March 29, 2024

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Comfortable residential structure

Zimbabwe’s contest that celebrates the artistry of girls

Each individual yr in August, hundreds of gals enter the contest supported by Ekhaya Gaia, a nearby NGO supporting sustainable communities, to showcase their adorned properties. Prizes consist of farming and h2o implements this kind of as ploughs, wheelbarrows and water storage tanks. For every single of her wins, Masuku was awarded a drinking water tank, which she uses to harvest and retail outlet rainwater to get by means of the dry months of the 12 months.

Immediately after months of painting, the effects fade speedily. Each individual yr, the elaborate decorations are washed away with the coming of the rains in Oct. It is really a loss but also a welcome stop to the dry time. And it presents these household artists a new canvas for the future yr.

For now, not lots of visitors are browsing the Matobo Hills for mountaineering, chook viewing or to admire the painted households due to lockdown journey restrictions. But to Masuku, this stays a distinctive location. “When I am here I really don’t have to get worried, I breathe the fresh air and it delivers me back to my internal centre, where I must be,” she claimed.

The traditions celebrated by the My Attractive Dwelling contest are specific to the region, but their spirit is common. “I hope that other individuals around Zimbabwe will be influenced to embellish their households,” she explained, “and to make their households into something they adore.”

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