Capoeira solos in and round Harare

For our Ubuntu performance, we also started making a little video that we could show during the break. It started out quite modest, just doing some moves, but then we started heading out to more special locations, looking for landmarks for Harare, and soon we winded up getting up at 5.30 in the morning to shoot some moves on these busy roads.

Anyway, this little video was the result, and Morena, dear pen for the Capoeira Folha Seca newsletter, even wrote an article about it:

Capoeira April Filming Sessions

Bruno the self employed and appointed video footage person and editor/chief in charge/ head producer held a series of Capoeira photo and video shoots at various locations in Harare. The footage served to create a Capoeira Folha Seca portfolio comprised of snapshots and videos of EVERY single member of the group. It was a tiring exercise but he prevailed with his meticulous methodology and eagerness to complete this task.

A couple of us went to the ‘Kopje’ one afternoon. ‘The Kopje’ is a small hill that overlooks the city of Harare and has one of those ‘panoramic’ views from the top. Half way to the summit of the Kopje, expert photographer, Bruno decided to stop to get some air, ask for directions or just look for trouble. The minute Bruno stepped out of the car, a soldier jumped out of the bushes carrying a gun- an old AK47 with a rusted end part. The guy looked like he had not blinked in a couple of weeks and the veins in his eyes were visible from the car. We remained intact. To cut the long story short, Bruno played dumb and innocent but with underlying tones of sarcasm whilst the soldier was very agitated having not blinked for so long and was keen to deport Bruno after pushing him around a bit. The rest of us were silent not eager to witness a sudden shooting by the unblinking one; although Bruno was more likely to contract tetanus with that gun. Bruno sensing danger like a true capoeirista, snapped out of his play acting role, apologised quickly, made a small bow and macaco-ed back into the car. Before the soldier could register that he had let us go we had driven of.

Another group of capoeiristas was summoned by Bruno at 5am in the morning to do capoeira in ‘Leopard Takawira’ which is a picturesque road bordered by Jacaranda trees. (One of those roads that is worthy to be put on the front of a postcard). Bruno closed of part of the road with a red triangle and the crew began the photo shoot. The only near accident that eventuated was when a car (refusing to believe a bunch of guys and a girl in white pants resembled anything similar to a broken down truck) went through the red triangle sign in an attempt to run over Bruno. Luckily Bruno did a back flip over the car just in time and is alive to continue filming. (Okay the back flip was not really a back flip rather simple move to the side)

The National Heroes Acre is a sacred burial ground for declared war heroes that were involved in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and some others. The tombstones made of black granite and other exciting structures designed by artists from North Korea and some Zimbabweans made this site suitable for some capoeira footage; bringing capoeira together with Zimbabwe’s rich history. However, Ed ‘Formiga’ still managed to evade Bruno’s filming escapades. But Bruno had another idea.

On Independence Day, 18 April, a picnic was organised at Paradise Pools in honour of the 30 years of consistent rule by th.....oh, sorry I mean to commemorate 30 years of Independence. Incentives offered to Formiga included lots of food and transport. Formiga who thoroughly believes that water is for drinking and washing only, was not overly joyful about

the prospect of frolicking in the rock pools but capoeira in the wild, coupled with food and a music session was enough to make him sacrifice his computer on this particular Sunday. And that is how Bruno managed to get Formiga and the remaining video evaders on video. So a big applause to Bruno!

The ZAVSAP Fair

Wednesday 14 July was THE big day of 2010 for the other Volens network, the Zimbabwe Added Value on Sustainable Agriculture Produce programme. They were organizing a fair on processed food, where they would display all the products they had learned to make, have them taste, exchange recipes, link up with donors and retailers etc. Caroline and Thomas had rented the nelson Mandela Hall in the Harare Showgrounds, a huge hall, and all 9 members set up a stand.

I was there to film and document this entire event, as well as lending a hand and generally just seeing how this went. It was the first fair for that network, representing the highlight, almost one sixth of their total budget and for Thomas a step back into the organizing of salons and fairs. You can also read about it in the Herald, the official newspaper of Zimbabwe here.

It meant getting ten farmers from each member of the network (often from very rural and far away places) to Harare, put them up somewhere and arrange everything logistical for them. They all set up stands and would promote their products, as well as visit the other stands and see what other farmers made. In total, over 700 visitors came, from general public, over NGO and donor representatives as business men. I was happily filming away and doing interviews.

One thing that came back regularly was that visitors appreciated that some products were actually traditional, things their grand parents made before commercial and imported crops took over.

No other similar fair exists, other fairs focus mainly on raw crops that are sold, or livelihood. In rural areas, one hardly finds these products, it is often the same, unprocessed things that are everywhere: tomatoes, rape, spinach and onions. While in other parts of Africa, markets are flourishing everywhere and the informal economy is vital to the survival of many families, maybe even the backbone to the entire economy, in Southern Africa, the British seemed to have left a legacy of regulated markets and formal business, often leading to supermarkets (an interesting blog on this, from two of our couchsurfers).

how to make hand puppets

One of the tools we have developed in Zimbabwe to allow for counselling of children, is puppetry. Many of our partners are very enthusiastic about this, and keep requesting for it to take place at their organisation, which is fine, but it means we have to lend them our home made puppet box as well as the puppets.

Since our programme is closing at the end of the year, we thought it would be more sustainable to equip each organisation with not only hand made puppets, but also the knowledge as to how to make them. So, for two days, 3 counsellors from each organisation came to learn how to make puppets at Oasis, the organisation who had taken the lead to organize this. They sewed, stitched, braided, let their imagination run loose to create the most divers but lovely puppets. Even the only man amongst them (counselling is generally more done by women) made 14 puppets all by himself! It also meant they had two days to chat, share stories and compare how they worked while sewing, which created a very particular and special atmosphere.

Nice atmosphere, but they still made arrangements that everyone had their own personal needle, which wouldn't be shared. When working with so many AIDS orphans, HIV/AIDS is always in people's minds...