Nature and Enterprise

This is our private guest home in Lubango, Angola, for the next three days. My Swiss/Angolan school friend Etienne, for years, has been inviting me to enjoy his remarkable 900-acre farm and business enterprise. What a phenomenal treat – we have been treated like royalty in a place and with a purpose that is so unusual for this part of the world.

If you have read the previous post – On the Move Up-Country – you will recognize that yet again, we are experiencing heart-expanding extremes of so many forms. It is a life-changing experience…. look at this ... our Sunday morning children's choir. (video)

Feel what it is like to come from this village experience of a local Bantu tribe into one of the largest private farms in the country as our driver brought us through the busy city streets (it’s impossible to capture the plethora of of human movement) out to this higher altitude paradise (5700 feet).

It was refreshing and cool after the muggy coast. Rainy season has started. We had significant afternoon thunderstorms. Transformers blowing. Power outages. Barely navigable water-filled potholes. Mosquito spawning days. It’s a life I used to know well as a child. Here’s a brief capture of a few delightful personal moments from my porch perch behind the house.

 I had SO many downloads of thunderous energy these past days!

The farm has every kind of agriculture imaginable. My inner farmer was fascinated as we were toured around the cows and the cheese factory, the chickens and grouse incubators, the luckiest pigs in the world, fed by cheese whey and rinds, before being made into sausage. Fruit and veggies of every kind and all of this served farm-to-table as luxe Angolan products and at their own restaurant Le Chalet. Fun with the turkeys too!

And from one extreme to another…

Ekumbi – Etienne’s home – a masterpiece of Swiss and South African architecture in a dream location under N’Tandavala landmark – the hand of God.

AND I HAVE SAVED THE MOST AMAZING FOR LAST!

Etienne’s dream has been to be able to care for and watch wild animals roam in their own private nature preserve. In a heavily fenced area, we walked around with the ranger marveling at zebra, eland, waterbucks, gazelle, and emus that have talking drums in their bodies. What can I say but WOW!

I have so many more photos and several more posts to come – so I end here for now.

It takes decades of passion and perseverance to build a magical kingdom like this. We got to know the director of the farm and all of JEMBAS operations and heard so many stories from Victor. Heartbreaking issues that need resolving from those committed to excellence and have communal values for the people and their families.

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It feels like a world away from Jingle Bells and Santa Claus back at home.

I pray for grace and wisdom to be a spiritual conduit of this beauty and valued enterprise that we have witnessed.

Maybe something in these posts can transport you out of your own small bubble and expand your awareness of our precious living Earth and all her beings. Who knows how Spirit might be calling you to step out of your comfort and connect beyond all that you can imagine or understand possible.

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