Style & Life
International Women's Day 2025 - Restoring Ecological & Cultural Diversity - Part One
Article By Sahara .
Mar 7, 2025
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the powerful role of women in Africa. On the front line of a polycrisis including climate chaos, industrial exploitation and mining, they are reviving indigenous seed diversity, agroecological farming, and intergenerational bonds, in gentle defiance of colonialism and all that has followed.
At Sahara, our commitment to environmental and cultural preservation has long been intertwined with the work of The Gaia Foundation. Through our enduring partnership, we have supported Earth’s best custodians to restore social and ecological justice. Gaia are members of the African Earth Jurisprudence Collective along with the Earthlore Foundation: a movement restoring ancestral knowledge for land and community stewardship. Together, we continue to uplift the voices of women who are leading the way in restoring balance between humanity and nature.
One such inspiring leader is Mashudu Takalani, an Earth Jurisprudence Practitioner from South Africa. After completing The Gaia Foundation’s Trainings for Transformation, she joined the African Earth Jurisprudence Collective, a movement committed to restoring ecological and cultural diversity. Her journey is one of resilience - returning to her ancestral home in Mazwimba village as a young widow with her son, she embraced her roots and took on the challenge of revitalising local food sovereignty and community unity.
Since 2017, Mashudu has been at the forefront of initiatives that not only safeguard indigenous knowledge but also empower her community to thrive in harmony with nature. Her work embodies the spirit of EarthLore, an organisation dedicated to accompanying rural communities in reclaiming their traditions and strengthening their resilience in the face of climate change.
As we honour the contributions of women like Mashudu, we recognise their role as guardians of the land, culture, and future generations. Their stories remind us that true sustainability is deeply rooted in traditional wisdom and collective strength.
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Part One: The Origins
Part One delves into the background and history of the organisation, exploring its founding and the driving forces that brought it into being.
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The EarthLore Foundation highlights the vital role of African rural women as custodians of seed, food, and traditional knowledge. How did your upbringing and experiences shape your understanding of this role and lead you to where you are today
Mashuda: My parents shifted to an urban area that had job opportunities and access to schools. This meant I was born and bred in urban areas in Venda, Limpopo, South Africa. I grew up experiencing the vibrant culture and diverse community that urban life offers. Despite this, I have always felt a strong connection with my roots and the rich traditions of Venda that I experienced during school holidays when my parents would visit my grandfather's village, Mazwimba, where my mother would look after me and my sister. Life in a rural village community has an intimacy and energy that one does not experience in town. This unique blend of urban and rural Venda life with its rich cultural influences has shaped my identity and perspective on life and influenced my understanding of the vital role of African rural women as custodians of seed, food, and traditional knowledge.
Since the time I was a child, I knew that supermarkets were where I would get food but, in Mazwimba, I had the opportunity to taste wild fruits, vegetables, and traditional foods for the first time. I also experienced the river and mountains that surround Mazwimba village. At this time I just lived my life, without understanding much about life. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of those days spent in the village. The natural surroundings and the vibrant community taught me important lessons about resilience and connection to nature and traditional food. These experiences have shaped my values and continue to influence how I view the world today.
When I was 19, I was passionate about traditional dances and activities that teach young girls their ancestral knowledge. In 2009, I connected with the Mupo Foundation (now EarthLore Foundation) in Venda, an organization dedicated to helping indigenous communities revive traditional seeds, restore food sovereignty, and value their indigenous knowledge through active participation. Their stories were rich with history and wisdom, highlighting the deep connection between culture and agriculture. These interactions instilled in me a profound respect for preserving traditional seeds and the knowledge that accompanies them. As a result, I became deeply passionate about advocating for indigenous practices and sustainable agriculture. I also began to notice the stark difference between the food I bought from shops and the food I ate when visiting the elders.
My fascination with this led me to return to my roots in Mazwimba village, in 2017, when I was 29. Through my visits and discussions with women elders in the village, I learned that many of their traditional seeds had been lost. I then shared with them about my experiences with EarthLore and how we can come together as a community to revive the traditional seed and conserve the mountains, forests and rivers surrounding Mazwimba, so that we can continue to obtain the wild food and medicines in this village that are freely given by Mother Earth. These elders became very interested in preserving seed, food, and reviving their traditional knowledge. With the community's enthusiasm and commitment, we were able to experiment with various seeds and cultivation techniques. Our goal was to find sustainable methods that not only yielded a good harvest but also preserved the delicate balance of the wetland ecosystem. This collaborative effort marked the start of a transformative journey toward eco-friendly agriculture in Mazwimba to become increasingly climate resilient and conserve our biodiversity.
How have agribusiness-driven policies, such as corporate seed laws, impacted rural women’s ability to sustain their traditional farming practices?
Though growing numbers of rural farming communities are reviving lost seeds, one of the main constraints facing rural women farmers who are wanting to sustain their traditional farming practices is the availability of sufficient quantities of appropriate high quality open pollinated traditional seeds. The shortage of traditional seeds and limited support systems are enormous challenges for rural women farmers. The platforms that encourage sharing, exchanging, and selling traditional seeds are invariably non-profits. They have taken the lead in establishing training spaces for sustainable farming and promoting traditional farming practices and bringing back lost seeds that are nutritious and important to the culture. Their work is often challenged and opposed by government agencies, trying to find reasons to close them down. Our approach is to encourage communities to hold seed fairs where they can exchange seed and enhance their diversity.
Agribusiness-driven policies push hybrid seeds and GMOs and all the associated chemical inputs that farmers have to buy that trap them in the cash economy and destroy their soils, contaminate water sources and the wider landscape. These seeds and farming methods negatively impact people’s health and well-being. Iniquitous seed laws in several African countries forbid the exchange, sale and production of traditional seeds. People are arrested and viewed as criminals simply for following practices and traditions that are centuries old. Many rural farmers are intimidated, especially women farmers. Governments support big business and the commercial farming sector by initially distributing free hybrids, GMOs and chemical fertilisers and pesticides to rural farmers until they are locked into the system. Commercial seeds, GMOs and chemicals have a greater distribution, and this gives them a huge advantage over traditional seeds, even in countries where traditional seed is available for sale and exchange.
The EarthLore Foundation supports the revival of indigenous seed systems and traditional ecological knowledge. Can you share any success stories of women-led initiatives that have strengthened local food security?
Mashudu Takalani, EarthLore’s Programme Facilitator, based in Venda, Limpopo province, South Africa, has an inspiring story to tell. She has led several initiatives that have strengthened local food sovereignty and built community cohesiveness. Her story goes back to 2017, when she decided to go back to her family roots in Mazwimba village, Venda. She was a young, recently widowed woman with a small son.
At that stage, the Venda leadership in Mazwimba and neighbouring villages was strongly dominated by men, who tended to look down on women, particularly a young, single woman like Mashudu. Initially, Mashudu was extremely nervous to meet with the Chief, who had a reputation of being unpredictable. She had plans to organise a Seed and Food Fair in Mazwimba and needed his approval. He showed little enthusiasm for her idea but gave her permission to go ahead, anyway, with organising the event.
Less than a year later, when he opened Mazwimba’s first Seed and Food Fair, he openly admitted his scepticism about Mashudu’s ability to the large crowd of guests - including dignitaries; local, provincial and national government officials; and visiting farmers from Zimbabwe, and KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa - who had gathered together for the event. He had been convinced that she would not succeed in organising the Seed and Food Fair in Mazwimba. He had little idea of what a major event it would be. He acknowledged that he had been wrong. He had totally underestimated her tenacity, determination and ability to inspire people and gain their support.
Mazwimba village was virtually unknown until 2023, when the first Seed Fair was held at Mazwimba playground. This paved the way for the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) of Limpopo to use this space to host Women's Day in August 2024. It was also the venue for the second annual Mazwimba Seed and Food Fair held on 8 October 2024.
The next day, on 9 October, a seed blessing ritual was held that included visiting farmers, who were invited to take a handful of the blessed seeds to plant and share when they got home. The ritual served to build unity and connect the community with their heritage and the natural world.
On 10 October, Mazwimba community's new Heritage Learning Centre was officially opened by the same chief who had been so dismissive of Mashudu in 2017. The round building was constructed by the Mazwimba community to be "a home for seed", a community traditional seed storage facility built on more than 7 hectares of land provided by the Chief of Mazwimba/Thononda. The centre will serve as a hub for agroecology training and intergenerational learning activities. As part of their commitment to their heritage, the community plans to construct more structures that are relevant for their tradition and contribute to its preservation.
All of these developments are the result of Mashudu pursuing her vision with the support of EarthLore and of the local communities.
Make Skulpad
Make Skulpad is in her 40s. She lives in a Julius Mkhonto community, Mpumalanga, South Africa. She grew up in a farming family which helped her develop her passion for agriculture. Together with other women in Julius Mkhonto, she utilised available land at the local school. The women farmers transformed the area into a flourishing community garden. This initiative not only provides fresh produce for their families but also fosters a strong sense of community and empowerment among women. Together these farmers have created a sustainable communal garden that benefits the entire neighbourhood.
By selling the surplus, they contribute to the local economy and have gained financial independence. Additionally, the donation of vegetables to the school, once a month, helps to supplement the children's nutrition and encourages them to value and enjoy eating traditional food.
In 2017, Make Skulpad heard about EarthLore working in the Elukwatini area. She was eager to participate in their agroecology training to move away from using chemical fertilisers, pesticides and bought seeds, and to enhance her knowledge of traditional farming practices. All the Julius Mkhonto farmers no longer use chemicals. Many of them now use liquid animal manure to enrich the soil, enhancing its fertility and ensuring a sustainable cycle of planting and harvesting. These methods allowed the farmers to maintain a self-sufficient garden, preserve traditional farming knowledge and foster biodiversity that benefits the wider web of life.
In 2019, Make Skulpad and her community organised a seed and food fair at Julius Mkhonto with the help of EarthLore Foundation. The farmers and the community were very excited when people from other communities brought some of the lost seeds in the area to display and be shared. This exchange allowed them to reintroduce and cultivate crop varieties that had been absent for years. Make Skulpad was happy to see Sorghum, Umngomeni and Amatapane at the seed fair. Umngomeni is the mung bean and Amatapane is a very small potato that people ate before big potatoes were introduced. Make Skulpad managed to plant some traditional Okra in her garden that came from wild seed. It is called Igusha and is slimy like Okra. It normally germinates in summer in the fields. She did not know that the wild seed could also be saved and stored. The fair highlighted the importance of preserving indigenous crops. These crops not only provided Make Skulpad and the other farmers with reliable sources of food but also connected them to the food and agricultural practices of their elders and ancestors.
Make Skulpad has made her garden a part of the transformation hub, which brings together elders in their eighties and youth between 18 and 35 who have been inspired by the change emerging from coming together to share traditional seeds and knowledge with each other.
How can global organisations, policymakers, and individuals better support women farmers in their fight against land grabs, corporate control of seeds, and climate Injustices?
EarthLore’s approach is to work from the bottom up and strengthen the confidence and knowledge of traditional rural farmers regarding their customary laws associated with their traditional territories and their traditional seeds.
Before the Covid lockdowns, EarthLore’s focus had been to engage with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to strengthen recognition and protection for Sacred Natural Sites, ancestral lands (as in the African Commission Resolution 372 of 22 May 2017) and indigenous seed diversity and food sovereignty, and to proactively develop policy that influences changes. This would be achieved through our accompaniment and support and collaboration with allies and movements.
Covid slowed down the advocacy work that had been in motion. In contrast, with more attention being directed towards work with farmers on the ground, we saw how deepening and spreading the work at grassroots level generates and strengthens support from leaders in the community, decisionmakers, local and provincial authorities, and beyond. EarthLore is increasingly visible on continental and international platforms, where we are invited to share our work.
It became evident that by sharing our potent work on the ground, we are influencing significant changes. Farmers learn about their customary rights that have been in place for hundreds of years and they become confident to speak about their rights to share and propagate their traditional seeds. Engaging from a position of strength is far more empowering than engaging in discussions using the dominant language of agribusiness-driven policies.
In addition to strengthening farmers' knowledge of their customary laws, seed practices and their rights, farmers participate in communities of practice, working groups, seminars and symposia together with partners and like-minded allies to discuss new developments related to corporate control of seed and policies and international treaties that are being proposed. Women feature strongly in these meetings. If global organisations, policymakers, and individuals could support the attendance of more women farmers at these gatherings and assist with documentation and the circulation of what is being discussed, it would help amplify what emerges.
It is important to establish and support spaces where women farmers can engage in decision-making processes that directly affect their lives and livelihoods. Laws should not be enacted without the knowledge and input of women who have observed, understood and experienced their local ecosystems, crops, and food with great attentiveness. Additionally, laws need to be strengthened that protect biodiversity hotspots and contribute to the cultivation of traditional seeds and foods.
With regard to engaging in battles against mining companies, tourism operations and other land grabbers, the main strength and protection of farmers is that they are not alone. They come from united communities, firmly rooted in their traditional territories, and part of a growing movement of farmers who are fighting for what is their heritage, their rights, and an Earth-centred way of life.
How does the EarthLore Foundation work with local communities to empower women in agriculture, and what role does education and leadership training play in this empowerment?
Through the support and accompaniment from EarthLore in strengthening our traditional governance structures, I (Mashudu) have noticed that there is still a significant gender imbalance in leadership roles caused by the imposition of industrial agriculture. Men were promoted because they were interested in planting cash crops that subsequently trapped them in the cash economy. Women, who had been the main farmers and focussed on producing food were discredited and the traditional seeds they were planting were deprecatingly referred to as “Gogos’ seeds” - the seed of the grandmothers. These were labelled “rubbish seeds” that should be discarded and replaced with hybrid seeds.
It will take some time for the current male-dominated governance structures to recover from the influence of colonialism. The current “traditional’ structures include government paid indunas (village headmen/chiefs) and councillors. Most of them overlook the contribution of women, who play crucial roles in both spiritual and agricultural practices. The community governance is traditionally not a politically elected body, but it is spiritually guided and acknowledges the holistic view of the community. Traditionally women played a powerful role as spirit mediums who would advise the chief before he made any decision
The process of reviving the true governance systems and structures requires education: not formal education, but through connecting communities that are committed to reviving their traditions through learning exchanges, such as the ones that EarthLore supports and facilitates. It is through fostering traditional knowledge and the revival of truly traditional governance systems that women are being respected and valued, together with everyone else in the community.
‘Jurisprudence’ defines how we govern our lives. Western jurisprudence considers humans to be separate from and superior to nature. Laws stemming from it have legitimised the destruction of our home. Earth Jurisprudence considers humans an inextricable part of the animate world. It is inspired by indigenous cultures that sustained balance for millennia, by centering their governance around ancestral lands and waters. The African Earth Jurisprudence Collective is putting this philosophy back into practice with communities and ecosystems. They are a uniquely African hope, innovative and ancient.
Discover more at:
African Earth Jurisprudence Collective
Women like Mashudu Takalani and Make Skulpad are a testament to the power of grassroots movements in resisting industrial exploitation and reviving traditional ways of living in harmony with nature. As the guardians of seeds, land, and culture, their work not only nourishes their communities but also safeguards a future where biodiversity, food sovereignty, and indigenous traditions thrive.
Read Part Two: Accelerating Action for Change, where we highlight the initiatives and projects driving sustainable transformation, strengthening local communities, and advancing ecological resilience.
For further information about the organisations referenced, see links below: