Stalking Stump Hanover Park Cape Town

                                              CELEBRATION

GRACE

Joan is in India for 3 months. She will be sharing her love of cooking and preparing and serving food and the spiritual benefits hereof while she is there.

Exciting news for us at EVE is that Joan is invited to attend an Interfaith gathering in Melbourne. I am eagerly awaiting more information about her visit in India and her trip to Melbourne.

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EVE is part of Civil Society Community and Voice. Without community involvement in issues of concern governments will not act. It is important, particularly in the South African democratic structure, that civil society voices opinion; participates in planning and decision = making and lobby for change.

EVE is evolving and one of the most important tasks scheduled for this month is the review and update of the constitution. In this regard women and youth will be targeted specifically because the current constitution speak to people and communities but do not focus on women and children specifically. The holistic approach to environment endorsed by EVE will be clearly defined to express that environment pertains to everything in our space including ourselves and our neighbours, animals, plants, natural resources, home and work place, transformation, policies and legislation

GM products will have to be labelled in South Africa and this is a direct consequence of civil society voice speaking out. I am proud to say that with support from EVE I could ask Matroosfontein Civic Association of which I am a member and represent on the Provincial Development Council (PDC) Civil Society and Government Dialogue meetings to support a drive for GM labelling.

Business was not happy with this lobby saying that prices would rise if they had to label food for GM content. Western Cape Agriculture Department said that the only GM product was 80% of the maize produce grown from GM seeds.

The department can however not say which of the maize grown and marketed is GM or GM free.

I raised the issue and Biowatch and SAFeAGE added their weight because they were deeply involved on other fronts and other PDC meetings but because I am grassroots civil society I could table the matter wherever I found myself and not be put off by ‘discussions elsewhere’ and these structures could have another opportunity for voice through this.

Many products that may otherwise be grown GM free is not GM free once it sits on market shelves because maize is part of its content.

Other GM produce may not be grown here but the truth is that South Africa is a gross importer of food. How do we now whether the tomato we buy is imported and GM free or not?

Having won the GM labelling battle identifying the origin of food produce, fresh or otherwise is another lobby to pursue.

EVE assisted in organising a review and a civil society response to the Draft City of Cape Town Animal By-law. It was apparent that many concerned people did not know how to read legislation and how to respond to it meaningfully and engaged with about 50 organisations and individuals about the draft and responses to it.

As soon as the new draft is available we will start another round of review, discussion and submission.

The question of women in environment is quite critical. In the Women’s Tent at the World Summit on Sustainable Development one woman after the other spoke about their need for access to land and water in order to grow food, build homes and care for their families. They made clear that whereas the male approach to land was often profit driven without due care to sustainability because they could easily move elsewhere or to the cities that women understood that since they, their children, the weak and elderly often had to remain on the land that their survival depended on care for the land and other natural resources.

The women could not however compete against the males whether these were the men in local patriarchal societies or patriarchal oriented governments or (white) male driven international industries. They spoke of the hope the South African constitution and policies brought to all of them whether South African or from elsewhere.

In the cities and surrounds proper water supply and hygiene infrastructure is critical and we have seen that the lack of these services result in waterborne disease such as cholera.

It is important for citizens and residents to realize that the Cape Flats has a constantly rising water table: it is a flood plain or vlei area artificially drained by many canals (creating space for the displaced people during Apartheid). The rising water table means that whatever filth had rained away is constantly rising again and scientific tests of the underground water indicates high levels of cholera present in the water.

EVE does not have the capacity to go from community to community to address these and other issues with people but does seek to encourage participation in Ward Forums and the PDC to table important issues form a civil society perspective and to keep the discussion alive towards resolution.

Writing to thank her I explained that the men, John and Roland, who joined us while we were chatting, and I were at the Book Fair as EVE and explained a little bit about EVE. This led to the invitation.

Now I have to focus on that important post which I have been delaying because I wanted more discussion and input from other members: the post which would almost crystallise what EVE means to me and why I believe that it is an important structure.

John and Rodney is dwarfed by the Red Man. In other pictures Roland is serious and John is enjoying some witty remark by an author; Rodney is a new member of EVE and John Rodney and I spent a wonderful time together at the Book Fair. Do you Know Zapiro the cartoonist? Then there is Pregs Govendor a remarkable and enduring activist and a Human Rights Commissioner.

Bear with me until I can tidy up this and other posts J