A cure for my Nervous Condition. An ode to my beloved African Continent and its People. Global pop culture. Sports. Movies. Fashion. Music. Gender. Race. Youth. Self and Communal Empowerment. Technology. Nonsense. Anything insightful or otherwise that I think you will enjoy ;}
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AMASHIWI
"Culture is the heritage of us all. some may be more interested than others in the treasures of the past, but no one can fail to take a pride in his country's participation in the story of mankind, as represented in carvings, sculpture, music, paintings and the other arts. And there is a personal commitment to this, for no man can really say he is alone: we are all joined through our identity, with the cultures which are part of the mainstream of life"
- Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian Independence Freedom Fighter
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm"- Winston Churchill
"Try to be the rainbow in someone else's cloud"- Maya Angelou
"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinion drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition"- Steve Jobs
So another calendar year has bitten the dust...and once again it is time to take the customary look back at what I have blogged about in 2014. In keeping with tradition, I am curating my favourite posts in order of favouriteness, but unlike last year I actually have enough to choose from to make my quota yay!
To keep things fresh, I am going to use the my 3-4-10 format, which for a limited period has been usurped: it will now have an extra bonus inspired by the number 18 that has come to dominate my life due to the documentary I released last year about the Zambian National Football Team: e18hteam. Right now the film is the driving force in my life journey and the momentum from last year looks like I am to be propelled in directions I cannot even fathom. There is a whole world I am about to perceive and experience for the very first time and I am ready for it ;}.
So in honour of the exciting times ahead of me, I thought it fitting to reflect on last year. Not just through the usual list of 10 posts that most resonated with my annum To better encapsulate the last 12 months, I am also sharing personal and professional lessons that have hopefully informed how I am setting up to grab 2015 by the ahems he he and continue to reach for my dreams as well as growing as a human being that has a positive effect on their community. So without further ado....
3 major lessons learned
1. Keep at it: tenacity + passion = success and with that the freedom to grow and be satisfied personally and professionally will follow.
2. It is more likely that the people you meet now may never truly know you as well as the people you have history with. That means you need to be patient with them, they may not get you or what you do immediately and you will have to put in the effort to get them to see you and/ or to understand what you/ your work are about.
3. Don't let the bad eggs take you down with them. Find a way to maintain your principles, integrity, optimism and drive for life, change and the future.
4 mantras for 2015
1. Be healthier!
2. Stay positive - don't let the negative thrown at you sap your energy, dampen your spirit and put your soul in umbra.
3. Holiday! Celebrate! Take the time to go to la isla bonita: it can be a simple as a treat like a massage, 10 minute meditation every day, or as indulgent as a flight to the beach or an expensive bottle of wine. It is important to take time out, take stock and find one's centre. And if you didn't get all the Madonna 80s references, I can't help you.
4. Be you. It's enough. You have a place in the world and that is why you are here.
This was THE song for me last year as I finished and premiered e18hteam. I found the strength within to push through the set backs and I will keep going, don't care if I am wrong coz I know I am right to see what others don't. That's where progress loves to hang out and you know I love evolution. Here's to another year of the spectacular, the gift of being alive, free to explore the expanse of our imaginations and finding ways to manifest our ideas and dreams to share with the world we live in xo.
FYI this video was filmed in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia :)))))))))))!
A couple of months ago, I went to another BongoHive Insaka, this time featuring Ceasar Siwale of Pangea Securities as well as Fresh View Cinemas and Mugg and Bean franchisee. I went in large part in support due to the fact that a coupla months later, e18hteam would have a theatrical release due to his commitment to showcasing Zambian filmmakers by easily providing a platform for their films through his theatres. You can watch the full video above but here are my takeaways from his talk and my thoughts:
1. The Diaspora are key to Zambia's development.
We in Africa are constantly complaining about brain drain but there are ways to overcome that. The Diaspora do not have to be terrestrial to have an impact. The skills they acquire abroad can affect home remotely or on the ground. A lot of the time frustration causes many who repatriate to return to their expatriate ways. Things in Zambia can be at worst bureaucratic, convoluted and sometimes so illogical, slow and unnecessarily complicated and time consuming you just want to shoot yourself to end your misery. But the rewards for taking risks are unparalleled. And if you don't have the stomach and patience for such, there are options: Zambians abroad can invest and provide financing for business ventures from overseas. Expertise can still have an impact through mentoring and being role models by making a difference from afar with the effects being felt at home. Be creative. Figure it out. And returning home can be done as Ceasar pointed out when I asked him how the transition for the diaspora can be made, and he looked at me and said well you are here, you have managed. Touché...
2. The Zed Zim complex is fed by our own insecurities.
In part due to the legacy of colonialism, with Southern Rhodesia aka Zimbabwe being the jewel of the British Empire's Southern Africa and Zambia being an afterthought: a consequence of land grabbing to show the rest of the European powers their might and was therefore less developed until copper was discovered and industrial mining started in the 1920s, we Zed folk have always felt a little, okay, very inferior to our cousins further South. Despite being a rock for Zim after we got independent in 1964 and being a refuge for Zimbabweans in the 1970s as Ian Smith waged war with Britain and Mugabe fought for the indigenous to gain independence and self rule, we still feel like they have more to offer. It is true that for decades Zim had better infrastructure, was able to market their 200m of Victoria Falls better than we do the 1 Km (yes you read right, we have 5 times more Falls than Zimbabwe) but in the 21st Century, we have taken strides to catch up. There is nothing to separate us now really than attitude. We need to believe in ourselves. Forget what they have, lets work with what we have got proudly.
3. Zambian education system is broken.
I lament the loss of the days of my parents. They were youngsters when Zambia became independent and the Founding Fathers really focused on education. They used the infrastructure set up by the British to create great schools that were some of the best in the region, and many were sponsored by government scholarships to go abroad, mainly in Europe, Russia and Cuba to get educated and were encouraged to come back and help build the nation. That time is gone. Now children are taught rote, and are chastised for questioning, lambasted for not towing the line. When a child is stifled and learns that the only way to get ahead is to give the required scripted answer, how are they foster innovation in the future? If their imagination is quelled before it is ignited, how can they dream? How can they envisage a better tomorrow? How can they have agency in developing the nation? Exactly....
4. We should be the hub of Southern Africa...
Most obviously because we are bang smack in the middle of the region! We should be the go-to SADC destination with flights to every single country. We should be THE connection. We keep going on about being a landlinked, not landlocked country but are we doing enough to ensure that? We also keep looking outward for FDI, calling for people from the outside to come in and help. There is a lot of money in Zambia already. We should also look inward and LDI should be a focus in conjunction with money from abroad. How can we expect people to believe in us and what we have to offer if we don't invest in ourselves? To truly be a hub, we need to be attractive for people to flock. It is time to woo people, we need to find our little black dress and flaunt our best assets to attract suitors by showing how well we are doing on our own but are perfectly happy to partner up if lucrative for all parties. We need to have faith in ourselves but not whore ourselves out. We need to develop with dignity.
5. Be passionate about your work and fight for what you believe in.
Ceasar talked about how noone thought another cinema chain would work in Zambia but he was passionate about bringing the blockbuster experience full throttle to Lusaka and succeeded. Unfortunately we are known to be naysayers, to shut an idea down before the seed of possibility is even planted. We need to give space for ventures to germinate and need to be okay with failure as it is just a bump in the road to success. If you truly believe in your business plan you should back it with your own money (how can you expect others to invest without being able to lead by example if needed) and be willing to do what it takes (without compromising your principles and selling your soul) to make things happen. There are no shortcuts to making it, you have to put in the hard time and be ready to sacrifice in the short term, to move forward and have staying power in the long term.
Ceasar with Anja Savic aka the Letterist at e18hteam Premiere, 16th October 2014
Lastly I would like to thank Ceasar for being supportive of my documentary film. I first approached him last year to let him know I was working on the film and he kept to his word and I was able to Premiere the film in October. Fresh View Cinema staff were so obliging and made the theatre release a breeze. We also got an extension from a week to a months screening of the film. I am glad to be able to provide proof that Zambians ARE supporting Zambians through our collaboration.
For more information about the Zambia Investment Conference that Ceasar mentions in the video, visit their website and register for the event happening the first week in December. You can find out about the latest local and international films showing at Fresh View Cinema here.
In the mood to start something? Register for BongoHive's Startup Weekend starting this Friday in Lusaka. You can also find out more about future talks by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
Want to know more about the film? Follow e18hteam on Facebook and Twitter to find out about our global film festival run in 2015.
Last Tuesday I attended BongoHive's Insaka featuring Sipho Phiri, a respected businessman renowned for his financial acumen and his shrewd understanding of how to navigate and profit in the Zambia's bureaucratic and at times frustratingly and unnecessarily hostile business environment.
There were three main points that stood out to me in his talk:
1. Zambia is THE land of opportunity.
We are constantly hearing about how Zambia is one of the top 10 investment destinations on the continent. We have a desireable political climate, great incentives for FDI and have an abundance of land and resources to be exploited. For some reason we Zambians do not care to take advantage of this and gripe and complain when we see others come in and make their fortune. Granted, the government does not have favourable policies and laws for local businesses to exploit, but the fact that there are so many gaps in the market to easily take advantage of and create opportunity far outweighs the hell you need to go through to make it happen. This leads to the second point...
2. Do you have what it takes to be the last one standing?
Many of us start businesses or have an idea of what to do, but when we actually set forth to create and achieve our goals we fall short and then give up all together. Either we do not want to partner and collaborate because we are afraid that our fellow Zambians will do the stereotypical thing and steal our ideas and set up something else on their own and take demand with them, or we get so tired of all the hoops we have to jump through to make our businesses viable that we remain moribund and ineffective for years, or we just close up shop altogether without really assessing what could be done different to be profitable and useful in the market. We aren't willing to put in the work to formulate ideas or make them a reality either :(.
People just aren't willing to put in the time and work required for the kudos, respect and riches they have decided they are entitled to. Half the time they neither have the experience, education, work ethic, product or service quality, and/ or the right to think they should have what they want and are willing to do insidiously clandestine things to get ahead because of their deficiencies. So self motivation is really important to not lose hope and to continue to find the right people to collaborate with and the right entities to partner with.
Sipho pointed out that you need to be the last one standing. So many people will come and go in the arena you decide to play in, but in all likelihood they will not have the stamina, the mettle, the drive, the passion, the determination, the skill, the experience, the innovation, the creativity, and most importantly the overwhelming need to succeed. So stick it out. It will be hard. You will be broke often. You will not always know what to do. But if you really want it, help will come just when you need it. That breakthrough will happen when you least expect it. Believe. Work hard. Stay focused. Remain steadfast. It will come to pass. Although painful to hear that it will probably not get any easier, it was comforting to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
3.. There is nothing wrong with staying small.
A lot of the times, when people create businesses they believe that we all have to be moguls. We want to be billionaires so bleeping bad. Not everyone is meant to be a ridiculously wealthy. Not everyone has to be as you don't necessarily need to be that loaded to accomplish your professional goals and live the lifestyle you desire. Economies of scale do not necessarily follow with upscaling. There is an opportunity cost to artificially stalling growth as well as to swiftly expanding operations. There should be a reason for being an SME or to becoming a huge corporate entity. You need to ask yourself what works best for you, what works with your style of management, with the vision you have for your company and your employees and how you want to serve your clients. You size determines the quality of what you want to achieve. Big does not always mean better: you can lose a lot by expanding: your profit margins may shrink, and your personal rapport with employees and clients can be lost. At the same time, you may not be able to serve without bringing in more people and to produce greater profits to keep innovating and creating you may have to attract more business.
Here is Sipho's entire talk at BongoHive: For more information about upcoming talks follow BongoHive on Facebook and Twitter. I have also now changed MUNTU format to accommodate changes in the blog, so anytime I write about someone I will add them to the tag and this post is part of the Zed Series about inspiring Zambians.
I get really excited about things to do with
positive promotion of my country and/ or the continent. So I was really thrilled when we found out
last year that Zambia would be co-hosting the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) General Assembly.
In two weeks the whole world will be descending upon us! This is such a great opportunity for Zambia
to show what a hidden gem of a destination it is. I have lived in Kenya, one of the premier
tourism destinations in Africa and the world: they are such good salesmen that they can aggrandise coupla national parks and the beach like no one’s business. Zambia is far more blessed with sunken lakes,
caves with rock art, over 3000 heritage sites and a plethora of waterfalls. It is
located smack bang in the middle of Southern Africa and yet we are completely
overlooked for South Africa, another country whose publicity is so good, yet still pales in comparison to actual stuff to see. People globally still don’t know that the majority of the Vic Falls actually cascades on the
Zambian side, yet Zim have co-opted all the kudos!
Instead of standing by and letting this continue, I
have decided to use my established proclivity to veer in the direction of deranged and confused behaviour for the good of my nation. I will not have Zimbabwe
benefit more from this conference and have decided to take publicity into my
own hands. This undertaking was inspired by conversations with
strangers, many of whom recognize me from my work on TV and know that I am
interested in our natural beauteous resources. They have come up to me and told me to
keep up my good work and have let me know they would like to know more about
what earthly gifts we have around the country and more about what the UNWTO
means for Zambia.
After realizing that I was inadvertently objectifying
minority races (yes when black people are the majority, they can forget that
they too can be the dominant race and can offend, discriminate and make people feel uncomfortable when you single them out) by trying to single
out muzungus, mwenyes and coloureds so that I could have representation across
the board, I went out and interviewed people on the street who were very eager
to share the knowledge they did have and what they would like to know. Unfortunately I had a digital videocamera that used
tape so I have to figure out how to convert that to a digital format to share.
So I then regrouped and decided to create a Flash mob at Levy
Junction Mall, as they have such a lovely area in the middle of the ground
floor, and the building is really pretty and has a skylight ceiling: lots of natural light to easily illuminate we black folk. So on Sunday I co-opted my company, PurpleTembo Media’s social media and Mukuka lent C1rca 1964’s and on Monday I
executed my plan.
People actually came
up and said is this what we heard about on Twitter and I was like YES!!!! this can
work in Zed and got youth to do a call and response to show we are
#ProudlyZambian and ready to welcome the world.
Rebel 101: Don't go to prison and be forced to wear a horrible orange jumpsuit. If you happen to mess with authority rock an orange chitenge print dress instead ;}
Management saw a crowd gathering and asked what I
was doing with my little digicam and I explained and said it would only be a
minute. Then when it ended they said I
would have to pay K1000 for such and that they didn’t think we’d make so much
noise and after calmly explaining I didn’t mean to cause anybody and was not trying to hoodwink anyone, I was asked to vacate the premises with immediate effect. As I was trying to give the participants the
K10 each for their services security approached us, probably fearing we’d start
hollering again, disbanded us and walked me out, and not in the direction
of my car mind you. So I went and bought
talk time for participants who preferred that to cash and walked back in 5
minutes later and proceeded to get me a smoothie at Food Lover’s Market. Pawpaw, pineapple, and strawberry yogurt mmmm
mmm mmmm.
Was it worth it, hell yeah! Would I do it again, in
a heart beat! ANYTHING FOR MOTHER ZAMBIA!!! VIC FALLS!!! UNWTO!!! he he he he
;}
Duncan, a MUNTU I interviewed last year is representive of youth doing things within the rules on a larger scale. Check out his event for release of a UNWTO Mixtape in collaboration with Zim.
As you can see I spent a lot of time in the bundus.
This was my first day of shooting in Kalomo,
Southern Province, Zambia.
Though I did make a quick post in January, Happy New Year for the blog always starts with the Top 10 of the year before. So Happy New Year seeing as I don't really believe in new year starting on the 1st of January coz sometimes you just aren't ready. This year I had a lot more to contend with. Finally got traction in my professional life and got more than I bargained for, so from November 2012 to March 2013 I was somewhere in 8 of the 10 provinces in Zambia researching, script-writing and filming the Today with Zamtel show. After that was working on my documentary film project, then I went on a social media break and then I fell ill. So forgive me he he he he ;}.
Yes traditionally things commence anew in January but let's face it, some of us are not organised enough to be ready to start afresh when the Gregorian calender dictates, and seeing as this blog's new year technically is in May, as it was founded in that month in 2010, starting when ready has become a bit of a (bad?) habit. Last year we (yes I am using the Royal we) were together by February and what I said then still rings true now: It's not when you start, it's the starting that's important.
Luckily I am recovering well and can get back into the swing of things and get back writing for me not for anyone else. So without further ado here are the Top 10 Posts of 2012 with my favouritest first of course:
Check out the two MUNTUs I was able to post about too: Duncan and Towani.
I like the fact that most of these posts are Zambian themed. I think this marks me finally becoming connected with my national identity after decades of feeling constantly on the fringe, never really able to find my place in my country's society. YAY! I write this while also having a crisis of faith as I ponder moving to South Africa to be more creatively free. What would life be if there weren't such conundrums to torture one's soul...
This interview was conducted in July 2011. I have not posted it because 1. I am useless and 2. I also I needed a segment of video edited and did not have the tools on my computer to do so he he he, which further enabled my procrastination. This is the first male MUNTU, and I must say I could not have picked a better specimen to kick-off representation of Zed dudes.
Nationality/ies:Zambian
Age: 30 Countries you have lived and studied in:Zambia, South Africa African countries you have visited: Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe
Education:Diploma in Information
Management, Institute for Management For Information Systems, (IMIS)
Profession(s): Record Label CEO and Manager of Zone Fam, Compliance Officer for a Pension Fund
Personal Interests: Music, Art, Poetry,
Community Work, Youth Empowerment
Muntu means person in
the tongue of Mwana ba Afrika’s mothers before her. As an acronym it stands for:
Man (because I am male)
Under
National
Trust
and
Urbanisation
This is how I see myself and Zambia at the moment. I trying to bring something new and hip to the
table while serving my people at the same time.
Describe yourself in 3
words, list 4 things you that make you happy and describe Africa in 10 words.
3: Ambitious, Understanding,
Personable.
4: Interacting with and making people happy. Spending time with Family. Achieving something,
particularly when people say I can’t gives me great satisfaction. Reconnecting with old friends, like I am with you
right now.
10: Potentially the new
world. Challenged internally but destined for greatness.
Recommend 3 websites,
blogs and/ or books, 4 movies and/ or series and 10 songs and/ or music videos.
3: Of course I have to promote
my own site: sdrtv.com. From there you
can visit the other sites and blogs I’m affiliated with.
MS TV ran by artist Mufasa Shulizee keeps me up-to-date with music
from Zed and Africa to stuff coming outof
the US.
Letters to a Young Sister by Hill Harper
Everything he talks about in this book is what people
should look up to and be inspired by regardless of their gender.
4: Heroes: get the whole DVD
set, it is an amazing series. I am an
Anime fan, if I had to pick one film it would be Narutu. I enjoyed the Hollywood film 10000 BC, it was
funny and epic. The Lost Boys is a great vampire flick.
He is a Zambian rapper who grew up in Zimbabwe and is based in
South Africa. This release was controversial as it talks about
kicking out the oppressor. The video showed on Etv and SABC and within a month there were
complaints. It went to court and it was
banned!
3. Thula by Young N9ne
This Zambian
singer/ rapper is based in the USA and really talented girl. This is the first song I heard and it’s still
my favourite from her.
4. Dear Future by Dope G ft Holstar and produced by Tekzilla.
What have you or do
you contribute to Zambia’s development economically, politically and/ or
socially?
Duncan and his hip hop group Zone Fam
I have been especially dedicated to developing, cultivating
and showcasing hip hop music in Zambia. We have come from a point where in 2004-5
there was no one listening to us, instead they were choosing to listen to
international acts. We only had one show
on Zed radio playing locally produced stuff, now we have 5 or 6 shows across
stations dedicated to this genre of music.
I have also made sure to be a part of many of the organisations that
have helped to bring this about. I want
to give a voice to those that wouldn’t otherwise be heard. I promote whatever I can in the hopes they get the
platform to showcase their talent that they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten.
I worked in youth media, in the sound engineering department
for the radio show TrendSetters that has now evolved into the multimedia group Media
365. I also worked for Bwafano
Home-based Care for HIV/AIDS in Chazanga Compound in Lusaka. They are the lifeline for 17,000 orphans. It was a great experience as it brought home
the effect this pandemic has had on our future, and fulfilling as I could see
that we are taking steps to deal with the situation.
What do you think is
special about being an African man?
When you walk into a room you immediately either intimidate
or are labelled. You usually don’t turn
out to be what people think you are. I
could be rich or poor, a criminal or a good guy.
We are always under- or overestimated so there is that element of
surprise.
I personally think the African man symbolises strength and
not in the just in stereotypical physical sense of being able to keep a
family safe from dangers and raising a proud family.
What do African men
need to improve and how?
We need to learn how to work together more and network amongst
ourselves. We need to lessen the burden
that African women have to bear in the family, the homestead. This is more than just providing the money
for food. We will be making huge strides even if it is something simple such as
taking just one thing off her list of things to do.
What do you think is
special about the African woman?
I defer to a poem I wrote called African Woman credited under
my alias Holstar:
What do African women
need to improve and how?
Zambian woman have a harder time working together because of
some of the constraints in society right now. They need to find a way to rise up and stop
being subservient. They should see themselves as equals they already are to
African men and take charge as ultimately they are the heads of the household
and in-charge of the daily activities of the family. I will say there are women are getting
educated and/ or coming back home from abroad and taking care of business here
in Zambia, but there is still much room for improvement.
What role do the
African diaspora and the global community have to play in the continent’s
development and identity?
Both have a huge role to play. Sharing our diverse African
culture with the international community and preserving it is what we on the
continent need to do. In a way our
culture is seen to be dying out. We need to be at the forefront showing that it
is very much alive, it is evolving and it deserves a more prominent and
respected place on the global stage.
Sometimes it feels like the diaspora is not doing enough for
example how BET did not air the best African act this year (2011)! Yes you gave
the award but we want to see the win as that means something.
Are you satisfied with the way Zambia and Africa are portrayed in the
media to the world?
No, it’s a bit better these
days but like I said no, I am not satisfied. They
don’t show the good things and the major advancements that are taking place
here and in Africa. Most us are still
considered 3rd world and we need to show our achievements to move
forward, especially in the tech field, as well as socially and in the medical
field. Even with HIV/ AIDS. There are
huge advancements that aren’t shown, such as how in Zambia we have brought down
the amount of new infections considerably.
3 Places and/ or Things That Make Zambia Special
4 Things Duncan has Learnt From
Like this interview? Check out the other MUNTUs :). For more of Duncan's poetic and musical side, check out this post.
This interview was conducted in July 2011. I am ashamed it has taken me this long to post. Luckily the information is timeless in its inspiration. Enjoy!
Towani Clarke, July 2011 wearing her own skirt design and bangles from Kutowa
Nationality/ies: Mother: Zambian, Father: English
Age: As young as I look Countries you have lived and studied in:
Zambia, South Africa African countries you have visited:
Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria Education: BSc Agricultural Science University of Zambia, UNZA, MBA University of Cape Town, UCT Profession(s): Fashion Designer and
Yoga Instructor Personal Interests: Fashion, Yoga,
SGI Buddhism, Reading, Swimming Social Media platforms (Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Blog, Website): Facebook: Kutowa Designs page, KuthutaYoga group
10 Questions
Muntu means person in
the tongue of Mwana Ba Afrika’s mothers before her. As an acronym it stands for:
I picked these words to build off of the notion of Ubuntu.
Marvellous
Understated
Natural
Together
United
Describe yourself in 3 words, list 4 things you that make
you happy and write a sentence that describes Africa in 10 words.
Kutowa Designs: Tipenda Pamodzi Collection 2011
3: Sassy, creative, afro-chick.
4: Seeing a clear blue sky
and the sun when I wake up in the morning. Buddhist chanting meditation. Curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and
a good book. Hugs from my kids.
10: Land of sun, merry
people, whatever the tough circumstances. Tenacious.
Recommend 3 websites, blogs
and/ or books, 4 movies and/ or series and 10 songs and/ or music videos.
3: Style.com, yogajournal.com, sgi.org
4: Vampire Diaries.
I am more of a book worm so I will recommend 3 books here:
Women who run with the wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
This is a book that is all about claiming the power of
womanhood and relating how a woman in her natural state is instinctive,
intuitive and strong. It talks about
knowing who you are and being in love with the person you find. If you are not
ashamed of what you find, you will not want to hide who that is. A quote that
encapsulates the essence of the book is: “It’s not by accident that the pristine wilderness of our
planet disappears as the understanding of our own inner wild nature fades.”
You can hear you life by Louise Hay
Take any basic health problem and it will tell you the
probable cause. It gives you the
underlying mental outlook to every illness and helps you to see how to change
yourself mentally to help you heal physically.
Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith
The Chakra system is now making sense with my yoga and it
has also helped with my understanding of psychology and Buddhism.
Purple Hibiscus by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Just a beautiful piece of fiction and the fact that it is
written by an African woman makes it even better.
Africa Child by Camara Lay
It talks about a way of life before colonialism, before our
beliefs were disposed of by Christian ones. The book is so powerfully beautiful,
especially the way Lay talks about traditional animist beliefs through his
father, a blacksmith who has a relationship with a snake and his mother’s
totem, the crocodile, which signifies that she is the only woman who can be assured safety when drawing
water from the river. It opened a whole new way to look at being for me, and illuminated an
Africaness that has been lost which then highlighted how we have forgotten our roots unlike
the Indians and the Chinese. Afrinassaince, one of my Kutowa lines is
inspired by this forgotteness as a way of reviving tradition by coupling it
with the modernity that comes with being part of a global consciousness. Other people are starting to research on our
traditions too but we still need to reclaim them. Our culture is oral and dying
with the old. This book echoes how we need to write things down.
10: Okay, so I recommended a
few more books so to keep with your structure I’ll only suggest 8 songs.
2. 2. By Your Side - Sade It can be sung to a friend, a child, or by a child to a mother, a sister...Any
way you look at it the lyrics still apply. It reminds me of my girlfriends,
especially Coretta, because to me it is all about sisterhood as women, standing
by each other.
3. 3. Desert Rose - Sting I love its mystical and spiritual sound – it moves you into another zone, it makes you feel like you floating in the desert with a cute Arab dude.
5. 5. Breaking
Down - Randy Crawford
It’s about a woman about to have a breakdown and about a man coming to save the
day. It cracks me up! It’s silly how we
are always looking for solutions outside ourselves as women with that knight in
shining armour. Sometimes we just have to get on with our lives and stop
waiting.
7. 7. Frozen- Madonna
This song has a deep psychology: if you
are not open to yourself and your feelings you can shut down and be frozen and
miss out on a lot of joys in life.
What have you or do
you contribute to Zambia’s development economically, politically and or
socially?
Kutowa Designs: Tipenda Pamodzi Collection 2011
In the previous book
of my life I worked in the agricultural sector working and managing a farm.
Economically, I am now providing employment through Kutowa for
the tailors I use and the people who work on the dresses, the fabric I buy and
the people who make the jewellery.
Socially I feel my contribution is facilitating pride
through wearing something that is African, that is Zambian. Usually to impress we say our clothes were purchased overseas, now it can be about identifying with Zambia: it’s African, it’s chitenge (African print) but it’s chic,
it’s hot and most importantly it’s me. I
am helping people identify with their culture in a modern and new way and not thinking
about traditional wear as something that their aunt would wear at a kitchen
party (bridal shower).
Then with yoga I am contributing to helping people to be
more aware of the importance of looking after themselves physically, mentally
and spiritually. A lot of Zambian women
walk tensely, hunched up in the shoulders.
The disconnect between the body and the mind is causing them to be
exhausted at the end of the day. So I am helping them get fit: they are standing and sitting straighter, and are more
connected to their bodies and emotions.
What do you think is
special about being an African woman?
For me it’s strength, because as an African woman you have
to do so much all at once, even as a child.
As the first born in my family, I looked after myself and because my
mother was very busy, I was in charge of the younger ones: brothers, sisters,
cousins, nieces, nephews. You are already nurturing, bathing, cooking and feeding.
You learn to multitask, to be responsible and how to work together with other
women as a team. This is why Zed women
and African women excel as these are management skills - learning to juggle
things and work with people is something we have been doing since we were
kids. I use more of my skills from
childhood than from my degrees! This is also
why unfortunately our men can’t function, even in the workplace, without female
help.
The afro – it’s unique and when I am having a bad hair day I
can wear a chiduku (head scarf) and
still look absolutely glamorous without combing my hair. You look regal. Natural hair is cool too!
What do we as African
women need to improve and how?
Stop trying to do everything on your own. Help other people
take responsibility as it will help them grow.
It’s not a uniquely African problem but heightened in Africa with the
boy child, with the brother, with your husband. When is another woman running
after another woman unless she is an elder?
It’s high time we start sharing the responsibility with the men in the
house so we can both have time to relax.
It is sad that in liberation we have work and housework and are double
burdened. It’s not too late for those
who are open-minded to start talking and start with our children, especially
with the boys, as it will help develop their character, help them to take care
of themselves and be responsible people.
We need to accept our womaness and our Africanness are both associated with a
lot of negativities and weakness. Every coin has two sides. To be evolved is to
start to see the full picture so that we understand how to change these
perceptions.
What do you think is
special about the African man?
He’s good looking, come on! Look at Seal: mmmm damn, he’s a
good looking brother, he’s a good looking brother! They can be good and loving fathers.
What does the African
man need to improve and how?
Kutowa Designs: Tipenda Pamodzi Collection 2011
Support your women and show your love. We know you feel it
but demonstrate more often. It doesn’t mean you’re not a man and that you will
be taken advantage of. A worrying trend towards absentee fathers due to people
having children young and breaking up or not being in the same country is
sweeping Zambia and the continent. These men are not interested in their children
and make no effort to see and be with them because the concentration is
currently on the man being the provider.
It’s not just about providing money, it’s about providing emotionally
and physically too. But even that support is being denied to single mothers
even when the man has money. It could be an epidemic soon if steps are not
taken to halt this trend.
What role do the
African Diaspora and the global community have to play in the continent’s
development and identity?
There is huge potential because as global as we are, not everyone
is going to travel to Africa. It’s still not the destination continent, it’s
Europe or North America or Asia. Maybe
they’ll come to Kenya or South. The
Diaspora need to be ambassadors, they can change views about the continent and
the global community need to get to know Africans out there and come visit. Africans also
need to stop forgetting themselves through assimilation, though people are
starting to appreciate their Africaness first.
We need the Diaspora to keep giving back and to do more of it, whether it’s for your
nephew’s school fees or your mother’s medicine as we don’t have a
Social Security net. The recent wave and
trend is people in the Diaspora investing in Africa by buying property and
acquiring shares in businesses. Foreign investment through the Diaspora is a
way forward. Why are we always looking outside for solutions instead of within?
People coming back after getting the exposure they need, and using
the wealth of experience and money from the opportunities they had on the
continent is happening more and more. They
are infusing a different ethos of doing things, seeing the gaps in the market and
plugging them. That’s the way foreigners
have been picking up the opportunities in the past.
Are you satisfied with
the way Zambia and Africa are portrayed in the media to the world? Explain your reasoning.
Kutowa Designs: Tipenda Pamodzi Collection 2011
Of course not! This
is old hash but it’s the nature of news - which is an extension of predominant
human nature - to focus on the bad and negative. So long as that is prevalent,
this will be the case. As human beings we need to reflect on this and even more
so as Africans. When people come and visit
they cannot understand why things are better from what they have seen in the media. The problem with western ideology is the
overly simplified Judeo-Christian view like former President Bush had where you are either with us, or against us. That dichotomy, good/ bad, rich/ poor,
black/ white causes such confusion. What about Obama and Tiger Woods? How do
they fit into society when you create such limited categories?
Here in Africa we are more flexible and not so obsessed with
trying to pigeonhole people. Yes, we have
a lot of poverty and sickness but there is a whole lot more to the situation.
We need to challenge these world views to say you know what, it’s not just black
and white: there is the rainbow and every combination of each of its colours. And that’s what I love about
Africa – we are a lot about colour from the brightness of the sun, the dryness
of the dry season and desert, the green of the emerald season. We fluctuate. We
are brightness and contradiction - one colour against another and contrast exists. In the either/ or situation you just see one
side and you don’t open your eyes to all the variation. We also need to see those variations in
certain areas as we also are prone to seeing ourselves the way the West does in critical areas. The key is how do we see ourselves as Africans?
We are still recovering – hair, skin colour, beliefs, and spirituality - we
still feel inferior. We have allowed some of this brainwashing. We need to see
the full picture in our media as well. The good, as well as the bad. All the
facets of Africa need to be shown for the true picture to be seen.
3 Places and/ or Things That Make Zambia Special:
4 Experiences Towani has Learnt From
For more videos go to my YouTube Channel and you can find more MUNTU interviews on the blog.
I have been gone a loooooong time. I needed to take time to sort me out and now I am back. Naturally, I am starting off this year of blogging by picking my Top 10 posts of 2011. I had already picked 5 mid year which means only half the work I thought I had, so for that I pat myself on the back he he he he.
As I did last year, they are in order of favouriteness, with the first being my favouritest of course:
