Proudly South African Week

It's Proudly South African Week, which is, of course, part of Proudly South African Month. And there's probably a single Proudly South African day somewhere in here too. It's basically a reminder to us to look at our local products, people and places, and celebrate them.

Ewan and Bigric have listed some reasons to be Proud, pretty good ones!

Us South Africans have a great country (if you ignore the usual junk that any country has to deal with - crime, corruption etc.). We've got contrasts in land, people, our 11 official languages and their associated cultures. We've got some darned good products like Aromat and biltong, Pronutro and Mrs Balls Chutney - just ask any SAfrican who moves overseas what they miss and it will sound like a shopping list. We've got braais (Sept 24th is National Braai Day) and boerewors, which even a vegetarian such as myself can appreciate. We've got Mandela.

But I was wondering (as I tend to) - what about not only being Proudly South African, but Proudly Local South African?

This weekend we popped in at the nearby Organic Farmers Market. I thought it would be a big event - it turned out to be 6 tables with a few bits and pieces. Disappointing, but an indication of how little local producers are supported. And they're not the only ones.

We live surrounded by wine farms and other agricultural producers, yet we pay to have stuff sent from far afield to fill our cupboards. We buy clothes from China while our Cape Town clothing factories close down one by one. We want overseas designers, yet we have some incredible ones right here (from African to Indian to European styles, and a mix of everything in between). We listen to international music while the excellent band from our hometown struggles to get our attention. We pay for expensive overseas holidays, while the best is right outside our back door (and we get "local" rates too!).

So here's a challenge - think Local this week. Bring your attention a bit closer to home and investigate what's going on within a few kilometres of where you live. Be Proudly Local South African - and if you're not in SAfrica, be Proudly Local anyway.