The earth was generous

"Mr. J.L. B. Maketoni walked across the field, the dust on his shoes, the dried mealie stalks cracking under his feet. The earth was generous he thought: sand and soil could be persuaded, with a little water, to yield such life, and to make such good things for the table. Everything depended on that simple generosity: trees, cattle, pumpkin vines, people – everything. And this soil, the soil on which he walked, was special soil. It was Botswana. It was his soil. It had made the very bodies of his people; of his father, Mr P.Z. Matekoni, and his grandfather, Mr. T. Matekoni before him. All of them, down the generations, were linked by this bond with this particular part of Africa, which they loved, and cherished, and which gave them so much in return."

From: The Kalahari Typing School for Men. (Ladies Detective Series) By: Alexander McCall Smith

I thought the above quote would make a fantastic post for my blog - it really feels as though it is what I am about. I read a few of the books from the First Ladies Detective Series recently, but the paragraph I have quoted above resonated deeply with me and how I feel about what the Earth provides for us, particularly in terms of Nutrition.

If we eat the produce the Earth generously bestows on us - without adulterating or messing about with it it does indeed make the very bodies of our people and makes them strong and healthy.