- 19 hours ago
In this episode, host Cynthia Zonde Zulu finds out more about plants and pots in Malawi's oldest garden center. Plus: trashy treasures from Nigeria, sustainable hair extensions made from sisal and sun-baked bread.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:06the four seasons nursery in nilongwe is the oldest garden center in malawi
00:13but as much as i love plants there is so much more to do here and we're going to check
00:18it out
00:18but first here's what's up on the show today we meet nafkot gebiyu as she takes us through the
00:25art scene in addis ababab discover the abdos of real fake hair in malawi and find out how elusutu
00:32bakery makes artisanal bread using the power of the sun i'm sintezonde zulu and you're watching afrmax
00:53in nigeria a museum is turning trash into treasure wowing visitors with art and
00:59decor made entirely from recycled materials it's inspirational and sustainable
01:08have you ever been to a museum and thought to yourself what is this rubbish or i could have
01:14done that by throwing together some stuff from my garbage bin that's exactly what this gallery is
01:19doing here it's a new idea nobody has ever talked about doing a museum before dedicated to waste
01:29located in the heart of ibadan in southwest nigeria jumoke's waste museum is unique in africa
01:36everything you see here is truly trashy so why did jumoke decide to waste her time on waste
01:46i stumbled on the waste in my kitchen so i started asking question what can we do with the waste
01:52that we generate instead of throwing it away and nobody could give me the answer because it's like
01:57like a stupid question what is waste meant to be used for if not to be thrown away but i
02:03just couldn't
02:04you know give up on that idea and i was trying to look for what else we could do with
02:09the waste
02:10nigeria is africa's largest oil producer and has a population of more than 200 million people
02:16so plastic packaging and waste are unfortunately quite common this harms public health and the environment
02:23but what inspired jumoke to create new uses for so many piles of garbage
02:31i could say i fell in love with the waste and i didn't want to trade the waste the waste
02:34every single
02:34waste that i'm able to save is like i'm on a rescue mission for every waste i'm able to save
02:40from ending
02:41up on the landfill from ending up in the ocean that's my motivation that's what keeps me going in 2022
02:49jumoke a former visual arts teacher attended a united nations meeting in nairobi kenya there
02:56member states agreed to build a road map that would create a global plastic treaty but around nigeria
03:03especially lagos a lot of waste continues to pile up in waterways causing concern about the growing
03:09amounts of plastic in the ocean jumoke's way of recycling may be a little unusual but it's getting a lot
03:16of
03:16attention the idea of the secular world that she's trying to achieve zero waste is something that
03:24is profound that we need to all and to imbibe in our homes and around us our surroundings if we
03:31just
03:31make our country especially a better place to live in our initiative would help curb diseases and
03:39weaknesses that are needless and then we'll create a sustainable environment a greener environment
03:46and a place where we can all enjoy our lives better the museum which exhibits jumoke's work alongside other
03:54artists who share her vision is raising awareness of waste management jumoke also teaches young people
04:01how to turn waste into functional durable and affordable products and supplies that can be used on school
04:07playgrounds for instance we also collect waste from source so we have different families friends schools
04:17organizations that have partnered with us over the years and we collect waste from them from so
04:22because the kind of what we do we do off cycling we don't do recycling so we don't use contaminated
04:27waste
04:27so our waste must be from source not contaminated yeah jumoke's path may not be an easy one
04:35but she is certain that her efforts are not in vain
04:44so if i'm able to save 10 kilograms of plastic bottle today i'm like oh let's do more tomorrow
04:50and who would have thought that garbage could look this good
05:00started in 1989 as a backyard garden four seasons nursery has blossomed into more than just a garden
05:07center with shops dining and so much more right now i'm learning to pot a plant while having a chat
05:13with limbani makina limbani how are you doing good thanks for yourself cynthia great thank you yeah all right so
05:19what do we have here we've got a plant this plant is what we call a spethyphilim it's well known
05:24for
05:24its um peace bringing properties okay to your home right it produces a white flower and it's very good
05:32for air purification this place has grown into so much more than a garden center yes what are some of
05:40the must-visit spots and experiences that visitors shouldn't miss so we've got a man-made water feature
05:46so it's home to different species of fish we've got the koi fish we've got gap fish we've got
05:52lake fish so the kids just love it
05:57what are some of your hidden gems and local favorites that many people might not know about
06:02we've got a gift shop called yo that's a gift shop we've got forrester which is an ice cream parlor
06:08right before forrester we've got floral creations that's a florist shop so flower bouquets and whatnot
06:14and right behind me we've got ishk this is a clothing and gift shop and to our front we've got
06:20color
06:20that's the bar and the restaurant all right no thank you so much you're welcome
06:26next up we head over to addis ababa ethiopia to check out the city's vibrant art scene
06:33hello and welcome my name is nafkot gabayu i'm a photographer and we are here in addis ababa the capital
06:39city of ethiopia addis ababa is called the political capital of africa because it is home to the african union
06:50it is a modern city with bustling streets
06:56and a rich nightlife
07:01addis ababa means new flower and here we have the beautiful bole medhan alum church
07:07the ethiopian orthodox church is one of the oldest christian bodies in the world
07:11and it has influenced the visual culture of addis
07:21as a photographer my friends and i are the new generation of artists
07:25we're embracing technology while still paying homage to the more traditional artists who have gone before us
07:35now i'm going to show you some of the talented artists here in addis
07:38let's go we visit the studio of painter selomi muleta in ethiopia only one-third of women are employed
07:48homes are female spaces and selomi muleta focuses her work on the inner lives of women
07:58what do you want the audience to see when they see your painting how do you want the audience to
08:03interact
08:03with it when i look at my work i see myself you would also see yourself in my painting
08:12and when you do you have moments of memory which your mind refers to
08:19so i want everyone to see themselves when they see my work in your paintings i've noticed especially
08:26when you're painting women their faces are either blurred or cropped why do you choose to do that
08:33when i do a portrait it is the face or the hand that i paint i only focus on the
08:38part that i want to
08:39i don't as in photographs worry about getting the eye right fullness of the picture proportion and all
08:47that who are these women every woman for example if i do your portrait i don't capture you in a
08:54literal
08:55way i love what you said about you emphasize on a certain aspect of the portraits that you
09:02paint it would be an honor to be sketched by you
09:24okay i'm really really curious i want to see what you did
09:32a different napkot wow weren't you able to see it from there no i couldn't um i couldn't tell what
09:40what's happening wow it's me but it's not me you know what i mean this is so cool can i
09:48keep it
09:49oh yes let me sign it let me sign it first as a photographer i'm drawn to the energy of
10:00my city
10:03addis is always new you turn around in one corner there's something happening and it catches your eye
10:10the skyline of addis is dominated by construction cranes as people flock from the ruler areas to find
10:16work during the scramble for africa ethiopia was one of the only two african countries to retain its
10:23independence
10:26its political history is complex and multifaceted marked by periods of monarchy military dictatorship
10:32and our painful legacy also includes genocide famine and civil war in recent times we are trying to
10:41heal this through democratic dialogue i want to play my part in creating a new addis and for me
10:49that is about telling stories of my city
10:54so you're here at my studio and as you can see here some of my prints are hanging
11:03these are some shots from the busiest marketplace in addis it's called mercato
11:07it's really hectic it's really hard to take pictures but that's one of my favorite places to shoot
11:17and i love learning about people's stories one of my favorite projects is this book
11:22vintage addis ababa we worked on this project for about three years with my colleagues philip
11:27shoots and wenge labbebe with the vintage addis ababa project my colleagues and i crowdsource photographs
11:33from ordinary people who had great stories to tell from living memory these were personal stories of
11:40hope resilience laughter pride and curiosity
11:48and it's been such an honor working on it because i got to learn a lot of stories of people
11:54that lived in
11:56the era that was considered dark in history because all we knew it was people were fleeing the country and
12:02dying of hunger and genocide was happening but through this book i got to learn the history of my people
12:09who were enjoying life going to cinema getting married having children falling in love all these
12:16beautiful things and it was such an honor to be a part of it because it felt like i did
12:22something to
12:23my community we all felt like we did something to give back
12:27a lot of work on the topic of art the kaliso art gallery has relocated to the four seasons giving
12:33them more space to host events and make art more accessible we're with curator eve jisambiro to learn
12:38more
12:41now art isn't something that we just see it's how we feel how do you create a space where people
12:48are able to
12:49connect truly with art okay so arts all forms of art we're all born with them are in the same
12:58way
12:58that every person can dance every person can sing it just depends on how good you are yeah you would
13:04say but also the more you practice the better you get so for our space here i think just the
13:12atmosphere
13:13itself and having the arts on the walls sort of like gives you a vibe where you just want to
13:22get into your creative side and this is not art i think you know it just gives you that vibe
13:29where
13:29you're just like okay i feel like creating something so i think it's just a it's just a matter of
13:34bringing
13:35out what's already in you and then putting it out on canvas or on paper thank you so much for
13:41having us
13:41you thank you for coming for us hair extensions braids weaves you name it they're fabulous fashion
13:51statements and not very far from here in blanta one innovator is making beautiful dues which are being
13:57dubbed real fake hair when you have textured hair the possibilities are endless ethnic hair can be
14:06straight short long kinky curly afro or braided but why are there still so few skin and health friendly
14:16hair options if you want to braid your hair you have to resort to synthetic fibers but plastic on your
14:23head forever wouldn't a different material a natural and very stable one at that be much better and honestly
14:33ropes as braids the fact that it degrades whenever it has been discarded is what catches attentions
14:40of a lot of people but also because it's a natural fiber that is locally sourced people are very
14:47interested because some will be able to farm sisal and sell it to us sisal refers to the fibers from
14:56the
14:56leaves of some agaves and is a relatively young natural fiber whose use flourished in the early 20th
15:02century nevertheless it is still one of the world's most important fibers today it is traditionally used to
15:10make rope and yarn which can then be used to make sacks rugs and other handicraft due to its high
15:17durability
15:18but hair can hair pieces and extensions made from sisal be a real alternative to synthetic ones if you can
15:27take a look at this it doesn't tangle unlike to the synthetic hair some synthetic hair has chemicals which
15:37may affect some scabs the affected scabs may start itching within three weeks to a month
15:43some people remove it the same day because of itching the seesaw hair for me is a bit lighter
15:52and a bit breathable because usually by now if i had synthetic hair i'd be sweating behind my back
16:00and i would be able to feel the weight this hair extension is very versatile it can be changed into
16:08any
16:08style that you wish but also it is anti-fungi and antibacterial which means it does not get
16:17contaminated when it's wet but also being a natural fiber it suits well with natural hair it grips very
16:25well with uh the clients here a study has forecast that african hair care sales could reach 994 billion
16:34by 2026. current trends favor products that support natural hair care and this includes hair extensions
16:42which are used for support protective styles or extra length however these are often made with single
16:49youth synthetic fibers which get discarded and end up in dumps and landfills and can take 20 to 500
16:57years to fully decompose leaching toxins and microplastics into the soil streams and groundwater
17:06does the average customer and stylist think beyond the hairdo some saloons dispose their hair
17:13everywhere but at our saloon once the hair is removed we store it in a bin and burn it later
17:19this way the
17:21used synthetic hair is not discarded everywhere plastic hair is just over in our streets in the
17:27liver banks so i thought of coming up with uh biodegradable hair that will replace the plastic hair
17:34so that whenever it's discarded it will be able to decompose and not harm our environment the sustainable
17:40part is what drives it the most texture is a bit needs a bit of work but i think it's
17:47cool i think
17:48also just the fact that once i take it off it's biodegradable moses and his team have built a production
17:54model that focuses on sustainability considering that our main raw material is sisal and it's local
18:01available we also have plans that will grow our own sisal so that um we reduce cost on accessing the
18:09raw materials we have our own and we produce hair from that the hair production process involves
18:15harvesting the sisal from the fields taking them to our lab extracting the fibers from the sisal we use
18:24manual extraction we use sharp tools like knives and then we wash them after washing we dry them
18:32after drying we give them color so we use non-reactive dyes for coloring after drying we still dry them
18:41after drying them we soften them we soften them using uh natural chemicals and then from softening we proceed
18:51to hair conditioning and then we proceed to hair packaging
18:56allow for reporting that um we know in the definition of finding spices like hair is so here is here
19:00now and
19:01we're using it we're happy with it because i'm not yet there where i want to be there are some
19:17things that we
19:19far as the quality of this hair is concerned. In terms of texture, the feel whenever you touch it,
19:26shining properties of the hair, in terms of length we have to improve, we have to have
19:32varieties of length. Styling and care of ethnic hair is constantly evolving. From the eras of
19:38the stretching comb and ironed hair to chemical hair relaxers and perms that blazed through the
19:4480s and 90s. As technology around sisal fibers improves, hopefully this will provide an
19:50alternative that leaves our planet a little healthier.
19:57There's a few things more comforting than freshly baked bread. And when it's made purely by using
20:02the sun and a bit of love, what could possibly be better? Let's head over to Lesotho to find out
20:08more.
20:09Few things beat the smell and taste of freshly baked bread. But industrial ovens consume a lot
20:16of electricity, which is expensive and sometimes inconsistent.
20:26With this futuristic construction? Really?
20:29Not using the electricity won't make my bread taste bad.
20:34The only thing is the recipe that matters on how you make the bread.
20:39But for this baker from Lesotho, it wasn't enough to just screw a few solar panels onto his roof to
20:44get his bakery up and running. Karapo Mutsamai really thought about how to build a solar parabolic cooker
20:50to make bread at zero costs. Let's check it out. How did he do it?
21:02When the sun hits the parabolic, it then reflects to the tube that is made of iron. Then when it
21:13reflects there,
21:15then it absorbs the heat. Breaking without a carbon footprint? On sunny days at least. But there are
21:21disadvantages. When it's raining, cloudy, snowy, it can't work because it uses sunlight to operate.
21:30So when it's raining, I use the stove in the house. They get stove because I don't want the business
21:39to stop.
21:40Fortunately, with over 300 sunny days a year, there is no shortage of sun in Lesotho.
21:46On a sunny day, I produce 20 loaves. But when the sun is not much, I produce about 10 loaves.
21:58But the aim is to produce more.
22:04In the oven, it takes about 40 minutes on a sunny day or an hour.
22:13Anyone wondering how Karapo managed to do this? Well, during his studies at the Bethel
22:17Business and Community Development Center in Mahalazook, Karapo specialized in food science
22:22and solar technology. Why this strange combination?
22:26I love cooking. That's the first thing. And the other thing why I choose solar is because
22:32now the world is shifting to the power of solar technology. Because I wanted to take part and
22:38contribute in helping the world to shift to renewable energy.
22:47Over 40 percent of the population of Lesotho are young people. According to studies,
22:52youth unemployment is at around 25 percent. Most youngsters therefore try their hand as entrepreneurs
22:59in order to create jobs for themselves. Was this one of the reasons why Karapo founded Walker Solar Bakery?
23:05I wanted to make something for myself and I was passionate about starting the business. That's why I started solar
23:14bakery. I didn't have enough capital to study a bakery. So I used my skills to make this kind of
23:24machines
23:25to make my bakery work and again to come up with a different way of doing business.
23:33Bread is a staple, no matter where in the world you are. And this bread is steadily gaining popularity in
23:40Maseru.
23:40With a wide range of big-name bakeries delivering to supermarkets and corner shops alike. What is the appeal of
23:48Karapo's bread?
23:49It just tastes so good. And every time the owner comes and gives it to us, it is so warm
23:57and fresh.
23:57It feels like my mother baked it herself. And I've also heard that it is good for the environment since
24:04it's naturally sun-baked.
24:08I really found out that this bread is good for my business because it lasts long. It does not get
24:16stale within a short time.
24:18The challenge with supply for this bread is weather. If it's cloudy, there won't be any supply. I usually stock
24:31a lot so that even in bad weather, I will still have some to sell.
24:39Walker Solar Bakery's oven has been firing up since 2023. But with only one solar parabolic oven, does it have
24:48a real possibility for growth?
24:50I'm also looking for a partnership or investment that will help this business of mine to grow where it is
24:59right now.
25:00And I'm looking forward with making more machines and different designs that can treat each and every one.
25:11And hopefully I want to inspire many of youth in Lesotho and create more jobs for them.
25:21With determination and innovation, this bakery is on a roll, raking in the dough while spreading a little sunshine with
25:30every delicious bite.
25:34And that's all we had for you in today's show. Don't forget to follow us on all our social media
25:39platforms. Until next time, goodbye.
25:41Bye.
Comments