A unique experience : #Briquettes challenge

[Yumilah Govinden]

The very first time i saw the Dancing Jajas from As You Open Your Eyes (AYOYE) video i was in awe. I was caught in this whirlpool of ideas and emotions; all that I could do with this one gem of a video, all the people it could reach and all the emotions it aroused in me. Having myself been a facilitator for the AYOYE team here in Mauritius I couldn’t help but think, “Will the Poste Lafayette video be that amazing?”

Everything about the Dancing Jajas interpellated me but one thing in particular caught my attention and ever since I saw the video it kept teasing my curiosity and it was those particular briquettes. I always thought that it would be an interesting activity which I would like to explore with my audience the day I participate in the showcase of the video. But do I go in front of my audience and facilitate activities and promote briquettes I haven’t even seen in real?
This is how this very morning I woke up and got my father on board and together we made briquettes! It was an amazing experience. We did not have cassava flour so I used normal white flour. It was not the first time I made glue out of flour but for sure it was epic to have my fingers immersed in charcoal powder as i kneaded that flour glue and charcoal powder mixture.

I believe that before being SALTy with the people you want to reach you have to go for that extra mile of SALTiness in your own life so as to Appreciate and Learn by experience. Thus, being more able to Transfer that knowledge or experience because not only you’ll be proud of yourself for having tried and done it but also making your audience trust you because you are someone who walk the talk. The making of the briquettes helped me bond with my father but also turned out as a near multidimensional or spiritual experience because when I had to take pictures I saw the cleared sugar cane fields behind my house, the earth had recently been ploughed and there were these heaps of earth here and there. I had flashes of the videos coming to me and I thought, “ We are human and we walk on the same earth…same colour, same texture… same as the blood and bones we share. And now this sweet breeze coming to me from beyond the sea (I live near the beach), lapping my hands covered with charcoal dust…Isn’t it said that we are made of star dust? Are we not all one big pool of carbon (charcoal)”

I swear I almost felt the heartbeat of the Dancing Jajas within me. I feel so much gratitude to be part of the AYOYE family and I can’t wait to bring my briquettes along with me during the showcase of the Dancing Jajas video.

#thankyoudancingjajas#briquetteschallenge. Signing out from Mauritius

[Marlou]

Yumilah !!!! Wow, the inspiration is flying all the way to my house in France here. Thank you for sincerely practicing SALT and sharing about it. This the Jajas in Entebbe will have to know - they will be so proud. THANKS! And my very best wishes to your father.

[Autry Haynes]

Kewl! What a gem you are, Yumilah! A very warm and inspiring experience....looking forward to the sharing of the experience of jajas video .......I can feel the Gris Gris breeze from the south, as well (^_^)