Black Board Art

My kid, noting his displeasure at me for going to work for one quick meeting and only getting out of the office four hours later. I must say his patience were good and he did amuse the team.

Dam Wall Breaking

As of today we can officially count all the major mining houses in South Africa on our client list.

We have outgrown the 250 square meter offices we moved into during March this year.

A major industry magazine in SADEC have become our media partners

We are hosting the first ever Transformation Indaba in November, with support from print media, television and our major clients

Our brand is recognised as representing the leading Transformation Specialists in the Industry

The volatile face of poverty

(Photo: Beeld)

Yesterday our team could not go on site to a client as members from their host community and retrenched workers had a violent protest in which they stopped the mine bus, rolled it over and set it on fire with nine people seated inside. Fortunately the commuters all escaped the fire, however, one of the men that has been working in a senior position at the mine for two years tried to calm the crowd down and got stoned to death as a result.

Our team was right there, on their way to the mine to have a meeting with the senior management on sustainable development principles. We had a recent audit on site in which we indicated to management that there were work to be done in respect of their approach to the host community. This incident however has highlighted to me the dire position communities are in and the need for transparent relationships between corporate, government and communities. We have a lot of work to do and I believe we have run out of time.

I never applied for this job

Don't get me wrong, i am very proud of what we have achieved in such a short period of time.......however, sometimes I cannot help but ask myself - what have you done?

One of our newest and arguably most professional team members referred to me as a hippie the other day. I could not argue with her at all. I am a bit of an idealist and tree hugger and sometimes all of these Corporate Governance issues just don't make any sense to me at all. I understand that a company like ours will go through growth phases and during those it is important to make sure that we get our house in order to balance between growth and stability. And that is a difficult balance to obtain and maintain continously.

So far we have done really well and I salute the team

Racing Along

I cannot believe that we are in the middle of November, time has almost lost its meaning to me as we continue to speed along this highway of our life. The more I feel that I would like to slow down and enjoy the small things in life, the more it seems to me as if everything is just speeding up. Buying our home was such a long struggle and it seems as if every waking moment is either consumed by work or our property.


E is growing into a young man right in front of my eyes and I feel nostalgic about leaving his small childhood years behind. Next week it is his graduation from pre-school and the start of the long summer holidays. We are all graduating out of the informal schooling environment and impromptu trips and holidays to a far more structured educational environment next year. That together with the coming of age of two of my businesses will, I believe proof its own set of challenges.

I cannot tell a lie, 2010 was a very hard year, emotionally and financially but when I look back I can see how we have grown. Grown as a family and into a family; grown from a very small business to industry leaders in our field with a diverse set of clients across the mining sector and mature negotiations even outside of the mining sector. Building linkages and products in a niche market during an economic recession has taught me many valuable skills in business; the most important I believe is how crucial it is to have the ability to move with the market whilst you consolidate your base at the same time.

Us as a family, learning to live together in our home, oh dear, I do not even know where to start to try and capture the trials and tribulations of settling into our new home. But I think we are starting to jell as family and learning how to best love each other. Not to talk about our home starting to look slightly like a home and less like a family abiding in a neglected little house on an overgrown farm.

I am having so much fun choosing paint colours for the house at the moment and i cannot decide which room i should start first with as i would just love do everything at once and have it all ready in a flash. I do realise that it is not realistic though but I absolutely have to share that I feel so super spoiled as I splashed out on the most wonderfull 100% pure Egytian cotton linen for my bed. I have decided that my bedroom's theme with be chocolate and vanilla and the to go with that I will have deep Imbuya wood side tables, oyster coloured bed linen with dark chocolate brown pillows and trimmings and dark wood accessories in the room.  Baroque cream linen curtains set of with wooden railings and a sand coloured walls. A room of light.

The lounge we added to the house was a storeroom until a week ago, now it looks sligthly better and I went to select colour palets for that room yesterday. I am thinking dark skirtings, the stupid builder put really shitty wood skirtings on and I dont have money to replace it so I think I will just go ahead and paint it a very dark green/bluegreen type colour and then use the same colour palette but a much lighter colour to go for the walls. I think that will really set the tiles of nicely and bring the room out. Then some floating shelves in the same colour as the skirtings to accentuate the darker colours on the walls and break the monotony of that room. I still want to design a wall feature with photos and mirrors down the long side, I just need to understand the spacing of the floating shelves (as we need the packing space rather desperately) in relation to my mural. I should start taking before and after photos for my blog as the metamorphosis is rather exciting to follow.

Circles in the sand

My thoughts seem to turn me in circles all the time, as the company is consttantly growing and developing new products, associated brands and following the opportunities knocking on our door, I seem to be divided between growing the company into a corporate giant with all it's trappings or staying an anonymous persona in the background. I can see glimpses of the politising and maneuvering in our boardroom, things I so despise about human nature. And I have to ask myself whether I am just naive or need to grow up quickly to make the system work for me, or should I rather distance myself from all of it? The problem with distancing one selve from it is that your lack of action will invariably lead to your submission to the problem - this is one very hard lesson I learned in my marriage and I believe it is valuable for all relationships. And what is life if it is not a sequence of relationships with various spheres of people?

Weathering the emotions

Oh I HATE the cold! it has been overcast, miserable rainy weather for days on end and I swear it nearly killed me. The bright sunshine and birdsong that greeted me this morning really 'boosted' me into the day. I think my emotional barometer is totally in tune with the weather. And the winter is only just starting, fortunately for me we have crisp, blue sky winter days that pinch your ears.

Work has been extremely busy and pressurised, so what is new? with lots of intimidating decisions to be made. Like inviting shareholders and directors into our young company to ensure that we are transformed as required by government legislation and a prerequisite for doing business with a the majority of our clients. We have met with two very good prospects and now the devil is in the detail. I am learning all about 'prevailing conditions', 'sweat equity', share price and company valuation calculations. Making the mining industry your playing field sometimes feels more like a minefield.

But it is exciting, our team have gone from three owners/slaves/workers to 7.5 people in total (we share one girl with another company) in a question of weeks. Our logos and new corporate image is just about finalised and we are getting the business cards printed. All our proposals are going out on our new letterheads and the feedback we are getting has been really positive. And we are gearing up for the Mining Summit in the Western Cape early May. This is such an exciting scary event but I think we will be well prepared for it by the time we get there. I certainly hope that we will be able to pull it of successfully as we will be rubbing shoulders with the directors of top mining houses.

Sometimes I still feel like a little girl all dressed up in a grown-ups clothes, play acting through the rituals of the day.

Through Fresh Eyes

Reading the posts by Mckmama on her visit to Kenya and the adopt a child programme has really touched me deeply. I remember those feelings she describes very clearly, the tears rolling down my cheeks and the nightmares that followed me home, the first time I visited a slum. That was a very long time ago.

Looking at myself today, I have lost that emotional reaction to poverty. I have learned that even though we work very hard at changing it, it just seems like such an uphill battle. I get all confused in my head on the theory of capitalism and the potential alternatives. The continuous encounters with corruption, deceit and self enrichment schemes, often at the cost of the most desperate families are just evident every where. All the poverty alleviation projects that have failed across my country, mostly due to financial mismanagement, lack of skills and political leverage has tired me to the point where I just want to turn a blind eye to the whole problem. I believe they call it compassion fatigue. That overwhelming feeling that there are so many people so desperately in need of help, right at my doorstep and no matter what I do, it just is not enough.

And then somebody comes with fresh eyes, a new heart and reminds me again – about why I really started this in the first place. When I was still young enough to believe that we can make a difference. And it is true, we can, each in our own little way, make a difference. Even if it is only in one child’s life, it is a difference and it matters.

As we all well know, we should not wait for the world to change, we should change the world. I said that at a women in mining conference the other day – Come on people, do not wait for the mining industry to change – you be the change in the industry. Let us not get tired of changing business mindsets and practices because even though it is very difficult to turn a wheel that size, the benefit will be seen in the lives of countless women and children throughout my country. This country I love and I fear so much.

Oh the headrush

I am giddy with success!
My to do list is done

Oh the relief, I have not felt it in months

Peeking over the fence

When we show cased our new web based reporting tool at a recent mining convention we were approached by a Canadian company mining in Zimbabwe. That short conversation led to an invite to visit them onsite and explore possible synergies and opportunities for business.

But life was hectic here and by all accounts even more so there and two months passed in a wink of an eye before we, my business partner and I, found ourselves standing outside the hanger, cause an airport it is not.....slightly bewildered and very bemused by the fact that we never even thought to confirm the actual arrival and pick up arrangements. That after the receipt of our e-tickets about two weeks earlier. E-tickets that had us staying in Zimbabwe from the 16th of December 2009 to the 17 November 2010. Uhhu yes, a slight mistake. After a short caucus we decided we will not panic, we will keep a cool head despite the 37C, the overgrown gardens and clear signs of neglect. Never mind that we did not get our phones on roaming and even if we did, we did not have a local number to call.

Turns out, our pick-up did arrive and was as surprised to see us as we were to see him. And how honoured we were with none other than the general manager of the mine, a smallish but successful operation about an hours drive from the airport. Which were exactly where we headed next, on an excuse of a tar road. Taking turns to drive on and off the road to allow enough space for vehicles to pass from the front. Our driver telling us all about live in Zim and how everything has changed in a short period of time. The pleasure of dealing in US $ even if the locals think nothing of charging 10$ for everything. I suppose if you are used to charging a gazillion 000 behind everything then one zero must look very cheap - just imagine paying 20000 zim dollars for a loaf of bread.

What an informative afternoon, walking around those old mills, hearing people talk of the economic energy building up. Turn- key solutions for new mills to be installed in the new year, 24 hour shifts to build up a stock pile. Tongue in cheek warning and safety signs posted at the gate. The high density village where children ran around, white teeth shining in vaseline round faces. Naked fat babies toddling in the sand with men standing around and watching these two foreign looking women talking and peering through windows. Learning how dependant the community really is on the mine, treating the managers as respected elders in the community. Managers that speak with international accents even though they grew up in the community with parents doing community work. People with a real heart for their country. That wants to do what is right because it is right, and not because legislation so requires.

Our challenge - to work outside the box of our legislative framework. The ability to think laterally and design a solution that will add value to their operation - and do so cost effectively and within a very short period of time.

The next day as we were sitting on the tarmac, waiting for our plane to return from Zambia, where it had to refuel before the trip home, we were mulling all these ideas around. It is going to be exciting and I can see a big learning curve coming our way but an opportunity is knocking on our door and we are all in agreement that we need to grab this opportunity with open arms.

Hahahahaha it gets better

So this weekend was freeeezing cold in Jouies and I did nothing but stay in bed, read my book, watched TV - I NEVER get to watch TV. And then I got to do all of that all over again on Sunday. E was with Daddy so it was a splendid weekend of just me and some John time - like a nice dinner on Friday night, and watching the Springboks annihilate Nieu Zealand in the Rugby on Saturday night.

Needless to say, I awoke ready and roaring with energy at 6am this morning. Finished the preparation for my 10:00 meeting, bathed and got ready to jump into my truck. Turned the ignition and.....the sweet sweet sound of absolute silence. No gentle rock and purring, just nothing. She has been charging for over an hour and is still dead. I missed my meeting and had to email the client the very rough draft document, which we can work through after his return from Tanzania

Did I mention something about a competent consultant?

Boardroom blunders

My nerves kept me up for most the night, not to talk about the sulky John creaking at the other side of my bed. His lower lip was so big it nearly got stuck in the bedroom door, but that is another story all together. By the time 4:30 am rolled by it was nearly a relief to extract myself from the warmth of my bed and just as I started to stir, J was out the bed and ready to rush of to his house and leave me to the misery of working in the cold early morning air. But my timing was on target and by 7:30 I was done and ready to roll out of the house. To a demo I had to lead at a very big mining house to implement our product across all their operations. To say I was slightly nervous is an understatement.

Preparation required some power dressing, only to remember I clean forgot to get our company profiles printed. Oh well, too late to do anything about that now and better get that ass moving as traffic is a challenge and the 25 odd km's to their head office can take at least an hour. But just in case, I gave myself an hour and half to get there. Alas, half way down the road and the first reports start to come over the radio of a Taxi that rolled on the highway, on the side I want to travel and all motorists are recommend to take alternative roads. All of a sudden the destination seems to be situated on a different continent. But we shall preservere and not loose our carefully made up composure to the mad dash of taxi's driving from all sides and into all directions, the proverbial broken ant hill.

With exactly 3 minutes to spare I walked into the boardroom accompanied by Phil (looking for all the world like a converted muslim) and our much younger partner Des. To be greeted enthusiastically by a group of no less than 10 experts ranging from social develop to systems development and data integrity. All ready to bombard us with questions.

The first half of the presentation went beautifully then I tried to access the server and I could not connect to the internet. All waited patiently untill Biscuit saved the day and gave me his laptop which was connected through the wireless network at the office. I took a deep breath and prepared to plunge into the meat of the discussion, only to discover that our server is down and none of the buttons work.

It was a serious anti climax let me tell you.

Halfway through winter and still running

June has been a really hectic month and I am still trying to slow down, consolidate and process all that has happened in thirty short days. And short these days were, being in the middle of winter and freezing cold. But this is just how it is for me, if I do not pack my winters full of goodie bags, I get depressed and then it is a mission to get me from under the duvet. But not this June, Oh no, our month started with a wonderful weekend of offroad fun, for which I rented a little trailer and took E and myself off to join our offroad club in a weekend of camping at the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary.

The convoy of about six vehicles travelled together to Swaziland and just before lunch time we went through one of the lessor known border posts.
The scenary at the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary where we stayed were absolutely magnificent and I managed to capture this nostalgic scene at the local weir.
It was a lot of fun staying in our little tent and I was very proud of the way in which E managed to help me around the camp. Setting up the tent, helping mom around the camp site and his personal favourite - farting as loud and as much as possible in the clear mountain air.
The Nyalas were really tame and provided us with hours of entertainment. That is if they did not manage to steal everything edible available at your camp.

Some boulder bashing on top of a mountain, believe it or not, but thanks to some good guidance and nerves of steel, we all made it through here without a scratch to any of the vehicles.
After that rather tight squeeze I needed some relieve and this I must say, was the best wee view in the world ;-)
Followed by a lovely picnic and a well deserved rest on top of the mountain

We visited Swazi Candles the next day and I was amazed at the skill of the artists who, seemingly without effort, created the most the beautiful candles I have ever seen. This gentleman made an elephant candle in about 10 or so minutes whilst E and me stood watching him. Needless to say, I spend a fortune right there in gifts and little things for my home.
As I came back from my Swazi trip, John and I renewed our discussions around property, our different needs and how we could possibly accommodate a city sleeker and country bumpkin in one house. This resulted in some serious thinking and the purchase of a stand where we plan to build a city home in a country estate, just a couple of km's north of E's school.

The next weekend I was off to Porterville to share experiences with beautiful women in a function which was co sponsored by Jacobs Quest and the Diva Africa Programme. I felt privileged to be invited as a speaker at the gala dinner and got to dance the night away with all the lovely local ladies.
And just to top it all off, I bought myself a lovely new digital camera with all the functionality I have been drooling about for years but could never quite muster the courage to splash out on. Now I just need to figure out how to download the photos from the camera to my computer and we should be ready for some serious playing and sharing ;-)

And that is not all

So I am still busy with my project and in the last set of interviews I conducted I met this amazing artist who teaches canework - well that is what he called it and I would not know the difference. Essentially, he teaches unemployed and illiterate people to weave cane and make cane furniture. He speaks in the gravelly voice of a blues singer and have the long delicate fingers of an artist. When I asked him what his highest level of education is he gave an indistict mumble which I think meant he left school at the age of 14. But in quick cost calculations I could not keep up as he rumbled off measurements and calculated the costs of furniture in various designs. He sponsors some of his students out of his own pocket, but he only gets a minimal salary for three of the eight hours he works a day. His hand outs and class tests are hand written/drawn for each student and there are fourteen of them. He dreams of opening his own shop front, of employing more young people. Of uplifting his community. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to meet a man of that caliber, to spend some time in his presence and to maybe create an avenue through which his dreams might be realised

New Perspective

In my work I come face to face with the beauty and challenges of poverty frequently which serves as a constant reminder of how truly blessed and privilidged I am. Today I started work on a new project, at a missionary in a very poor community about 1.3 hours from my home. After my meeting with the potential benficiaries I was proudly shown to one of the projects. Once I started taking photos with my cellphone I was not allowed to stop until every pupil and her creation got equal attention.

The task was to find whatever flowers and greenery they could and make a flower arrangement. The individuality and creativity evident was mind blowing

The only white at a tea-party

On May-day I had the pleasure to attend a very well organised, high society tea party in celebration of not only a birthday, but also women in general and South African women in particular. It was a fascinating experience.

The tables were set with designer cutlery and crockery, flute wine glasses and delicate little snacks. The women were absolutely beautiful with their exotic looks, from almond shaped hazel eyes to pitch black irisses and skin colours ranging from ebony to milky coffee. Snow white flowing dresses and soft accents, imported scents wafting through the room.

I was the only woman representing the white minority of our country and what was really interesting to me was that the host felt the need to introduce me as 'even though she is white, her soul is that of a black sister, she is my soul's sister'. I keep wondering what that really means. Is it just an acknowledgement that I can hug and kiss my black friends as much as I can any other friends? Does it mean that I don't value people based on skin colour? But black people can be as racist as any other racist group of people and I have often heard them (and at this tea party as well) make slightly derrogatory comments with regards to 'the whities'.

The amazing reality of that morning was to see the strength of our women in action, the believe that if we stand together and work together, we can redefine business in South Africa.

Women in action, in business, changing society and the future for our children.

The stakes: The land and livelihood of your forefathers

When you do business in Africa you must abide by the rules of the land. The rules that forbid the disturbance of the peace and beauty of the soil your forefathers ruled for ions. This is a challenge when western money wants to rape the beauty to get to the heart of the minerals that make everyone rich.

Everyone, but the cow herder that watches and waits.

It is here were traditions meet foreign customs.
Where accents and ceremonies collide
The slaughter of a cow to appease the gods
And safe the lives of the innocent
Rhythmic beating of Njembe drums
Ululating voices
White foreign faces in fire light

And just sometimes the coffee coloured eyes
Of a village boy
Shaking hands with the foreigner
Spanning the bridge
Risking his inheritance
For himself?
Or the future of his family?
Ahh the tension
‘she is tangible my darling, tangible’
But if you promise us and you do not deliver
Your house and family will burn
Burn
Burn
Because in this village you were born

We have dug your graves with you
Celebrated your births
Slaughtered your cows
So we watch
And we wait
To see

A crazy scary day

This day started with a phonecall at 6:00 am

My kid only got to school at 9:30 and on the way there he wanted to know what was wrong with me so I told him my tummy is very scared because I am nervous about some stuff. He promptly got hold of the cd wallet and fished out some classical music for the trip 'cause it will relax my tummy and then I do not have to think about the scary stuff anymore ;-)

It worked.

He told me that just sometimes his tummy also get scared when he has to sit on the green chair at school. But you know what mom, I have a machine tummy that eats food and makes pooh all of the time.

It is a strange place

Last year I wanted to grow my business
and it was status quo for most the year

This year I want balance
and now I have a list of new clients
all screaming for attention at once

How to keep to my resolutions??

Gold Medal Mom

Sorry, No it was not your name we called out mam

I did not really think so

On Wednesday night I was so tired
My kid ate Strawberry rice krispies for dinner
In front of the TV
Then he sat watching cartoons
until he fetched his pillow
and fell asleep on the cold hard tile floor

I was sitting next to him
furiously typing on my computer
trying to make the deadline
I am still working on

The one that has had me cancel my weekend camping trip
with my little boy
to rather spend it
working some more and more and more
Fortunately E will not know that
as he is going fishing with his dad tomorrow
and on Sunday
we will drive down to Ouma and Oupa far away
to celebrate

40 Years of Marriage
together, happy and still in love