Zimbabwe’s contest that celebrates the artistry of women of all ages

Every 12 months in August, hundreds of girls enter the contest supported by Ekhaya Gaia, a nearby NGO supporting sustainable communities, to showcase their adorned residences. Prizes include farming and h2o implements such as ploughs, wheelbarrows and water storage tanks. For each individual of her wins, Masuku was awarded a drinking water tank, which she works by using to harvest and retail outlet rainwater to get via the dry months of the 12 months.

Just after months of painting, the success fade quickly. Each and every calendar year, the elaborate decorations are washed away with the coming of the rains in October. It is a loss but also a welcome stop to the dry season. And it features these property artists a clean canvas for the up coming calendar year.

For now, not a lot of vacationers are viewing the Matobo Hills for hiking, bird watching or to admire the painted properties owing to lockdown journey limits. But to Masuku, this continues to be a special area. “When I am below I really don’t have to stress, I breathe the fresh new air and it delivers me again to my interior centre, the place I must be,” she mentioned.

The traditions celebrated by the My Attractive House contest are particular to the region, but their spirit is universal. “I hope that other persons all-around Zimbabwe will be impressed to decorate their homes,” she explained, “and to make their houses into anything they enjoy.”

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