Tag Archives: green

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Hard Working Farmers Need To Be Acknowledged

“That farmer on his motorbike in the afternoon might well be on a joyride. But he might also be having a break from the relentless calculations he has to do to manage the farm’s delicate finances on a daily basis.”

PHOTO BY PIXABAY

March 13, 2023

It’s common to hear people say that, in their opinion, farmers seem to do nothing much to earn the money their land brings in. That’s an understandable viewpoint from the outside. You might rent a home, work all day, and then see a farmer out on a motorbike as you pass by one afternoon. You might mistakenly think that farm life is just dandy.

Farm life is amazing when you consider the closeness to nature. There’s the raw exhilaration of carving out an existence from the earth beneath your feet. But no, there is nothing easy about the lifestyle. When you look at the bigger picture, farm life is certainly not for everyone.

Farming Has Its Ups and Downs

Do you like bugs, spiders, and snakes? South African farms have them in spades. Do you like having someone else cart away your stinky rubbish with green and blue and black bags handed to you from the municipality? Farmers have to do all of that themselves, including buy the bags.

A farmer gets up early, checks out the farm, fetches staff, sets out the day’s work, and gets everything to where it needs to be. Is the tractor full enough to plough or mow or irrigate or spray chemicals? Has a pesky pest started hatching on the macadamia trees that have taken five years of careful cultivation to even start producing one harvest?

Was the rain last night enough? If the moisture readers in the soil show it isn’t, the day’s plans might urgently change to a last-minute watering of the young tea tree seedlings or other crops. Livestock farmers are even more on the ball with checking their animals for disease, injury, complicated pregnancies and a great many other things that can go wrong.

Growing Things Means Life in the Dirt

Once the dust settles, that same farmer might be able to get home for breakfast. Or they might need to head out with a protein shake to a secondary day job (the one that keeps the family fed and clothed when the farm’s cash flow dries up as it often does).

Rain a little late or early changes the year’s yields. If the budgeted amount doesn’t quite make it, that affects the following year’s planting as well.

That farmer on his motorbike in the afternoon might well be on a joyride, but he might also be having a break from the relentless calculations he has to do to manage the farm’s delicate finances on a daily basis. You still need to pay your employees when your business is in the red. You still need to invest in future crops when the current crops are giving well below what you hoped for.

Are banana exports down? If you stop planting or maintaining your trees, your farm won’t be able to recover by the time it picks up again. If we don’t plant now, we don’t reap later. And then nobody eats at all.

We can look at our farmers and shake our heads at their quirky two-toned shirts and practical shoes. But we can’t say they don’t work hard. Go hug a farmer today and say thank you.

You might also want to offer them a line of credit if you’re sitting with extra cash in the bank.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Spring Has Arrived in Oribi Gorge

“As the spring approaches, I hope you have good changes coming your way too.”

Night sky petunias on the porch. PHOTO: HEATHER LIND

 

August 25, 2022The weather has been glorious lately. Cool enough to garden a bit after months of a pregnant belly. Warm enough to go on late afternoon strolls with a baby and two boys on bikes kicking up dust. This spring we will finally have a hectare or two of macadamia saplings in the ground to compete with our growing brood. It is an exciting time interspersed with all the adult responsibilities. It’s also different to how things have looked up until now.

The third week in August was like a switch on the farm. The swallows and yellow-billed kites arrived within a day of each other. The wise are not so quick to declare spring in these parts though. The cold sneaks in every September with wind and rain that’s colder than anything we experience through ‘winter’ on the coastal inland farms.

My garden also gets confused. There are already arums, peaches forming, snake lilies pushing up, and flowers on the coffee tree. There are also captivating paint brush-like flowers and showy blooms starting to pop up everywhere. But my trusty beanie is going to stay ready for the next few weeks. I haven’t swapped out cosy slippers for slops yet. Isn’t it strange that we are so hesitant to change over when the signs are obvious? That’s human nature. We resist the unknown even if positive things may await.

At home now things have changed despite us wanting to hold on to the familiar. Every one of our garden pets has become a meal for a caracal, mongoose, or bird of prey in the last few months. Our lovely bunnies and chickens are all gone but we now have a beautiful new son. Our small farm no longer has the ancient flat crown choked by lantana but we have macadamia trees. We are winning the battle against invasive weeds in those spaces.

Things change like the weather and it seems that waiting out the storms is often worth the sunshine. As the spring approaches, I hope you have good changes coming your way too. We just have to roll with it and wait for the summertime.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Good Luck Long-Haired Man

I glanced sideways through my trusty sunglasses and ignored the man (obviously).

Fun in the sun, prior to lockdown Level Three and beach restrictions.

January 1, 2021

The week before Cyril closed the beaches was crazy. After a blistering hot morning at the beach, my little farming family stopped at the big city shops – the South Coast Mall – for bread, milk, and Food Lover’s Market droëwors.

Myself, the toddler, and the seven-month-old stayed in the car with hand sanitizer at the ready. My husband donned his mask and queued with the holidaymakers.

The children had fallen asleep and it was sweltering. So, I left the bakkie running, congratulating myself for having children who slept in the air-conditioning for our 45-minute drive home. I was happily rehydrating from my metal, refillable water bottle when I caught sight of a grumpy long-haired man. He looked sweaty in long sleeves and long pants with slops, and happened to be parked next to us. He was looking at my van with intent.

X-ray vision might have revealed that he was muttering as he paced the steaming tar, but suddenly, he started gesticulating and shouting something unintelligible over my diesel engine. I glanced sideways through my trusty sunglasses and ignored him (obviously). Then, he knocked on the window and slid into his (rusty, dented) bakkie, winding down his passenger window and taking off his mask to shout at me again.

I thought maybe I should respond as an intelligent and calm adult, so I lowered the window (a little) and hoped he wouldn’t wake my babies. Clear as day, he was shouting, “Pollution! This is pollution! Turn off the car.” And on he went. I closed the window with a shrug, and slowly processed what had just happened.

Me? Polluting? I wanted Mother Earth to swallow me right there.

Defending Earth Lovers Everywhere

I wanted to shout back at this long-haired man that he was barking at the wrong tree lover. I use cloth nappies. I compost. I drink water from a JoJo rain tank. I replant butternut seeds. I use the dishwater to hydrate pot plants.

My thoughts raced across my Faithful-2-Nature account and fabric shopping bags. I recalled my eco-friendly (generous) relocation of the night adder that bit me last month, and my lack of chemical intervention in the garden where I’ve planted about fifteen trees in the last two years.

Crunchy Oribi Gorge Mom? Killing the earth with fumes at the Southcoast Mall?

I was, though. He was right. It was just an awful delivery of the message. Instead of making me want to change, I wanted to throw (plastic-free) shampoo bars at his sweaty hair.

Where Is the Love Man?

The point is that compassion is a key ingredient – speak the truth, but do it in love. The irate man didn’t know my context and didn’t care, either. I was a responsible parent keeping my babies safe in the midday sun.

For the record, thank you long-haired man for your concern. You might have made a nature-loving friend had you not showered me in shame instead of inviting me to where the grass was greener (and organically fertilised).

May 2021 be a more compassionate year for all (even when we’re hot and “hangry” in the parking lot).

Published here.
Malaysia, Travelinds

Mabul Island

2 Comments

08 February 2014

Day trip snorkelling tour to Mabul Island with Scuba Junkie. The most inhabited of all the surrounding islands, Mabul gives off an energetic vibe and it was clear to us that all tourists and locals here were passionate about the ocean and its mysteries, as well as protecting their environmental treasure trove.

Mabul Island

We snorkelled in three different spots for the day and ate lunch at the Scuba Junkie cafeteria (buffet style) at the beach resort. There were no swimming beaches on Mabul but there is a small white beach where you can suntan or rest in the shade of a few umbrellas.  The resort itself looked very nice – small wooden bungalows and pretty gardens.  Swimming is not advised as there as too many sea urchins, but you can snorkel with the dive operators from off the boats, a little further out.

The rest of the island contains other resorts, dive operators, local houses and some home stays – this is another option for staying on Mabul cheaply. It is advised to check out the home-stays in person before deciding and/or paying for your accommodation.  We were warned repeatedly that home stays are strictly “very basic” accommodation (bamboo huts/shared bathrooms/sleeping on floor) etc.

Best sightings for the day:

Hawksbill turtle, Blue spotted ray, a school of very large Trumpet fish, a group of Puffers, very large Green turtles (at least 20 of them for the day) and so much more!

Snorkelling spots:

We snorkelled along the drop off and also in the artificial coral garden. Lobster Wall and Panglima Reef were wonderful, so many turtles and many other interesting fish.  Artificial Reef was completely boring and the visibility was poor.

Transport tips:

If you are staying on Mabul, but not diving/snorkelling through Scuba Junkie, you can still use their boat as a shuttle between Semporna and Mabul.  It was only about MYR 50 and they do regular trips.  You can take your luggage with you on the boat to Mabul (and back again).

See more about Scuba Junkie here.