I recently came across a story about a good man deeply embedded in his Here (my birth country of Zimbabwe) and the particular Now of that land – a time of deep and chronic economic troubles and political instability. In a short GoFundMe video his son, Cian, tells how his dad, Charles, lives in a little house in the Eastern Highlands in Zimbabwe with no internet and just enough solar electricity to power his lights and charge his phone. He doesn't have much money, but he lives a rich life.
Charles builds beehives and gives them to any of his neighbors who wants them. Then he teaches them how to keep bees ethically and sustainably, without spraying pesticides on the plants they pollinate. To complete the virtuous cycle, he buys the honey from the beekeepers at a "more than fair" price, processes and bottles it, and sells it in the capital, Harare. According to Cian, he barely makes a dollar for each jar because he believes in keeping the honey affordable in a country where many people live in deep poverty.
If you have Facebook, you can watch the video here.
While the primary purpose of the venture is to provide the local people with a steady income in a country where 80% of adults are employed in the "informal" sector (code for "jobs are few and far between"), the benefits go well beyond the pecuniary. The beekeepers gain valuable practical and business skills, of course, but more fundamentally they develop deep reciprocal relationships with each other. These are relationships built on trust and extend far beyond the episodic and transactional. Here is a local community working together to solve a compelling problem and in working together their lives are enriched and their community is strengthened.
Wendell Berry described it thus: "A good community insures itself by trust, by good faith and goodwill, by mutual help. A good community, in other words, is a good local economy."(1)
On a more personal level, I am interested in what motivated Charles to choose this life. I don't know his background, but I suspect he could easily have settled into a comfortable middleclass life somewhere other than in Zimbabwe. (After all, most educated Zimbabweans have done so.) His son credits the upbringing his grandparents gave his father, but there are plenty of people brought up by seriously good people who regress to the mean of "good enough" in their own lives.
I think it must go deeper than that. At some time Charles made a choice not only to stay in a country on the brink of collapse but to live in a remote corner of that land and embed himself deeply in his local community where he uses his gifts -- his knowledge and skills -- to build that community. I am sure he must have his share of problems and disappointments, but I believe he receives as much as he gives and is a happy man.
As I was watching the video, the story in the Gospel of Matthew about the rich young man came to mind. The young man comes to Jesus and says that he has done all the usual things – obeyed all the commandments including the one enjoining him to love his neighbors as himself - but somehow, he senses that it is not enough. "What do I lack?" he asks Jesus. "If you wish to be perfect," Jesus replies, "sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
The next words are haunting: "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth."
Usually when I read this story, I get stuck (guiltily) on "sell your possessions and give to the poor" but what strikes me upon reading it this time is the sadness and loneliness of the young man as he turns away from Jesus. For one brief, shining moment, he was offered a life that promised community and purpose – a "wholeness" not tied to material possessions -- but he was too attached to his privilege and lifestyle to embrace what was being offered. Somewhere in his heart, he knew he had made the wrong choice.
How often have I turned away from the prospect of a deeper, richer life because I am afraid to let go of my privileged, familiar life deeply embedded in Empire?
(1) Wendell Berry (2010). "What Matters?: Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth", p.144, Counterpoint Press
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