The journey is not about records or fame and the message to farmers is simple: “We see you. We appreciate you. You are not alone.” (Photo: Provided)
Four Pretorians will embark on an extraordinary journey to draw attention to a major crisis that often remains invisible: the mental health of farmers.
The team plans to tackle the entire South African coastline on jet skis from 11 to 27 March, a distance of 2,786 km.
With the project, they hope to properly start the conversation about the enormous pressure that farmers are currently under.
Carlo Smuts (30), a marketing manager at Design Biologix, says he experiences first-hand on a daily basis how hard it is for many farmers. Farmers are struggling through droughts, bad weather and animal diseases – and there is great uncertainty about the future due to the ongoing foot-and-mouth crisis.
“I know farmers who are currently in institutions after being hit first by drought and then by the foot-and-mouth crisis.”
The emotional and financial toll that farming takes is something that few farmers and even the rest of society really talk about openly, says Smuts.
“If you can no longer pay your child’s school fees or put food on the table… then what do you do?
“Many farmers never recognize the great emotional pressure that farming puts on a person and these days there are still so many extra challenges.”
Smuts says few people realize how big an impact farmers’ well-being has on the whole of society.
“If farmers suffer, we all suffer. If we no longer have farmers who produce food, there will no longer be food for us on our tables.”
(Photo: Provided)
Big journey, bigger message
Smuts and the four participants, Lourens Mahoney (42), Ruan Jordaan (32) and Henry Lubbe (53), plan to be on their jet skis for about eight hours a day for 16 days. This means an average of 187 km per day, provided the weather cooperates.
The trek will take them through challenging sea conditions, unpredictable weather conditions and remote coastal areas; they will have to overcome logistical and fuel challenges and face physical and mental exhaustion. And then there are also sharks here and there.
According to the team, the challenges of the trip symbolize the reality many farmers struggle with on a daily basis: drought, disease, financial pressure and uncertainty.
Farmers’ stories along the coast
During the trip, the team plans to stop at several coastal towns where they will meet local farmers. They intend to conduct interviews and provide an opportunity for the stories that farmers tell; stories that show the human side of what it takes to produce the food that every South African eats every day.
The journey is not about records or fame, says Smuts, and the message to farmers is simple: “We see you. We appreciate you. You are not alone.”