National Women’s Day
“Your purpose becomes your passion. Whatever it is, children, community, family,
it is what gets you out of bed every morning” – Peggy Sue Khumalo
August is Women’s Month in South Africa and August 9th was National Women’s Day, celebrating the strength and resilience of women. The day is a public holiday, remembering the 20,000+ women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria back in 1956, presenting a petition containing more than 100,000 signatures against the law to carry a pass (ID) during apartheid.
National Women’s Day provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the generations of women whose struggles laid the foundations for the progress made in empowering women and working towards achieving gender equality. National Women’s Day in South Africa draws attention to many of the important issues that women still face.
We spent some of Women’s day with Roushanna Gray, a remarkable woman. She’s a true free spirit, living her life at the foot of Africa and the founder of Veld and Sea. We were booked on the ‘Wild Food Winter Walk’
I had gone along expecting to walk through the veld for a couple of hours, identifying edible plants, with some instruction here and there. But the experience was so much more.
We spent more time than I’d anticipated in the gorgeous, ‘shabby chic’ glasshouse. This was really good. After round the table introductions, we learned a little from Roushanna, about foraging and the edible landscape of the beautiful Cape Peninsula.
We were asked to say where we were on our foraging journey. I thought of my experiments using dandelions and making ‘Nocino’ liquer with walnuts. I know that there is so much to learn, as part of living closer to nature and using, in a sustainable way, what nature provides.
I listened. And I recognised some similar thinking about working with the seasons and cycles of nature, where we can we develop a much deeper understanding of ourselves and our wonderful world.
I noted something that Roushanna said about ‘slowing down’ that really resonated, that there are so many lessons to be learned about plants from slowing down. I feel that the same can be said about life.
We walked. We had all carried baskets (an old bucket in our case, not very elegant but effective) and secateurs. We were armed and ready for foraging. Nature was our classroom.
After the walk we returned to the glasshouse for lunch. I was sun kissed and happy. I wanted to sit with my soup and reflect on all that we had seen and learned.
Instead I found myself sat next to an older lady, who bombarded me with an avalanche of questions, wanting to know how we live our life. One question led to the next. Afterwards I felt like a fool for indulging her nosiness.
It was a reminder that not everyone will understand that you may choose to live differently. And that’s O.K. We don’t have to fully understand each others life paths. But we do need to respect each other’s choices.
Overall it was so inspiring to meet Roushanna and realise that we are not alone in wanting to live an authentic life, to pursue passions and to seek a different way of being, away from the rat race.
Who is an inspirational woman that you have met?
© Maggie M/ Mother City Time