Homestead Hideaway

Living as an expatriate in Swaziland is very different from how the majority of the population lives. I recently co-wrote a report on Early Childhood Care and Development in Swaziland and through my research read numerous reports, case studies, and surveys; therefore, I have a few facts to back-up my opening statement. For example, while we enjoy every western amenity, according to the United Nations Human Development Report (2010), 81% of the population in Swaziland lives on less than $2/day. And in terms of the basics like food/water/shelter: 64% of the population has access to drinking water from a potable source, 57% have access to non-shared sanitation facilities and 29.7% have household electricity. With 75% of the population living rurally, the everyday experience of the average Swazi is one of struggle. In order to better understand how traditionally Swazis live, we accepted an invitation to stay with our friends, Jay and Hilary, on their homestead. Jay and Hilary have been previously introduced in our blog, but as a reminder, they are currently finishing their 2 years as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV). As PCVs, they live with a Swazi family on a rural homestead. The ‘man of the homestead’ has since passed, but his wives still reside there, as do their helpers. Polygyny is still common on the continent and 18% men in Swaziland have more than one wife. However, it is rare that the wives remain on the same homestead after the death of their husband, so Jay and Hilary’s Swazi family are progressive in this way. Because Jay and Hilary live near Hlathikulu, we spent the night with them on the same day that the Hlathikulu Teen Club opened. It was a really nice weekend…

Jay and Hilary’s homestead (rather, the Simelane’s homestead) is a little over an hour down a dirt road. A bumpy dirt road

Here are a few pictures of the view from the car – this is what the vast majority of Swaziland looks like: rolling plains, beautiful mountains and a few homesteads sprinkled here and there

The Simelane children are very successful and support their mothers generously; therefore, the homestead has cement buildings as opposed to ‘mud and stick’ buildings like many others.'Homesteads' are a collection of buildings where extended families live together. While the children have grown and moved to a more urban area, they still have a house on their homestead – hence all of the buildings

There is also a private water tap and rainwater collection tank

Jay and Hilary live in one of the buildings on the homestead and have endearingly named it, ‘The Hut.’ This is their kitchen

The shelf

The shower

Hilary giving me a tutorial on how to go about washing my face

And of course, the ‘Silver Bullet’ (their aptly named pit latrine). See what I mean about being spoiled? We have not one, but TWO flushing toilets in our place. I’m not sure that I’ve got it in me to use a pit latrine for 2 years…

I also took a couple of pictures inside the kitchen of one of the mother’s homes to give you an idea of the ‘old school’ nature of rural Swaziland. And, to have a stove is a luxury – most cook over an open fire in a cast iron, three legged pot.

On Sunday morning we woke up and went for a hike up the mountain behind their place.

And played with Mphamahle, who could have passed for one of Santa’s little helpers…

And last, but not least, the chickens. I’ll take this opportunity to dispel any myths about roosters crowing at the break of dawn. That’s a lie. A big, fat lie. The chickens and roosters began crowing just after midnight and DID NOT STOP until dawn. During the day = silent. Middle of the night = party. I promise. I am guessing it is like living in a big city – eventually, you get used to the noise. Let me tell you, these birds were noisy.

After thanking our gracious hosts, we returned down the dirt road and made our way back to Mbabane. Where I took a hot shower and was thankful for it…