Goodbye Schaapkraal and Postcards from Venice.

In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful.

7 January 2015.



Subhanallah! The skyline is exquisite today, in all of its majesty. Looking up and across and above the blue sky is magnificent and I - a grain of sand. A contemplative grain of sand, mind you. The sky is a gift that grounds me, makes me ponder, let’s loose all of those light bulb moments and wonderful ideas, frees my soul and exacts joyfulness from me that I know not from whence it comes. And it makes me peaceful.



The Big Blue

In the quiet of the morning, it is just me, the sky, the birds, the Wolverine and all of the insects. I do a quick couple of brisk walking circuits round the house and a check on the garden. I have to be quick - the builders will be here soon and I need this time by myself.  So while I water, I stuff my mouth with sweet strawberries, one after the other. Yesterday Abu went to the janazah of his Aunt, his Mom's eldest sister in Wellington and I was disappointed not be able to go. A strong woman, a kind woman, whenever we visited she would be busy with something or the other and she's over eighty years old. Verily from Allah do we come to Him is our return. May there be ease in the hearts of the family for the loss of their beloved Aysa Rogers and may the wonderful memories they have together make them smile and may they all be enriched by having known her. I know I will.

Insects on Artichoke bloom

The artichoke, alas has just sprung into bloom before I had a chance to cook it and a myriad of different insects come to plunder her purple stamens for nectar. So I hope to get seeds to share with others too. The chard seeds are almost dry and the egg plants are magnificent. The young asparagus plants are doing so well, one more year and the canes can be cut to invigorate new buds that we will harvest with Allah’s grace.

And as I make my way to the gate, there is a postcard from a friend. Over the years she has sent me postcards from where ever she traveled – India, Bosnia, the Comoros and alas some of them may have gone astray in space because it has been years since I received any. There is no feeling like receiving a card in the mail. I look long and hard at this picture of Venice imagining how romantic it must be, lovers sipping a warm cocoa while the gondolier serenades and I smile. It is not dated so I wonder when she sent it.  My daughter spies  over my shoulder, “Mom can you make out the handwriting, the card is really creased?”. “Of course, it’s from my friend Alette.”

The morning inspires me to go and look for some beautiful writing paper, the kind I used years ago. I love letters and cards, the feel and smell of them; the mystery of where they come from and how they travelled. Aah is this not happiness?

And so our time in Schaapkraal has come to an end Alhamdulilah.  The time here has allowed iLABS to pilot its Mili Project (Mindful Living Initiative) and initiate our iSTEP (Skills Development and training) apprenticeships with the Koedrah of Allah SWT successfully. With the Tahfeeth school being here, it shared in its blessings and invited so much barakah.

Egg Plants

In 9 months, the strawberry plants increased manifold fruiting only the juiciest sweetest berries week after week; plant and tree cuttings took root in abundance; the plants gave seeds to start so many more projects – lettuce of different varieties, coriander and flaxseed; rocket, mustard, celery, cabbage, spinach and swiss chard to name but a few. The fruit trees prospered profusely and new ones germinated.  Also crates full of fruit trees.

 We could all eat from the gardens and this included students, teachers and visitors. We made daltjies from spinach and chards red and green; experimented with kale pies and filled samoosas with the different onions and greens. We made soups and used peas and beans and broccoli. Cabbage and cauliflower found their way to scrumptious dinners. Chillis spiced up our meals and chutneys and peppers and cucumbers our salads. So many different lettuces were enjoyed and added nasturtium blooms too. And so on.

So I stand in the soil (kaalvoet), under the big blue sky with thankfulness to Allah SWT for this journey and I try to envisage where we will find a smallholding to take these developmental projects forward. Surely Allah has a plan for us where we will find a place to stay, a place to grow our plants and projects, a place where can we continue this amazingly wonderful work.  Why else would we have gained this experience and knowledge and happiness in so short a time and thousands of new plants and trees and ground covers and creepers and seeds and flowers, but to settle them in a place to be a benefit for others to learn and to feed and to inspire to take better care of ourselves and the earth?

I am hoping that those of you who enjoyed the blog will help to find iLABS a place to rent where we can continue to do the work that we do best. To grow an improved organic environment; where we can open our centre for skills development and where we can tread on the earth gently. You may know of a space or place or piece of land that needs to be worked.  Anything is possible with Allah!

what's for breakfast?

And as the workers turn up, I slip on my shoes and head inside examining the lime tree's progress on my way and I spy a beautiful caterpillar snugly attached to a branch. I am about to knock it off when I think how can we expect mercy if we give none? So I bounce inside with a hop in my step and sit down to breakfast that Abu prepared. So what's for breakfast? Lots of fruits that he brought home from Wellington - gorgeous ripe figs with brie, yoghurts and some cashew baklava. Only a smidgen for me kanala!

Plant food and never despair in the mercy of thine Lord.

Ps send postcards too.

Yasmine