As we revisit the matter of collective unity, self-sufficiency and honouring our ancestors, I find it vital that we explore the subject of agriculture and how this plays a vital role in underpinning all areas of nation-building for the Black community. From science and technology to trade and healthcare - none of this is possible if we don’t know how to feed ourselves as a people. We also need to remember the value of reconnecting with nature because this was intricately linked to our spirituality.
As we look at how we can make small but monumental steps towards the goal of food sovereignty, let’s explore what our forefathers shared during their journey to help us reclaim our sovereignty:
Bob Marley was born in Nine Miles, St. Ann, on 6 February 1945 and died on May 11, 1981 at the age of 36. What many did not know is that Bob Marley’s maternal grandfather was not only a prosperous farmer but also a bush doctor - skilled in ‘mysticism-steeped’ herbal healing. Also, Bob Marley had a penchant for palm reading (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Marley). His background reminds us that not only are we a resourceful and highly skilled people but we often embraced our spiritual practices to overcome life’s challenges and fight back against Babylon. So has anything changed based on what Bob Marley said so long ago? Have a look at this video and you decide for yourself:
Were you also aware of this?
So we have two choices. We can either do this:
Or we can look to one of our ancestors - Dr. Sebi - for the blue print in tackling these ongoing attacks on our health:
Dr. Sebi was a tower of strength and an incredible healer in the Black community. He was a huge proponent of going back to nature to heal. Articles have revealed that Dr. Sebi credits his grandmother - Mama Hay - for awakening his love and respect for nature. He grew up in the bush of Honduras and managed to heal himself of asthma, impotence, obesity and diabetes with the help of a natural healer in Mexico. “As the plants that helped heal him have roots, so do the underlying cause of chronic conditions. He realized that a body cannot fully recover if you do not treat the roots of illness” (https://drsebiscellfood.com/blogs/journal/in-loving-memory-of-dr-sebi-2)
What’s also noteworthy is the fact that he won a malicious lawsuit launched against him which was done on the basis of him practicing medicine without a medical licence. Interestingly, not only did a jury of six men and six women NOT find him guilty, but his USHA African Bio-Mineral Balance was - as a result- thrown into the spotlight for it’s highly curative properties. This was a dietary programme consisting of natural herbal compounds, fresh fruits, vegetables and juices. “According to Sebi’s testimony, the compounds change the environment of the body through intra-cellular cleansing and replenish the cells by causing cell proliferation, wherein new cells push out old cells. This process enables the body to heal itself”. (Dr. Sebi Court Case)
So have we heeded the wise words of our great ancestors? Let’s see what Harriet Tubman had to say:
Did you know that Harriet Tubman suffered from narcolepsy? This is described as a neurological disorder which affects the brain’s ability to control sleep-wake cycles. She developed this condition after a slave master struck her mistakenly in the back of the head - with a two pound weight - and fractured her skull. It’s been said that despite the chronic pain from headaches that she suffered and her uncontrollable bouts of seizures, she nevertheless would have vivid dreams of freedom while experiencing these seizures (https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman)
So when you have heavy-weights like this who - despite the odds - accomplished so much, do you doubt our ability to change this world one step at a time?
ERITREA FIGHTS BACK
MST SCHOOL IN AFRICA
ZAMBIA - SEED SOVEREIGNTY
ELDER & FARMER IN AFRICA
‘CONTAINER’ GARDENING
Marcus Garvey was also a giant in the Black community and had just as much wisdom to impart to us. Born on 17th Aug 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, he was one among 11 children. However, it was only Marcus Garvey and his eldest sister - Indiana - who lived to adulthood. He is well known for creating the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A) which by 1920 had 1,100 chapters in 40 countries around the world such as UK, Cuba, Panama, Costa Rica and Ghana. “By 1926, the membership of the U.N.I.A had grown to over 11 million members. Marcus Garvey built the largest Black organisation in history” (https://blackhistorystudies.com/resources/resources/25-facts-about-marcus-mosiah-garvey/)
Another profound statement he made goes as follows:
“So few of us can understand what it takes to make a man - the man who will never say die; the man who will never give up; the man who will never depend upon others to do for him what he ought to do for himself; the man who will not blame God, who will not blame Nature, who will not blame Fate for his condition; but the man who will go out and make conditions to suit himself. Oh, how disgusting life becomes when on every hand you hear people (who bear your image, who bear your resemblance) telling you that they cannot make it, that Fate is against them, that they cannot get a chance. If 400,000,000 Negroes can only get to know themselves, to know that in them is a sovereign power, is an authority that is absolute, then in the next 24 hours we would have a new race, we would have a nation, an empire - resurrected, not from the will of others to see us rise, but from our own determination to rise, irrespective of what the world thinks” (Philosophy and Opinions, Volume 1, pp. 38-39)
So let’s see what opportunities we can take advantage of in the arena of agriculture by taking a tour around the world:
‘DAISUGI’ - JAPANESE FORESTRY
Problem: We don’t have enough land to conduct farming on an industrial-scale and it takes too long to replace what has been harvested.
Alternative: Daisugi means ‘platform cedar’. This is a 14th or 15th century technique which involves pruning the upper branches of the Kitayama cedar (picture) to create a tree platform for more sustainable harvests. The remaining shoots are allowed to grow straight upward from the platform which ensures that loggers only harvest the upper portions of the tree while leaving the base and root structure intact.
PROBLEM: My backyard has been reduced to concrete slabs. You can’t expect me to grow food from that
ALTERNATIVE: ‘Brick’ Garden
PROBLEM: I don’t have access to good soil and buying soil each time is costly and unsustainable
ALTERNATIVE: Aeroponics
PROBLEM: I don’t have the money to keep buying fertilizers and/or pesticides to maintain decent crop yields.
ALTERNATIVE: Electroculture
PROBLEM: I want to grow trees but can’t afford to wait several years till full maturity
ALTERNATIVE: Growing Trees From Branches
PROBLEM: I don’t have a backyard, I don’t have a garden and my space is extremely small. Is there any point even trying to grow anything?
ALTERNATIVE: ‘Mason Jar’ Gardening
Another ancestor worth acknowledging is Credo Mutwa. He went by the name ‘Mkhulu VusamaZulu Credo Mutwa'. ‘Mkhulu’ means grandfather. He died at the age of 98 but not before being initiated to become a sangoma (i.e. diviner and seer, using gifts of spiritual sight, mediation with the ancestors and knowledge of herbal medicine and ritual to diagnose and heal disease). As an artist, it’s been said that his 1979 painting predicted the September 11 attacks in the USA and he’s also been credited for making ‘predictive utterances’ which were eventually linked to the 1976 Soweto youth uprisings and the Marikana massacre.
This was one of his laments:
So have we - the children of the diaspora - forgotten the struggles, dreams and ambitions of our ancestors?
Not All Of Us! Mama Africa Awaits Its Creators (Taurus Riley)
UK Woman Goes Back To Ghana To Farm
To close this post, I want to leave you with these final words:
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