Mulday Mondays: Day Zero in Cape Town, South Africa

This is an oldie but goodie in explaining Water Security. 

CAPE TOWN 

In the beginning of the month, we touched on just how close Cape Town, SA was to Day Zero of having no water supply. The imbalance in distribution of water across the region including weak water policies have contributed to the water shortage in Cape Town. Other issues such as failing waste water plants and poor water system infrastructure to treat sewage that needed a major upgrade also made this situation worse. South Africa is the largest food producer for Southern Africa, the agriculture sector consumes about 60% of all water use in the country. This water shortage crisis in Cape Town will result to water stress towards neighboring countries that will also lead to Food, Water, and Energy security towards the entire region.

GOVERNMENT RESPONDS WITH A POINT SYSTEM

Cape Town has officially announced that each person in the city will be given an allowance of 25 liters a day (6 gallons) of water. Yet the public has heard no immediate solutions from the government on making sure this catastrophe does not repeat itself years later. Cape Town has failed to look at the other dangers that come with hygiene and water access.  

This is repeated so often in discussions with water access and challenges that face women in global south spaces, Menstrual Hygiene. The inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene for women brings more challenges than solutions and should never be gambled or minimized.

Put aside that poor menstrual hygiene leads to a host of health issues such as: UTI’s (ask any woman in your life just how great this feels), Constipation and a Range of infections.

What do you think school attendance will look like for girls attending school in the region compared to boys?

“Do you know that washing your hands can prevent over half of the water borne related illnesses? Granted the WATER IS CLEAN.
”

— Handwashing

Inadequate W.A.S.H(Water Sanitation and Hygiene) affects Public Health, Waterborne Diseases, Vector-Born Diseases, Nutrition, Gender, Education, and Disaster Management. Inadequate W.A.S.H(Water Sanitation and Hygiene) affects Public Health, Waterborne Diseases, Vector-Born Diseases, Nutrition, Gender, Education, and Disaster Management. The Cape Town government has been reactive and not proactive even at this moment. While Citizens are being asked to sacrifice their health and wellness, the government is still not working on the real issues.

The city recommends people take no more than 2 showers a week

The city also encourages using the ocean for washing. However, if people cannot flush often, care to guess how quickly Open Defecation might be an issue?

How much water do you use daily? Try this Water Calculator out!

                         TOURISM TAKES A HIT

It is reported that numbers of tourists are cancelling their trips to Cape Town. You can imagine tourists might not be okay with one flush a day, personal hygiene in the ocean or showering twice a week.
 

   CAPITALIST SEES ONLY SOLUTIONS 

RAINBOW GASTRONOMY WITH NO WATER

Cape Town Food Designers, are making the best of no water in Cape Town, by making sure to use only salt tolerant vegetables. This is the type of unique ingenuity expected from Chefs of the “Rainbow Cuisine”. Rainbow Cuisine is the term used to describe South African Gastronomy. This ingenuity makes South African chefs, cooks, and food designers important players in the overall narrative of African Gastronomy. This is also a tool that can be used for their niche Gastrodiplomacy in interacting with other countries that are experiencing similar water shortage issues.

DRY BATH-BATHING WITH NO WATER BY MR. MARISHANE

If you had to walk a mile for a jug of water every day, as millions of people do, it's unlikely you'd use that precious water to bathe. Young entrepreneur Ludwick Marishane tells the amazing, funny story of how he invented a cheap, clean and convenient solution: DryBath, the world's first bath-substituting lotion.

Want to know more about his products?

See you next  Mulday

.

Cassava Tuesdays: The Soft Power of Ghana "Home of Culture & Hospitality"

Ghana is home to over 24 million people but to anyone that has ever had the pleasure of visiting two adjectives describe the country: Culture & Hospitality.

Capital: Accra
Official Language Spoken: English
Religion: Christianity and Islam
Currency: Ghana CEDI
President: William (Nana)Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
Vice President: Mahamudu Bawumia

Ghana

I am sure by now, you know our term to describe African Soft Power is Cassava Diplomacy! You also understand the application of Soft power right? For a refresher on Soft Power, just look at the last Cassava Tuesday Entry. 

In 1957, Ghana was the wealthiest country in Sub-Sahara Africa and the first to get its independence in West Africa. 

“Did you know that in the late 1950’s, Ghana and South Korea had similar per capita income??”

Ghana focused on socialist protectionist trade policies, in the name of Pan African Socialism. This type of policy is known as imported substitution policy.

“A trade and economic policy which advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production.
In order words: SAY NO or greatly reduce foreign dependency by focusing on local production of industrialized products.”

— What is Import Substitution Policy? Water & Cassava

This is what your chocolate looks like fresh, Cocoa Fruit. 

Cocoa Beans

“So where did things go South for Ghana and North for South Korea?”

— Water & Cassava

Chocolate became the downfall of Ghana. The Ghanaian government used tax revenues from the export of cocoa to subsidize the development of other industries in the country. Their entire hope was on cocoa with the belief that this would support the domestic market and lead to self-sufficiency within the manufactured goods sector. They would be able to export these "Ghanaian made goods" but more importantly, this will allow for sophisticated manufactured goods. 

 But the reality looked more like this: 

 Cocoa farmers in Ghana suffered from the government’s policy of import substitution and price control as it made them poorer. All productive resources because of ISP (Import Substitution Policy) moved away from goods that had an advantage (like cocoa :(..) and into goods that had much higher production costs. Local people in Ghana were forced to pay higher prices for inferior goods and the available productive resources that were available, the government did not put it to good use.
 

“An inferior good is a type of good for which demand declines as the level of income or real GDP in the economy increases. ”

— The Guys and Girls in Investopedia

Farmers needing to survive turned to self-sufficiency farming on land designated for growing cocoa. These inefficiencies and lack of diversity in development will put a brake on the economic development of Ghana. 

“The case of Kimchi Land and Survival ”

— Water & Cassava

South Korea was successful because it focused on open free trade policies. They took all their resources not just a particular sector but EVERYTHING to make this work. South Korea shifted from agriculture to intensive manufactured goods such as footwear and textiles. Open free trade policies led to Koreans getting most of their Won ( Korean currency) and earning more in wages. 
Combine such efforts, country branding in the name of soft power, technologies made in Korea by Koreans, you have Kimchi Diplomacy.  Unfortunately, Ghana never saw country branding as a tool for country development in the past, but it appears a change is coming. 

... BACK TO GHANA & SOFT POWER

Ghana is working on understanding and applying the importance of country branding and the application of this process in their diplomacy.
 

“To the Ghana Diaspora: You share responsibility in country branding and patronizing ”

— Water & Cassava

It appears Ghana will focus on forms of Gastronomy and Tourism as a soft power tool. Soft Power tools in Ghana also include Sports (football). I touched on the role of China and Stadium Diplomacy in Africa in the past. Ghana played an important role with the genesis of this relationship. Read about that here:

So let's watch, the GHANAIAN GOVERNMENT on soft power 

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia invites visitors to Ghana to try various Ghanaian cuisine, especially the country's 'world famous jollof rice'

Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku says Ghana's heritage, culture, democratic credentials, respect for rule of law and friendliness makes the country the preferred tourism destination in West Africa

Meanwhile in Seoul, South Korea....

Asian Boss

Ghana has strong ties to South Korea already through popular culture with Ghanaian born actor Sam Okyere. He is very popular in Seoul and is fluent in the language. We will keep tabs on how the Ghana government applies soft power through him. In addition, we will monitor just how Ghana will use soft power tools in the African region and in other Asian Spaces 

Until next Cassava Tuesday!

Cassava Tuesdays: Africa Gastrodiplomacy

             The Heavens and Food   

                Ambrosia of ancient Greece gave immortality to the Gods which allowed them to govern mankind.  The Golden Apples in Norse Mythology that allows the Nordic Gods to stay alive and immortal to rule mankind. Peaches of Immortality in Ancient China, Yams for the Igbo Tribe(Nigeria) is used to honor the Earth goddess Ala. In the Abrahamic faiths, food is used as a form of governance with foods considered "unholy" and "holy", there is even a particular way to prepare food and animals. Humans, who do not prescribe to such governance, negatively affect their chance to enter heaven.
        Food is a material and symbolic representation of culture; it allows people to communicate values, attitudes and identities. Delicate and Rare cuisine is associated with high social ranks in society. Cooking and Hospitality create opportunities for dialogue and often the first step towards diplomacy. .  
         Gastrodiplomacy is an edible soft power, unlike other soft power examples; you can drink, eat, touch and smell it. The new diplomatic language of the 21st century diplomat is- Does the world speak and understand your country’s cultural diplomacy?  In addition, how does your country use cultural diplomacy as a national brand tool?

Examples of Countries that appreciate Food in the conversation of Diplomacy:  South Korea "Global Hansik"or Kimchi Diplomacy, Malaysia Kitchen, Global Thai (Thailand), Peru Mucho Gusto (Peru), Have you checked out the Nordic Movement in Food? Nordic Food Diplomacy (Norway/Sweden/Denmark)

Peru

Nordic Gastronomy -New Nordic Kitchen New Nordic Cuisine

CASSAVA DIPLOMACY: GASTRODIPLOMACY

The identity of Africa is often painted with negative representation through the many forms of media. This negative representation is portrayed in western spaces and spaces in the east such as South Korea, China and Japan.  Africa is always portrayed as primitive, chaos and one disaster waiting to happen form the last previous disaster still happening. These images and narratives make it extremely difficult to picture a vibrant food culture of Africa. It makes it close to impossible to believe that food from Africa is tasty, delicious or appealing. Africa is home to tropical cuisine with a diversity in vegetables, fruits and spices like no other continent. It is home to rich succulent tomato based dishes, spicy stews, fluffy grains, sweet savory fried plantains, steamed sweet savory fresh corn tamales(Koki Corn), grilled beefs and chicken dishes with spices that dance in your mouth and so much more. Food is just one of many branding tools in Cassava Diplomacy available for African countries.

 

Roasted Plantains

May this picture allow you to taste sweet savory tomatoes on the roof of your mouth, spices dance on your tongue, succulent pieces of chicken and meat that hold on to the egusi swimming in peanut oil. 
Egusi are grounded melon seeds :) 

ESE & SEGYE will launch a Cameroonian-fusion restaurant, Keeka & Lisu in Seoul, South Korea with the goal of using food to promote dialogue and promote overall Bantu culture. We are still in the very early stages of planning.

Until next time,

Silk Road Thursdays

Silk Road Thursdays because the Silk Road was the most powerful display of cultural interaction between Africa and Asia. Both cultures were present in each other spaces through the exchanges of commerce, culture, religion, arts, theology, food, technologies, sciences, textiles and so much more!  The cultural diplomacy between the two occurred via land and sea routes connecting both civilizations for thousands of years.

The countries of South Korea, Japan and China have practiced varieties of Soft Power with Africa for quite some time now.

This cloud map is a nod to just about everything that made up the Silk Road. However my focus will be on the big three and as always I will touch on any interesting practices, I observe by Southeast Asia or even Central Asia.
 

Shah Abbasi Caravanserai - Meybod, Iran

Caravanserais were extremely popular for travelers along the silk route, they were inns found in desert regions.