Mrs Zweni is one of the old women with a wealth of indigenous knowledge on seeds and traditional farming methods. She is 97 years old and can still walk without a walking stick. She attributed this to healthy eating habits they used to cherish back then. Mrs Zweni is not a member of RWA but her daughter who is in her mid-40s, is. Even though she is not a member of RWA, the old woman has been working with RWA people as a source of indigenous knowledge.
She stays in Umngqesha, the Great Place, near King Maxhosa Ayakhawuleza Sandile and they are 9 in the household which comprise her children and grandchildren. In total she owns 8 Ha of land which includes her yard and the open fields. She practises a diversified model of farming i.e. she is into both crop and livestock farming. This farmer farms with pigs, goats, chickens and cows. The crops that she farms with includes a variety of vegetables and field crops such as beans, pumpkins, water melons ‘intyabontyi’, maize. She also made mention that she leant about farming and seed saving from her parents and grandparents.
She says both her parents and she herself never went through formal education but they knew how to ascertain the right times for planting. When asked on how they knew the times/seasons, Mrs Zweni had this to say, ‘We were mostly relying upon the moon. The position of the moon in the sky would tell us that this is the right time to start land preparation for planting. The earlier one planted, the more the expected yield’
Back then, they would acquire seeds through sharing with neighbours. She also said that at times she would offer her services to neighbours in exchange for seeds. Those with children would also offer them to assist whoever had seeds so that they would be given the same seeds in return. Money was not used more often. This was a form of Ilima.
The old woman’s favourite seeds were maize, pumpkin and beans. The reasons behind her liking these the most was that from each of them one could create a wholesome meal on its own. She stated that her most favourite is maize since it has a variety of uses. Such uses include the following: samp, mealie meal, traditional beer ‘Umqomboti’ and amarewu (drink). Her favourite maize varieties of maize were Red German ‘Ijamani elibomvu’ and Sbhozo. The reason for her love for these two varieties is that they are short-season because they mature rather early or quickly and also because they are drought tolerant. The seeds she is using have been part of the family for quite a long time. Annually, she saves the seeds and this sustains her.
When asked about the significance of seeds she answered that seeds are life. “When you have them, you are self-sufficient. They also represent humanity and a beacon of my culture, it’s my inheritance.” She went on to say that different cultures are identified by their staple seeds.
Mrs Zweni went on to say that it was women who were involved in making sure that there is always enough seeds for planting in the next season.
The question of water access is very important for farmers but the family accesses water through rainwater harvesting tanks, diversion channels and they also have access to municipal water taps, though at times nothing comes out of these taps.
Seed Saving
Her concluding remarks about seeds were that seed saving was a must . If one did not want to be stranded during the rainy season, you had to plan and this included seed saving. She mentioned two methods of saving seed, especially maize. One was that of hanging cobs with their husks on a wire line, in a house where there was always fire ‘isiswenye’. The smoke from the fire would then repel pests such as weevils.
The other method was that of digging inside the kraal, laying maize stover at the bottom and put their seed on top after which they would cover again with stover and put an iron sheeting on top. These seeds would be used for food only since they lose viability due to heat produced in the kraal.
