Workshops and protests!

Last week I attended a workshop about an hour away in Sunset Beach, which is on the western coastal side of Cape Town.  The conference/workshop was for a group of about 10 NGO's from South Africa that were all jointly funded to conduct a survey on land access and hunger.  The survey phase was completed before I got to Women on Farms but now I will be the one using the SPSS statistical program to analyze the data.  The workshop last week went over how to use SPSS and what type of results to look for.  The nice part about the conference was the venue - literally right on the water with a great view of Table Mountain and the city.  I don't think you would find too many work conferences in the states with venues like this!!

I participated in my first (illegal) protest! This past Saturday, Women on Farms Project organized a protest to raise awareness of land in the Ceres, South Africa area that is not in use.  There are many farmer workers in the area that want land either for food gardens for household use or larger plots for income generation farming. We started the protest in the city center, then walked to the Farmer's Association where we handed over a letter requesting land, and then ended the walk at a plot of unused land as a symbol of intent to occupy the land.  We had a much lower turnout than expected because many farmers threatened their workers by saying they would be fired and evicted out of their homes if they attended the march.  One farmer went as far as stealing the keys from a bus we rented to pick up farm workers so that they could not attend. There were still over 100 people there and I think we at least raised awareness of the issue! 

 

Besides that, there is nothing much new here! It's still pretty chilly and wet on this side of the pond so enjoy the warm summer weather at home! I am missing it!