Reap What You Sow

You start from the beginning... you put your seed, you watch the seeds growing. You almost realise the cycle of creation... how what you put, is what you harvest, and what you reap is what you.... you reap what you sow. It's the whole ritual of life. It feels much more natural to be connected to what you grow. You know what you've grown. You know where it comes from. It just feels like I am meant to be a part of this. You are custodian of the land wherever you find yourself. So I've always gardened wherever I've been. It's fantastic to be able to just walk into your garden. Much better than being in a supermarket, absolutely. I think there is no other option. It's the only direction to go into... for people to grow their own food. There is no other way. What's that lovely song, 'Times are Changing.' Because the way we're going is not sustainable. It's just definately not going to work. And it has become... or will become more and more clear. What's that lovely 80s song? 'A hungry man is an angry man.' You can't mess with people's food. People get sick and angry. And a sick and angry person is deranged. I think everybody can do it. I think everybody is going to have to do it. How are we going to survive? Life is becoming increasingly expensive for everybody. I mean you can see it already, people are doing home gardens out of necessity. It's beautiful. People are learning a thing that they should never, ever have unlearnt. I think the reason I actually started with vegetables is to teach my son. So it's fantastic to send him out there into the garden. And he knows that's where it comes from. He doesn't think it comes from a shop. The freshness of the vegetables is unbelievable. The difference is incredible. These carrots are out the ground 5 minutes. You can actually hear them. I mean that's incredible. When I lived in London I had a balcony the size of a door. And I grew all my salads and herbs and cherry tomatoes... you know, all the bits... all the really fresh bits. So people don't have an excuse to not plant, to not try. It's just that little bit of consciousness, that's all that's needed. Working with the soil, watching the plants growing, you find enrichment, you find abundance. To suddenly see all this forest of foods, of life. Many birds come and nest here and they eat half of the fruits. I say it's not a problem. They've got only a little beak and they can eat there, I also eat exactly the same thing... it's even sweeter. The bird, he pinches, I also take a bite. But you do have to share. It's good to actually plant a little bit more so that a part of it goes to the wildlife. As long as they don't take everything. And then when you go and visit friends, you go for a meal, how wonderful is it to take something really special with... something you made and something that they can't buy in a shop. This is a moment for sharing. This is a moment for offering. My friends, my neighbours, they come and I say 'Please go to the garden, find what you can find, take and eat.' Because if I can feed you something or at least think I feed you something this is my blessing, to be able to do something for you. That is what makes you feel good. There's no holiday for a farmer. You've got to create your time out in your daily ritual and find solace in connecting with the life around you to feed you as you're working. But intially it's really, really hard work. People don't realise how hard it is. I can't see any other way of doing things in my life at the moment. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. There is a lot of experimenting, and there is a lot of failure. If a crop fails then you try something else there. It's trial and error. And not to be scared of failing, it's fine. You just carry on planting. Sometimes you don't see what you're doing. Sometimes just glimpses, and then you realise, oh wow, yes yes. And then I realise that there is growth in this place and it can be green. Do the work. Don't look for results. In that way the work is not personal, there are no disappointments. Whatever comes, whatever I think I do, it's just a gift. I'm happy when I'm doing my gardening and I'm seeing the crops are coming up. They give me happiness. It's a very good question, 'Why don't more people do this?' I don't expect everyone to go buy a piece of land and become farmers. What I do expect is that people become connected with one another and with nature, again. The happiest people in the world go to sleep at night with their fingernails still dirty. Because we recognise that there is value and there is connection between us and the soil and between us and nature. I was reminded that I don't sit above it, I am not disconnected from it, I am a part of it. Nature... sometimes she can surprise you with the best gifts on the planet because she recognises that what you did was for her benefit and yours. That works for me. Thanks to all of you who helped make this film possible. All of our films are totally crowd funded. So if you'd like to continue to support us on our journey check out our Green Renaissance page on Patreon.com

Channel: Green Renaissance

Views: 70,843

Rating: 4.9800568 out of 5

Keywords: green renaissance, sharing ideas, inspiring change, south africa, food garden, grow food, vegetables, fruit, food forest, reap what you sow, sharing, abundance, how to grow food, planting vegetables, cycles, rhythms, green fingers, eat healthy, soil, connection, nature, patreon, artlist, Nikon, canon, Justine du toit, Michael raimondo, microgreens, sprouts, home garden, how to plant, red beard, grahamstown, greyton, suurbraak, baardskeerdersbos, corona, covid 19, covid-19, self sufficient

Id: vsWhRCIvQiw

Length: 10min 20sec (620 seconds)

Published: Wed May 20 2020