Writing Samples of Jacqueline Wilson Asheeke
Jackie Wilson Asheeke,
Published: observer.com.na March 2020
Tourism is too big to fail
…banks
must step up in this time of crisis
The financial crisis that the country has
experienced over the last three years is heightened for the tourism sector due
to COVID-19. The sector is drowning
right now with a lockdown and closed borders.
There will be major business contractions in 2020; this is
unavoidable. But, some industries are
“too big to fail”. Tourism (including restaurants/cafes,
professional hunting and communal conservancies) is one of them. The banks must take the lead, along with
government and the private sector, to make tangible, well-considered bailout
plans to save the stronger parts of the industry before it is too late.
We note that Standard Bank has stepped up
and offered a loan repayment grace period for tourism businesses. This is an excellent start, but more is
needed, and all banks must get on board.
Being “too big to fail” is a US-coined economic term that applies to companies that are bell-weather enterprises whose
existence within a sector is vital to the wider economy. The ripple effects of the precipitous shut
down of tourism mean tens of thousands of families will be left with
significantly reduced income. Thousands of
suppliers in the value chain will lose business. Entire towns, villages and sections of cities
will be thrown under the bus as rate-paying households connected to the bell-weather industry, move away or are unable to pay for municipal services.
Even insurance companies will take a hit as
premiums default or are cancelled by tourism companies. The collapse of tourism in Namibia means
there will be a disruption to the national tax base. In addition, there will be precipitous mass
unemployment. There will be reduced
foreign exchange inflows that will impact significantly on the government’s already
ailing cash flow.
South African banks have made a financial
killing in Namibia for decades. And yet,
they are too hesitant during this impending tidal wave of financial
distress. This is unacceptable. They must wake up to the reality that half
of a pie is better than no pie at all.
Banks should begin offering immediate
relief such as extended overdrafts for viable tourism companies. A loan repayment holiday must be implemented
across ALL banks. Other solutions can be
debated after a bare-knuckles consultation with the tourism industry.
The government is not a spectator in
this. Let the industry unselfishly
identify a shortlist of the top three large-scale policy/regulatory actions
that will save as many tourism businesses as possible.
This is the time for successful private
sector operators to shine. The country
has hit the wall, and the industry is being trampled. That said - the company owners and executives
in the industry must not be the baby bird with its mouth wide open in the nest
waiting for government and bank money to feed them. Hard personal lifestyle and risk decisions
must be made. All Namibians must sip
from the COVID poisoned chalice; tourism is no exception to that rule. Sometimes, going down a notch or two can save
the base of the company. Choose to live
to fight another day.
Consider this: last year’s profits, ‘rainy day’ money, VAT
returns, and capital accounts should be spent on half-salaries to selected employees
for as long as possible. Generous
retrenchment packages must be given when downsizing becomes inevitable. It means a particular business owner may not
have enough profits to ‘live large’ in 2020-21, but it guarantees that some families
will have food on the table for a few more months.
A caution to the banks and the industry: This is a crisis; it is time to be
extraordinary. A hungry man is an angry
man. A hungry man with a gun isn’t
hungry very long. Tourism does not
thrive in economic collapse, instability or uncertainty.
Communal conservancies and farmers with
game on their land have made money in hunting and tourism rather than illegally
poaching wildlife on their land. With such
revenues gone, will wildlife in Namibia survive? What can banks to do pay the salaries of
communal game guards, make cash donations to conservancy management committees or
fund the anti-poaching squad? Against
the billons that banks make in profits, the money that will make a difference
in rural areas is peanuts.
The tourism industry is too big to fail –
though a few companies will. Over 100,000
direct and indirect cross-cutting jobs exist to some extent due to hospitality,
travel and tourism. A total loss of
those revenues could affect a fifth of the population of Namibia. Banks working with government and private
sector could be the lynchpin for tourism’s survival. With all due respect to Standard Bank which
has seen the light to a certain extent, will the financial institutions step up
or just hand out branded t-shirts and caps while tens of thousands are reduced
to penury?
Sample two
Marulas and memes published in Observer Connect Magazine, December 2019, Bid Document for Air Namibia Flamingo Magazine, January 2020
Jackie Wilson Asheeke
So, you want to look beautiful, youthful and have that
facial glow? You want to get rid of that aching back and tight neck muscles
from a long flight or hard day at work?
In Namibia, we have the secret. We know all about it. Do you want to learn what we have known for
centuries?
Marula oil is the key.
There is a colloquial saying that, “black don’t crack”
when some people marvel at the seeming agelessness of older black women and
their lack of as many wrinkles and crevices/age spots on their skin. Namibians have been using the products from
the Marula tree for as long as living memory and stories from the past record. There are 90+ year old women in villages that
could be 40, 50 or 70 due to the oils they have been using traditionally for
their entire lives.
The Body Shop, a worldwide cosmetics store well-known
for its fair trade product development work with local communities to bring
natural, organic products to the market.
They package these locally-sourced products in a sexy way to please the
modern world-wide shopper.
Namibian marula oil has been used in several Body Shop
products since the year 2000. Through
this product supply chain, Namibian woman benefit, customers around the world
benefit, and local jobs are created. There’s nothing better than that!
The Body Shop’s website tells the world that Namibian
marula oil is a key ingredients in Colour Crush™ Lipsticks. It is sourced from
Eudafano women’s co-operative since 2000.
The skin-smoothing marula oil is obtained from Ondangwa in Namibia. March/April is marula harvest time. The community trade supplier, Eudafano
Women’s Co-operative gets busy collecting ripe, juicy fruits that have fallen
from wild marula trees. The process to
extract the nutty kernels from which the oil is cold-pressed is on!
The Eudafano Women’s Co-operative (EWC) has 22
associations in Namibia's Oshana, Omusati, and Oshikoto regions. A 2010 report noted that there are between
2,000-2,500 active members providing oil for Body Shop products. The EWC sells its marula kernels to EWMM, synonym
for the factory owned by the cooperative. This production arm of the EWC
processes the kernels into crude marula oil that is then sold to cosmetic
ingredient export markets.
In 2010, the EWC and EWMM began producing a higher
grade of marula oil (with better equipment and training from development
partners) and launched that product for the national market. Their next
production step is to make their own final products alongside their production
of the marula oil raw material.
EWC marula kernels are exclusively harvested and
processed by women. Traditionally, women
have ownership over this resource. Marula oil is an indigenous natural product
(INP). The trees bearing the fruits occur mostly on peoples’ farms in the
northern regions of Namibia. Nevertheless, local people have a tradition of
sharing this bounty with their neighbours.
Even someone without a fruitful marula tree on their plot can benefit
from this traditional product.
Neighbours invite each other to process marula wine under
the trees and all are allowed to take the nuts of the processed fruits home.
This tradition has not died with the increased commercial opportunities around
marula. Commercialization is managed carefully, ensuring that the primary steps
of harvesting the fruit remain in place.
Men usually show up and insert themselves into any endeavour when there
is real money to be made. The tradition
of processing marula, so far, has remained controlled by Namibian women in the
North. Bravo for them!
As with many traditional activities, in modern times, younger
women choose not to take part. This means that the majority of those involved
in marula oil processing are older women.
The tradition and skills to decorticate marula kernels may suffer if
younger women are not encouraged to sit at the base of a tree and learn how it
is done.
“They separate the fruit from the stone, and dry it in
the sun before the stones are cracked open, the kernel is removed and taken to
be cold-pressed. Our trade has helped these women to gain financial
independence. This trade is empowering
the community to sustainably harvest marula fruit and protect the trees for the
future.” #TheBodyShop #CommunityTrade #Marulaoil.
The highly-valued Marula tree, Scelerocarya birrea, is
ancient. Its history extends over 10,000 years.
Archaeological evidence shows that the marula fruit was an important
food in Southern Africa in ancient times.
The marula fruit, which ripens from January to
March/April, is the size of a small plum and has four times more Vitamin C than
an orange. The entire marula tree, bark,
leaves and roots have many wonderful medicinal and nutritious uses, check out:
www.healthline.com.
We want to focus your attention on the oil that
Namibian women who live in the North, extract from the nuts.
Nela from Omatunda village in northern Namibia says,
"The ripe fruit has a light-dark yellow skin and the flesh on the inside
is white and succulent, with a distinctive sweet-sour flavour.
"The ‘stone’ or inner seed inside the ripened
fruit is the size of a walnut and brown in colour on the outer layer. If you crack open the thick and woody top
lid, you will usually find two or three oblong kernels. These are white in colour and covered in
light-dark brown skin.
"Traditionally, women use cow horns to squeeze
Marula juice out of the ripe fruit, which comes in two different forms: Oshinwa
is freshly squeezed and consumed the next day, especially by children as it
contains a sweet taste. Omaongo is Marula juice that has been fermented for
two-four days. It is enjoyed by elders
as it is higher in naturally occurring alcoholic content.
“Stones left from the juicing period are piled up or
evenly rested on a large sack in the homestead yard to dry in the sun. The women rotate between the homesteads in their
little community, to help each other to process the dried stones. They sit under the shade of a hut or tree,
cracking Marula stones and removing kernels, as they share and enjoy the latest
hot gossip in the village.
“Finally, the kernels are manually pounded, and cold-pressed for oil. The oil is clear, pale
golden-brown and has a nutty aroma”, says Nela.”
Marula oil can be used for various purposes and
contains nutrients and antioxidants, such as essential amino acids, Vitamin C,
Vitamin E, flavonoids that assist in renewing cells and phenolic compounds.
Namibians use it because it has always worked to keep
skin smooth. In modern science-speak, it
is explained that when applied to the skin regularly, the oil helps to build
healthy collagen and protects against premature ageing. The essential fatty
acids Omega-9 (oleic acid) and Omega-6 (linoleic acid) moisturise the skin,
improve skin elasticity, increase smoothness and reduce trans-epidermal water
loss.
If your shoulders and neck are tense as you cannot seem
to sit properly at your desk while you tackle some work, Marula oil is a great
massaging oil. Ask someone to give you a
marula oil massage.
Lydia of Omafo Village in Namibia offered an insightful
tale about marula oil in Oshikwambi,
a language of a subgroup of the Oshiwambo
speaking people in the North of Namibia. Her story speaks of the traditional links
between marula products and culture.
In the translation of her response, she says, “I feel
good and proud of my tradition of making marula oil. It’s our pride and it gives us confidence and
security. It is something our mothers taught us at a young age. We also have
to pass it through to our daughters and granddaughters.”
She spoke about the process of collecting the nuts from
which they make the oil. “We usually start in December depending on the tree.
We have the first ones that become ripe in December and last ones in April. You
must make sure it's clean under the tree and they will start falling from the
tree on their own. It will take two
weeks to get enough fruit. When you collect enough fruit, you will gather all
the girls in the house. You can also invite your friends and neighbours to help
to remove the nuts from the pulp also to have omagongo, a traditional alcohol that is mostly liked by men. It
will take 1 to 3 days for the beverage to be ready to drink.”
“We use cow horns to remove the nuts from the pulp. After removing it from the pulp you will put
the nuts in the sun for them to get dry. It's only after the harvesting
somewhere in May or June that you are allowed to open the nuts for marula
kernels found inside the nuts. We use those fresh white kernels to make cooking
oils or we rub on our skin. Sometimes we sell the oil or the kernels,” says
Lydia.”
Written with
supporting information from www.nbri.org.na, mcanamibia.org,
www.gondwana-collection.com/blog, thebodyshop.com/en-us/ingredient/marula, and
www.sabisabi.com
