During 2023, EarthLore successfully celebrated the Year of the Millets, declared by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) with many activities, celebrations and ceremonies focused on millet and its diverse properties and uses. Millet, particularly Finger millet, is considered a sacred seed and communities along the millet belt in…
On the day after the Mazwimba Seed and Food Fair on 12 October 2023, there was great excitement about the planned visit to Lake Fundudzi, an important Sacred Natural Site for the Venda people. The visit was led by Vhutshilo Netshiavha from the Tshiavha community, a young man from…
A major highlight of this year’s Mazwimba Seed and Food Fair, in October 2023, in the South African province of Limpopo, was the opportunity for farmers to display produce from their fields and gardens together with wild fruits, foods, herbs and medicinal plants. There were a few displays of individual…
For the first time, EarthLore Foundation’s annual South African Seed and Food Fair will be held in Venda. Limpopo, rather than in Mpumalanga province. The event will take place on Wednesday 11th October, from 9h00 to 16h30, in Mazwimba village, Vhembe district, in Venda. It is sure to be a…
Watch this inspiring visual journey showcasing EarthLore’s work since 2015 that focuses on seed, soil and culture – the very heart of EarthLore’s work.
A warm welcome to the 2023 Bikita Seed and Food Fair, which takes place today, 12 September, at Chamas Communal Garden, in Gangare Village, Bikita, Zimbabwe. This is the most important event on EarthLore’s calendar of celebrations of the Year of Millets. The theme of the Seed Fair is “Our…
Meet Mashudu, who is reconnecting knowledgeable elders with young people to enliven their ancestral knowledge, culture and confidence. A new story of decolonisation from the African Earth Jurisprudence Collective, told by Mashudu Takalani of EarthLore Foundation, supported by The Gaia Foundation READ MASHUDU’S STORY: https://express.adobe.com/page/U3ZnkMdFQHrt1/ Working for EarthLore Foundation,…
By Natasha Zvemaruwa My first encounter with millet soon after arriving at the Turugare homestead, Bikita, Zimbabwe, was a deliciously bitter cup of maheu, a popular non-alcoholic beverage made, in this instance, with fermented millet and water. Simple, refreshing and highly nutritious! The full bowl of nyemba beans and the…
2023 is the Year of the Millets as declared by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). For farming communities who live along the millet belt and are accompanied by EarthLore in Zimbabwe and South Africa, this pronouncement will mark a time of celebration of years of reviving this…
Induna Sifiso Zulu will be one of two South African farmers attending the Farmers’ Rights multi-stakeholder seminar on 25 October 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia, followed by other opportunities to engage and learn from farmers from several African countries. He is accompanied by Thombithini Ndwandwe, from Biowatch and Mashudu Takalani, EarthLore’s programme facilitator. The event is coordinated by the Geography Department at the University of Cape Town and other Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI) partners, including EarthLore. It is part of the Farmers’ Rights campaign that links together seed fairs taking place in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia through a virtual caravan.
Sifiso Zulu, in addition to being a traditional leader who is proud of his isiSwathi culture and traditions and understands the value and power of reviving them, is a committed and successful farmer using traditional seeds and traditional farming practices augmented by agroecology. He has been on several learning exchanges to other farming communities, and always returns to his home in Elukwatini, Mpumalanga, with seeds and knowledge to share. He was particularly inspired by his trip to the Bikita farming communities in Zimbabwe, in 2019.
EarthLore’s work focuses on rebuilding soils that have been damaged for decades through the use of poisonous chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The work also involves effective water harvesting techniques and the rehabilitation and protection of the broader landscape, including sacred natural sites. This approach helps to mitigate climate change and contributes to the general well-being of the planet.
The current campaign for Farmers’ Rights and the growing agroecology movement is fortunate to have the involvement of Induna Zulu who is young, energetic, enthusiastic and committed to a sustainable local food system that benefits local farmers, local communities, and boosts the local economy.
This recent interview with Induna Zulu clarifies his position on Farmers’ Rights and the importance of traditional seeds to farmers and farming communities. It was videoed at EarthLore’s annual Elukwatini Seed and Food Fair on 6 October 2022. He makes it clear that access to and sharing of traditional seeds is an ancient practice that dates back centuries and that current attempts by seed companies and governments to control traditional seeds will not succeed because farmers across the world are standing together and becoming a strong force to be reckoned with.
