The Tafai commune was in a sprawling farm outside Port Alfred . It was idyllic. Land farmed with cannabis , vegetables, fruits and herbs . The cosy village was self sustaining . All the women were very quiet and busy. The men spent their days crafting one thing or the other , taking breaks to light up sensies( cannabis). Ganja was forbbiden to women unless there were gatherings. Flo and I had thought we would find sistas who were ready to talk about their rights , who wanted to have a voice. Nope. The women focussed on their chores all day long and our chit chatty selves were quickly branded as “worldly”. Since Flo was white , rumours flew around that she had been sent from Babylon to ruin Zion . I called the women out while Flo just took it . I hated how pathetic she became when confronted about being white , how she acted like she carried all the sins of her ancestors . We were in the mid 90s, our country singing a different tune . The Tafai community was black supreme and intolerant .

This did not stop Flo and I from trying . We shared joints with women in secret because gatherings were two far in between , occasionally supplied them with pain killers – only herbs were used for ailments and child birth . We also administered first aid having been taught way back in high school. The women began to love us begrudgingly .