Letter to Leavenworth, Washington #2

Durban, South Africa - Leaving a rugby game on the television - South Africa against New Zealand - I boarded the plane for Durban just as the Springboks had taken the lead. Clear skies offered a beautiful view of the Transkei region beneath me as I left Gqunube Green behind after a time of refreshing for my soul. The Tricircle Pavilion had truly invited me on that "journey inward" and I was able to allow God to minister to my own soul even as I was exposed again to life in a country facing so many challenges.

Having "journeyed inward" I found myself reflecting on opportunities this ecovillage offered for the "journey outward." Through the Serv-fari 2007 group from Leavenworth UMC, links had been established with the impoverished township of Mzamomhle. Since then considerable financial support from various sources has been given to CATCH, an organization doing some truly wonderful work primarily with the youth of this peri-urban area across the river from the ecovillage. This is a wonderful move that will help Gqunube Green live into its' sustainability mission - to live for profit, people and planet simultaneously (or, put another way, to invest in economic, social and ecological capital of the region at the same time).



Brianne Vincent's senior project of raising funds for CATCH by asking members of the congregation to sponsor the local Kodiak soccer team, gave me reason to visit this project once again. Doing so put me back in touch with Francis Bosman and introduced me to one of the pastors who is on CATCH's staff. Both of them are involved in food production at CATCH, something the organization would like to do more of.



On the last day of my stay at Gqunube Green, Francis and this pastor visited with me at the ecovillage, and we explored how this might happen. We are considering starting with solar cookers. The CATCH Center does regular food preparation and thought is being given to modeling cooking with solar cookers as a first step towards guaging if this technology is of interest and use to the poor folk in the township who really can't afford the high costs of electricity and kerosene. Should the technology prove useful it might be that Gqunube Green Learning Center can train a local member of the community to manufacture these solar cookers to sell to the residents of the township and so start a small business - an example of a Triple P decision as people are helped, the planet conserved and for some profit generated. In the photo above, the pastor, Alice Ford of Gqunube Green and Francis Bosman have a look at Alice's lunch cooking in the solar cooker at Gqunube Green - all driven by the sun, a free gift of God and tasty to boot.

Tuesday I fly home to Leavenworth. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and church family again. But this trip has been good and it's been valuable to link again with some amazing people and the global vision, incubating locally, of learning how we as Christians might rise to the challenges facing our one planet in the 21st century.

Oh, and it was just as well I wasn't able to watch the rugby to the final whistle. South Africa lost!