Rural communities are close to my heart. I grew up in a rural farming metropolis called Nkomazi, deep in Mpumalanga.
This part of the country is famous for the Kruger National Park and it is an agricultural oasis. Driving through the region you will notice plantations of sugarcane, bananas, litchis, mangoes, pawpaws, maize citrus and livestock. A lot of our food comes from these areas.
Growing up, all the women of the area would have small farms including local famous plants such as ligusha , umbhidhvo, imbuya, inkakha and we’d pick them by hand from the fields and cook them. I realized that I had not had these good foods in so long nor do I remember how to cultivate and cook them. I have to learn.
The region also has a range of marula trees (uMganu) naturally occurring across the area. When I was a child at the peak of each summer, a few families would collect the marula, ferment the fruit (maganu) to produce a drink called Buganu in a metallic drum that would be shared by the neighbors when it’s ready. Those days were the biggest days in the community for those who indulge, that’s where you went to learn about who is currently bewitching who in the sgodi (corner). The fruit as a hard seed inside that is dried up to enjoy the white nut inside called tinganu so nothing goes to waste.
There is live stock everywhere. To own a living cow is a symbol of success. A house is also not a home without some chickens playing and tending to their small little chicks . If you’re doing well, you will also own some goats and pigs. I even noticed there’s little donkeys roaming the streets as well. Whenever we visit, a chicken is chosen from the field and a pot over fire is started. This is some of the best chicken you will taste.
Growing up, on Fridays, there was always a “Market” at the station. That was the original farmers market for me. The ladies would bring all their veggies from their gardens and local farms to sell to the community. I was surprised to see that the market area is still operational, they are no longer selling veggies though. They sell secondhand clothing donated by Europeans and mostly African products like imphepho, amavadla, amahiya and the likes.
The area is mostly managed between the local Chiefs and the local Nkomazi municipality. They are responsible for managing the affairs of the land and how it’s distributed. Needless to say, the stands by the Jeppes Reef are sold out. Usually if you don’t fence and put a structure on the land for a few years, the land can be resold. You get a rental agreement for 99 years, not exactly a title deed but similar, from the tribal authorities. The land remains in the care of your family forever essentially. There are areas with land still selling in Mzinti and more inland. I do not have the latest prices yet.
The area’s main challenge is water management. Each house has a Jojo tank but most homes do not have a pump connecting the tanks to the internal plumbing. The water isn’t available all day so the water is harvested early in the morning in the tanks but a bucket will be needed to flush, wash dishes and bath or make tea. The drainage system also requires a localized hole in the ground layered by brick . These are often reliable for a few years but they do get old and full. In some communities there’s a municipal option to drain this out every couple of months. In deeply rural areas, this often doesn’t happen. I’m so keen to work on these systems for my family home too.
The most recent trend I noticed is that heat management is also important for emakhaya, the local ladies are installing air conditioners, it’s less than R10k so they save up and enjoy their big paid up houses.
The region is always growing and changing. The local pubs change in preference as well. The days there are full and you’re still obligated to greet the elders. I recommend you secure some land for yourself just to have in the rural communities. Just make sure you fence and add a structure. I learnt that the local levy for each family is now R100 per year – if you compare that to the levies a flat in Joburg you will just cry.
By Nomathemba Magagula
