Smiles from Mother Earth

My dream blows in like a warrelwind, whirling and rolling up dust, with tumbleweeds, bossies and other stuff that end up against barbed-wire fences on roads that are gravel, dusty, and corrugated in places.

Simply said, I follow dreams. Also, I stare endlessly at detailed maps of Southern Africa. I tell my genius friend, Barend Beterweet that I am going to Vanwyksdorp. “Ah…” he munches wisdom. “That shitty dorpie beneath the Rooiberg. There’s nothing much there, just two donkeys standing in the shade of a Karoo acacia, shaking their heads to chase the flies away. Ha ha ha.” I call him three words, unprintable here. Then leave to prove him wrong.

The name Kannaland comes from ‘kannabos’, or Sceletium tortuosum, a succulent herb found in the arid areas of Southern Africa. Also known as ‘kougoed’, it was used by the Khoisan as a mood-altering substance. Some researchers have noted that they also used it to reduce hunger, thirst and tiredness. (Some believe the first written account of its uses was by Jan van Riebeeck in 1662.)

First I ask my sexy French girlfriend, Gígí Google about the word ‘kannabos’. Within a second she asks, “Did you mean cannabis?” Okay, that’s it. Through Herbertsdale we drive