags and added market and introduces me to this Egyptian
shades of red The Restaurante Parreirinha building, shop owner, that Somali shop assistant
and green to the which was once a police station, dates and his Bangladeshi restaurateur friend.
neighbourhood, back to 1908. The two cells, with their We enjoy a sweet lassi at Cape to India,
creating a burglar bars still in place, have been and end our impromptu walkabout with
com m u n ity.' converted into adjoining dining rooms, a sweet paan – a betel leaf painted with
while the original station counter is now slaked lime, sprinkled with crushed areca
‘La Rochelle, Rosettenville and the bar counter. Five thousand ties hang nut and desiccated coconut, and finally
Turffontein are traditionally from the ceiling. There’s a Nelson Mandela topped off with hundreds and thousands
white, working-class areas tie next to one featuring Snoopy. One and a squirt of cherry sauce.
characterised by semidetached regular diner brought a Mother Theresa
cottages,’ he says between spicy tie from the Vatican City, which has been After dessert, it’s time for lunch – and
mouthfuls. ‘In the 1960s there stolen (and returned) three times. And a chance to dip into the traditional cuisine
was an influx of Portuguese even cricketer Clive Rice and former of another nation whose émigrés have
immigrants. They restored the minister Trevor Manuel donated their ties. forged a community in Joburg. Right next
cottages, put up flags and added shades The tie-collecting tradition started in the door to Mohammed’s market is Istanbul
of red and green to the neighbourhood. restaurant’s early days when a regular Kebab, a colourful Turkish establishment
They established social clubs, churches customer threw his tie into the air and occupying two refurbished train wagons.
and created a community.’ it landed on one of the wooden ceiling ‘Here they are putting in the trains with
‘This area was called “Little Portugal”,’ beams, never to be retrieved. cranes,’ says owner Ibrahim Demirtas as
chimes in Gloria da Cunha, co-owner of the he points to a photo on the wall depicting
family-owned restaurant. Indeed, Robbie A TASTE OF INDIA the restaurant’s construction in the late
Brozin opened the original Nando’s on Main 1980s, long before Ibrahim took it over.
Street in Rosettenville in 1987, and the As a child, my first introduction to
Indian culture was scouring the 360-odd Over a meal of seasoned chicken chops
stores at the Oriental Plaza, along Lilian (yes, you read right) with salad and hot
Ngoyi Street, during monthly shopping naan from their wood-burning oven, he
expeditions with my mother. We went shows me photographs from when his
in search of fabric, clothes, samoosas restaurant was made famous as a film
and bargains. set for various TV shows. Next on the
menu is strong Turkish coffee, a hookah
It’s here, along Mint Road in Fordsburg, pipe, and long-winded conversation – the
two blocks away from the Plaza, that kind that makes you feel like you’re right
I happen on Mohammed Anwar, the at home.
Pakistani founder of the Indian Flea

80 MAY 2017 kulula.com





JOZI’S ’HOODS TRAVEL

Photographs: Iga Motylska; opening picture From Ponte with love building that’s We walk along Commissioner Street
courtesy of South African Tourism been rebranded in a through Joburg’s original Chinatown, past
‘Leave your prejudices at bid to breathe new life into Chinese diners (like Swallows Inn) and
home,’ says our guide, and that’s Africa’s highest residential skyscraper. small China marts that mostly sell party
the only thing we’re asked to We watch the sunset from Yeoville Ridge paraphernalia. This part of Ferreirasdorp
do during the Taste of Yeoville before walking along Rockey and Raleigh is famous for the annual fireworks display
tour I take with Dlala Nje, an streets, on pavements packed with a during lunar New Year celebrations.
inner city ‘adventure’ company that’s vibrant mix of locals and people from
headquartered on the ground floor of Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. Most of the shops along Ntemi Piliso
Ponte City in Hillbrow, where they run Street are Indian-owned, like Theo Naidu’s
a charitable community centre and After starters and dancing to a live traditional medicine shop and Minty’s,
cultural emporium. rendition of Miriam Makeba’s ‘Pata Pata’ where I buy five metres of wax-print fabric
During apartheid, we’re told, Yeoville at a restaurant called Ekhaya and All while listening to the owner tell us about
was one of the city’s first ‘grey’ areas That Jazz, we saunter through Yeoville the time he met Jimi Hendrix in England.
where black and white people could Market. Here we meet a young Senegalese
live together. Our tour commences shopkeeper, an Ethiopian mama selling All of Jo’s tours can be tailor-made,
from the 173m-high, cylindrical Ponte textiles, and a Nigerian man watching and we end ours in the Ethiopian shops
a church sermon. Mopani worms are at the multistorey Medical Arts Building.
displayed alongside dried fish and cassava Metal crosses hang from the ceiling, cup
roots, fake nails and hair extensions. and saucer sets line the shelves alongside
Ethiopian coffee, and a red-and-white print
A dinner of braaied garapau of the rock-hewn Church of Saint George
(Mozambican mackerel) with hand-cut in Lalibela hangs behind the till.
French fries and homemade chilli sauce
is served at La Camerounaise, where a The restaurants serve bayenetu with
silent AFCON game is being screened to injera, and slivers of raw beef with bowls
a soundtrack of Cameroonian tunes. of chilli dipping sauce. When we ask our
waiter, Josef, about his homeland, he
A FRESH START proudly flips through his phone to show us
some of the many places he recommends
‘We'll meet many nationalities,’ says Jo we visit. As he speaks about home, there’s
Buitendach, founder of Past Experiences, a slight sadness in his voice; he hasn't seen
as we start our walking tour though the his family in five years, he says. Flights
inner city. Many of the people we meet home are beyond his means.
along the way stop to give Jo hugs, provide
her with updates on their health, or share Suddenly I become aware of the great
inside jokes. She is their friend and they sacrifice people make when they uproot
welcome her into their communities. themselves and journey great distances
to start life afresh.

kulula.com MAY 2017 83

THE HEART OF
YOUR BUSINESS

South Africa’s chief challenges are What attributes should a
unemployment and poverty. Why successful entrepreneur have?
are entrepreneurs important in David: Being an entrepreneur is like belonging to a unique
combatting these? culture – you can only really say you are an entrepreneur if you
David: It’s simple. Entrepreneurs create employment, can justify why you think you are. If we had to single out just
and employment is the catalyst our economy needs to get two attributes, we would probably say purpose and passion.
people working to help alleviate poverty. Entrepreneurs
are overwhelmingly good at identifying niche opportunities What opportunities do you believe
in the market from which they set up small businesses that are afforded to South African
create employment. Government cannot do this, as by entrepreneurs that perhaps aren’t
nature they are service facilitators and not employers. Big accessible elsewhere in the world?
businesses have stakeholder hurdle rates, and are often Akhona: We believe in the inherent capabilities of South
forced to introduce technology and cut jobs to maintain their Africans rising to the challenges of setting up and running a
competitive edge in the marketplace. business. South African’s through our history have learned
tenacity, patience and endurance, and these are outstanding
The South African economy is negotiating entrepreneurial traits. Uniquely in South Africa we have the
some heavy waters, and small businesses B-BBEE Act that encourages large and corporate clients to
are struggling. What advice do you have purchase at least 30% of their goods from small and medium
for the small business owner? size companies, 40% from black-owned businesses and 12%
Akhona: Stay in the game. Find ways to keep your company from black women-owned companies.
open for business. The message is, remember your roots, remain
in ‘struggle mode’, watch your costs and guard against non- Most entrepreneurs are familiar with
essential spending too early in the game. Persevere with the old, risk. Do you have any advice regarding
rusty bakkie… the SUV can come later. Get better at what you risk mitigation?
do day-by-day – and ensure that your services are world-class. David: There is a measurement of risk in everything
we all do each day. But when good entrepreneurs make
decisions, they consider possible outcomes and stakeholder
expectations, and as far as possible they work toward
eliminating unnecessary risk.

How important is mentoring when it
comes to growing the next generation
of entrepreneurs?
Akhona: It’s absolutely critical. We all need mentors to help
and guide our growth and development. Very few entrepreneurs
are gifted to such a degree that they can do everything on their
own. Mentors help us with our initial steps, and then further
down the line with support, encouragement and wisdom.



















NEIGHBOURS & OTHER STRANGERS NEXT-DOOR CRAZIES

'We’ve lived here a while now, and our Not all our home invaders are wild,
neighbours seem to be lovely, ordinary human though. We had a torrid time with
beings. I’m not sure how they view us, though.' Fernando the donkey. Kept by our
neighbour to protect his cattle, Fernando
off work to help us move in when we got up falling off bikes, off horses, even was far more interested in our mares.
back. True friends, indeed. Nicknamed Fernando because he had
off their own two feet on the way the slightly desperate, lustful air of a
It was with them that we started our
manic Sunday morning horse rides to the home from one pub or the other. spurned Latin lover, we discovered
local country hotel, which had a wonderful that no fence or gate could keep him
rustic pub – with cold draft beer on tap. Fast-forward a few years, and out. Our neighbour moved him many
We’d ride over the hills, often arriving while kilometres away, but Fernando was
the staff was still clearing up from the we now live in the lush green
night before. Eventually we were given the back by the following morning.
run of the place and the owner even put countryside of the KwaZulu-Natal Fortunately, his advances never
up a paddock, so that we could unsaddle resulted in a brood of mules.
our horses and let them graze while we Midlands, on a farm that was We’ve lived here a while
relaxed. Depending on the amount of beer now, and our neighbours
that was consumed, the ride home could once a trout-fishing seem to be lovely,
become a barely controlled stampede. ordinary human
Skilled horsemen the madcap Irish family retreat for wealthy beings. I’m not sure
were, but their partners and friends who how they view us,
clamoured to come along? Hmmm, not businessmen who though. I can imagine
quite so able! Riders and mounts often them saying, ‘Nice
parted ways, and routes were named seldom visited. The people, but a bit off
after the various incidents and accidents. the wall.’ I mean, how
Big Bum Bend where a buxom girlfriend wildlife doesn’t seem many households have
was dumped by her horse is one such a pack of dogs that bay
memorable example. to have realised like bloodhounds when
a vehicle approaches?
Another popular local watering hole that there are now If I’m outside I howl with
was run by Pete the Greek and his huge them. How many normal
shaggy Newfoundland dog. Ewok had been humans in permanent households have chickens
at the pub with Pete since he’d been a tiny that stroll through the
puppy, and to keep him from being trodden residence. And house? They come looking
on, Pete had kept him on the wide bar for my husband who, in the
counter. Inevitably, Ewok developed a taste despite our Do tell! absence of a rooster, is their Photographs of Shimmy Isaacs: Sven Kristian, Elenamiv/Shutterstock.com
for beer, and – for the sake of his health numerous Do you have a weird alpha male – and they adore
and waistline – had to be limited to a single dogs, story you'd like to tell, or him, even sleeping in the
drink a day. Come to think of it, with life as we’ve had a travel memory to share? tree outside our bedroom
slow and relaxed as it was out there in the rabbits on Great stories by our readers to be close to him. How many
back of beyond, we humans had to watch the stoep, will be published in our normal households … well,
how much we drank, too. On more than jackals January 2018 issue. Email I could go on and on, but you get
the odd occasion, neighbours would end [email protected]. the picture. It seems that we’ve
become the nutty neighbours
howling far too we once had. I wonder if it’s
something in the water?
close for comfort,

bats that fall down the

chimney and dive-

bomb us in bed, bush

pigs in the mielie fields,

rogue baboons stealing

chickens, and a baby

porcupine foraging under

the pizza oven. A stroppy

male porcupine even tried

to force its way into our

lounge one night – much to

the consternation of our

sleeping dogs.

94 MAY 2017 kulula.com





BROTHERLY LOVE HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY

I was on a three-month volunteer
programme in Kenya when I was
introduced to the concept of ‘Ubuntu’.
It was translated to us as, ‘I am who
I am because of who we all are.’ Months
prior to arriving in Kenya, I’d found myself
feeling trapped and uninspired with life
– I needed to shake things up and
experience something new.

I loved the idea of Ubuntu, and over
the next three months – while living
and working with Kenyans who lived its
meaning – my respect for the concept
deepened, especially as I befriended
a great many people who came from
backgrounds very different from my
own. I returned home with a desire
to embody more of this sense of
interconnectedness in my own life.
I wanted to connect with people all
around the world.

pictures: xxxxxxx Ubuntu’sHEALING
POWER

Anna Davies is an Australian psychologist who teaches mindfulness,
meditation and yoga. She is also the co-creator of The Ubuntu Project,
a film inspired by the South African philosophy of interdependence.
The film celebrates Ubuntu’s universality, suggesting that human
interconnectedness is vital to personal wellbeing.

kulula.com MAY 2017 97

HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY BROTHERLY LOVE

The Ubuntu Project is a
documentary film about the
power of human connection,
told through a series of interviews
with people from around the

world. It can be viewed on
YouTube; for the link, go to
theubuntuproject.com.au.

To me, Ubuntu is really about them to live and work together in more
recognising and celebrating the of a collective, collaborative way. We
uniqueness that exists in all people, while were telling people about Ubuntu, but we
appreciating what is shared – our basic weren’t really telling them anything new.
needs, basic wants, human tendencies,
human rights, feelings and emotions and, It turns out that this concept of Ubuntu
most importantly, our value as members exists and is celebrated in so many ways
of the same human race. in different parts of the world. In places
like Nepal and India, the principles of
With The Ubuntu Project, my aim has interconnectedness and compassion are
been to encourage connections between embedded in Buddhist teachings. In yoga,
people who might usually see one another which really translates to ‘union’ and
as ‘different’. The idea is to enhance that ‘yoke’, it’s the same again.
experience of compassion and openness.
Everywhere we went, we spoke to
While Ubuntu is a South African people who echoed the sentiment
concept, it’s certainly not unique to that interacting with a diverse range
South Africa. As part of this project, my of people enhanced their life in some
husband and I travelled to 17 different way and that they were grateful for this
countries, across five continents. We met diversity. You learn more, grow more and
people who may not have had a word for experience more by learning from those
Ubuntu, but it made practical sense for who are different.

98 MAY 2017 kulula.com