The Origins
The story of Domboshava reminds me of an octopus, and it prompted me to google this intricate creature. Here is an article of interest to me from Scientific American - “Are Octopuses Smart?” I will try and explain and perhaps compare it to my involvement with the Domboshava project.
It all started with a search for truth and many unanswered questions about the purpose of life in general. I questioned a diversity of people about our culture, lineage and spirituality; I always hit a brick wall. The underlying answer was always, “It is what it is”. And, I would ask why and be told, “We don’t know; it was passed down to us with little explanation”. My frustrations culminated with the economic collapse of 2008 in Zimbabwe; the shelves were empty in the stores, we had no running water, only a few hours of electricity each day and sometimes days with nothing. The country was crippled with an alarming inflation rate. There was a shortage of money in the banks and a serious shortage of fuel - It was paralyzing. The banks only allowed us to withdraw 100 ZWD per day, the cost of a loaf of bread. It was a half day’s wait to fill our gasoline tanks - a dire period in the history of Zimbabwe. How did we get here. Politics, the economy, land, water and then there were race issues that added to my unanswered questions. l was desperate to find out why we were in that situation.
To add to the problem, my borehole (water well) packed up during this awkward time. The precious water dried up, and it would take two months of going back and forth to the bank to get the money together to fix the problem. The city of Harare had no running water at all, and l had to search and collect water in containers from other sources during the breakdown, which only added more stress to our lives.
I found someone to fix the borehole, but he wanted cash, which was stuck in a bank account and could not be accessed. Elias fixed boreholes and he came up with a suggestion on how I could work this out. He asked if l had clothes which l could part with, because there was a market for it. Of course l had lots of clothes which Emmanuel always brought from America each year. I used to give some to family members, but l still had more. I went to Hetcliffe (Pa Dust), and sure enough l sold some clothes, and for the first time l had some cash without having to stand in line at the bank.
Elias then suggested that l move closer to Domboshava Showgrounds vegetable market where more people gathered to sell their produce. I always knew there was a market there, but l never saw people at work that early in the morning - It was a hidden treasure. As a child, l used to pass in a bus through this market on my way to my grandmother’s village on holidays. The times we passed through was later on in the day and there was little or no activity.
