Thursday 23 January 2020

Slaves of Farmers , 2 JULY 2019 South Africa



It
 pains me to think that farmers can be so exploited when….industry profits so greedily from the consumer. I visited poor communities in a rural part of...South Africa where I came to present a farming concept that would improve more than just their financial
 position but also the environment. While talking to people I learnt that...farmers earned very little for whole years work, yes they also said there wasn’t much to do between planting and harvesting but harvesting was very labour intensive. They said they
 needed to spray chemicals for weeds and for pests and some said that these chemicals were expensive. I know that the chemicals are bad for the farmer who applied it as they don't wear the hazmat suit which is required as per the Material Safty Data Sheet (MSDS).

During
 my talks, the farmers listened in awe as they couldn't believe that what I was proposing was possible, and their questions were a great reflection to this as they have not ever really been taught farming of anything profitable. Their questions were deep felt
 by me as I know the struggles of the emerging farmer…... The main struggles are water and access to market and farm development costs. Many had concerns about other promises that never came to realisation from greedy individuals who in the past have stolen
 land.

All
 I want to do is help them with a win-win solution and improve the environment at the same time by teaching the importance of working with nature rather than against. Many don't understand the functions of the elements in nature and think of natures workers
 like ants and termites as pests. It won’t take long to get the buy-in from all the farmers as they will see the benefits as their farms improve each year. Rather than where they have been, where they don’t see any improvement at all and from each year harvest
 are left guessing the value of their harvest. The saddest part is that they can't afford bags or anything to protect their harvest to preserve its value so some value is lost to rats and rain. They get less than 0.5% of the value whereas other bigger farmers
 are getting 30% of the value which means there is a very greedy person or people involved in this value chain from this poor community.
      
By an Anonymous Author

Thursday 8 September 2016

AoC South Africa-Reflection on Consumerism: 22 August 2016






“You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”
Chuck Palahniuk, ‘Fight Club’





The definition of a ‘consumer’ is “a person who purchases goods and services for personal use”.   Consumerism upsets me, because if everyone  is purchasing things for their ‘personal use’ and therefore thinking of themselves, they are not necessarily thinking about where their stuff is from or who made it.  We think about whether an object is selling for a fairly cheap price (which will generally mean that the people who made it were not paid enough money).  Consumers look at things and how it will affect them ‘personally’.

But consumer products are never personal.  They were made by someone, somewhere with something.  People don't think about this.  If you don’t pay attention to what you are buying.  You are supporting the killing of animals and plants and people - because people die making cheap products.  They are just like you.  They feel the same and their skin hurts the same and miscarriages and death and poverty will hurt them just as much as they will hurt anyone else.  How can we support this?  How can we support what is basically slavery.  I imagine working in a factory and being tired and hungry.  I imagine my eyes burning and my skin itching and my body aching and I feel guilty, because at some point I have bought something that supports this.  We do think about other people when we buy things, but we don’t think about the people who made them.  We think about the fashion models or our ‘friends’ who will surely judge us if we don't own something and we don't all match one another.





We are not the same.  Why do people buy the same things and try to match?  Is it because we want to fit in?  If fitting in means hurting people and plants and the world then I will not fit in.  Ever.  I will not support this system and this way of thinking.  It is NOT okay.  How have we let this happen?  Where is empathy?  I wonder if we bury it under all our phones and clothes and furniture and blankets.  We worry about all the things in our lives, but we are one person out of billions on a tiny planet in an infinite universe.  We are smaller than dust, but we get so involved in ourselves.

It is not that we are unimportant, but that it is not only us who matter.  People get upset that they do not look like the people in magazines and that they don’t have as much as they would like.  This is upsetting of course.  It is sad, but it is irrelevant really, because many of us have so much.  If you have money to buy a magazine and admire the people in it, you have much more money than so many people.

We need some perspective.  We need to remember other people.  We must live kindly.  We must fight for change.  Change can be difficult, but the ways things are right now is very difficult too.  Maybe not for you, but certainly for someone.

Consumerism is one of the things that is hurting the world.  Buying trendy things and throwing them away.  Buying stuff that you don’t need because others have it.  Not paying attention to what you buy.  Consumerism is something that many people partake in, but that means it is also something we can change.  We may not personally be cutting down forests, so we can’t suddenly change that, but we don't have to support it.  Even if you are the only person who doesn’t.  By not supporting it, you don’t have to feel guilty, because you were not a part of it.  You did not add to the pain.  We all make a difference to this world, one way or another.  Make sure that you are proud of your difference.  Live a life without guilt.


Nicci's Reflection:
I've been aware for a little while of the impacts of consumerism on the world, and on our fellow humans.  I read No Logo a while back, but I find Andy Fisher's approach to be very sensitive.  Andy Fisher looks at the shame we are made to feel because of a need to sell products.  He looked at how we are made to feel 'outdated' or sometimes, as though we are 'trying to hard'.  I've been wondering what this does to our sense of dignity or humanity?

Making the connections between products and environmental impact can be painful at first.  There's also such a lot of guilt.  But I think the guilt or shame which is often aimed at consumerism can be difficult for people to bear.  Our deep connectedness to beauty, nature and other beings seems to me to be the place to start.  When we see the impacts of dyes on water, animals, ourselves and 'other' people, I think it takes us to a place where there's a greater awareness or consciousness of what happens to the world, the need for ethical choices and even a sense that we won't join in when it comes to mocking or shaming others for not being 'on trend'.

Awareness means we can change the way we look at the world, and we can see the importance of Fair Trade, for example.  But I think it also helps to know that we can buy from local producers, buy organic, or remember what feels sacred to us.  I've found that as I re-connect to the beauty which is all around me, I feel as though I'm more aware of what is sacred to me, and I feel more content.  I don't feel so restless or out of sync with myself.  And I don't buy into advertising or the promise of happiness they bring.  I've also found that by learning to share and express what I feel, I'm far more able to sit with the feelings instead of searching for ways to make them go away.  It's okay to feel sad, distressed or puzzled at times.  Some situations make us uneasy.  I don't need a product to make it better.  Empathy and care help far more.

I'm starting to believe that a deeper awareness of our own needs - for solitude, for connection, for wonder, beauty or change, can help us to avoid the pitfalls of looking for answers in the shops.  We all get lonely, bored or restless.  I think the true work is to realize that this is okay, and that our feelings or questions can lead us into new spaces.  They don't need to be resolved right away, and giving time to them can be helpful.

Empathy for the world is important, but I like to think that by being kind to ourselves too, we can find a way back to what's sacred to us.


Thank you Nicci Attfield for these images and reflection from the group in Cape Town.

Tuesday 1 March 2016

SA AoC, Simons Town, Seaforth Beach, February 23 2016






We went to Seaforth Beach yesterday, and we looked at different ways of knowing the world.  We can learn through the stories others tell us, or through our senses.  We splashed in the water, felt the sand, the different textures of the rock, and watched on of the penguins for a little while.










I'm going to use my voice to not litter in the sea and save the animals by keeping it clean (no name).

I would like to use my voice to speak for the ocean and help it.  It's not nice to pollute or misuse the Earth because it's Gods'.  He lent it to us, so we can treat it with respect (Tinotenda).






Last week was very spectacular and interesting because I learned about the different things in the sea and I found out I have a right to be heard just like everything in the world.  And I hope to find a loud voice with Agents of Change.  (Abigail).






The sea needs more care.  We must guard it.  It is a beautiful place and we need to look after it.  We need to experience a chance of being in the water.  (No name).






I've learned our voices are also important and we can show people how we feel about the sea and make the earth a better place (Jamie Lee)





Thank you to young Reuben (12 years old) and Scott  for these images, and thank you Nicci for continuing AoC work in Simonstown.

Thursday 18 February 2016

AoC South Africa, Simonstown, February 16th 2016



The questions this week were around litter, the Simons Town fire and why people cut down trees, and the conversation was around the need to get to know earth as mother (..'because then we'd care...who would harm a mother?'....said one of the children).  Sun is father, warm and fun.  And air connects us all, even people who don't want to share the beaches.  The children shared that trying to keep people away from the sea because of litter or hurting the environment isn't helpful.  We've got to see the sea and all the animals to realize that pollution hurts life in the sea.  We have to learn about them and what they need, not banish people. (Nicci)

I learned that you can't survive without trees because they give us oxygen (Sihle M)

I love my mother because she brought me to this beautiful world.  I thank my mother and my father.  We must not pollute our lovely world (Solule)

I learned that everybody needs to be heard.  So from today onwards I will hear everyone who needs to be heard.  #Peace to our world. (No name)




When I look at the ocean it makes me happy about it.  It sends a picture to my mind of me swimming there (Khanya)

I think that the sea is for everyone and not for one person only.  People need to learn more about the sea and animals so they won't throw papers in the sea (Lisakhanya)




I hate pollution because it makes greenhouse gas around the earth.  I love snorkeling and swimming.  I love trees because they give us oxygen.  (Lauren).

I think people are polluting the sea because they are littering but the animals in the sea can eat the litter and they may die. We should keep the earth clean and care for the environment we live in (Jaimie-Lee)




I just want the world to be free and clean.  If the ocean is clean, it would mean the world to me!  The ocean is the most beautiful thing in the entire world.  I Sihle love the ocean!  (Sihle K)

Dig a hole about 3m deep and plant a seed or pine cone.  Fill it with compost and give it water everyday.  Give it a good sunny spot and nurture it till it grows into a full grown tree (Ruben).






Wednesday 10 February 2016

Reflection on Voice and Environment

I think having a voice, having this valuable quality takes a lot of cultivating a relationship with our knowing, and sense, which shapes the connection we have with our voice. Growing a clear way of hearing and relying on our own voices is directly connected to the environment we live in, and this shows us how to work.

Friday 29 January 2016

SA AoC Simonstown School 1.16.16

Thank you Scott Attfield for these images:







Sunday 10 January 2016

Reflection on the relationship between our Agency of Change and Democracy


I think that if we are able to experience a mystery we have the ability to discover its potential.

In this way I think about AoC and our relationship with Democracy- these are both qualities with potential that we experience in the world,... we try to cultivate them by trying to think  through the concepts and forms we have shaped for them- to become humane?
I think it is a deep relationship with our sense of this quality -our Agency of Change- that is the life force for discovering the potential of  Democracy: our sense of  intention, our sense of honesty, our sense of sovereignty, our sense of fraternity and our sense liberty. It is always hard work to be in touch with this quality, but especially when we have to dig through the -assumptions of 'who we are'- that others have made of us and for us- .It is hard work as a result of the impoverishing systems that disconnect us from our sense of this quality, it is hard work to constantly have to generate a will for this quality when it is eroded by ignorance.
We should work at finding this quality in ourselves and from the value of our exchanges in our relationships with all beings, so that we can cultivate the real potential of this mystery- Democracy is every beings right which comes with a responsibility to discover its potential.