COOPERATION IS ABOUT US

I was walking around the children’s playground  in Vileyka, Belarus and suddenly a sculpture caught my eye. The sculpture comprises a whole family including a dog, a cat, a mouse and a huge turnip . That triggered off memories of how my children would ask me to read the fairy tale ‘The Enormous Turnip’. Little did I know at that time that this is a Russian fairy tale. So it all made sense why the sculpture is there.

"The Enormous Turnip" was written by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy.

It is a progressive story in which a grandfather plants a turnip, which grows so large that it takes many to pull it up - the grandfather (deduska), the grandmother (babuska), the granddaughter (vnuchca), the female-dog (zhuchka), the female-cat (koshka) and finally the female-mouse (myshka). The humour or moral of the story is that only with the help of the weakest and smallest creature (the mouse) can the giant turnip or radish (repka) be pulled up.

It is all about co-operation and that if we all work together, we can do anything.

Summer had finally arrived and with it the much awaited glorious sunshine. The whole character of the Irish society changes  as people make the most out of the great weather which can be here today and gone tomorrow.  Many will head out to the beach or engage in outdoor activities like cycling or hiking. People painting their houses or mowing the lawns is a common sight. 

Having come from a society where the individual is driven to compete to survive, I find that the community spirit over here is very strong. People here co-operate and do community work on a regular basis, even more so in summer because we can go outdoors and work in the fine weather. Co-operation in a community setting is something very new to me, where everyone contributes to a common good and in return reaps the rewards.

Martin A. Nowak, writer for Scientific American and author of “Why We Help: The Evolution of Co-operation” points out that selfless behaviour is a pervasive phenomenon. Life to Nowak is not just a struggle for survival but rather a ‘snuggle for survival.’

A case in point is the local community garden which I am part of. We grow vegetables and flowers and we meet twice a week to mind what we have planted. But the best part is members who pop by the garden other than the scheduled times will water all the beds as well. The group also organises an open day where the public would be invited to a barbeque. Each of us will bring some kind of meat or sausage or fish. For the past few years I have been showcasing Malaysian satay complete with peanut gravy, onions, cucumber slices and ketupat.

The spirit of co-operation generates several outcomes.

Firstly it is a given that we reciprocate good deeds.

I share a garden bed with a fellow gardening enthusiast. When I was away on a trip and there was fear of bad weather, she covered my plants with protective fleece. There was no danger of my crops being destroyed by frost and I came home to thriving seedlings. Likewise, when my friend is busy, I’ll help water her crops. During harvesting season, we share the produce.

Next we also have indirect reciprocity. Indirect reciprocity simply means if you build a reputation of helping others, others will help you. One example is the East Clare Co-operative Society that runs many programmes for free or for minimal payment. Such programmes range from cooking classes to hobby crafts.

Recently, the director of the co-operative invited me to teach volunteers how to do Sugan chair weaving. So we spent a number of hours on a Saturday morning putting new life into old chairs. The results were amazing. Although the participants could not bring the chairs home with them, they felt proud because they had learnt a new skill and they had contributed something to the co-operative.  Every chair that was painstakingly woven by a participant now stands proudly in the co-op cafe.

When we use the word networking we think of it as getting connected with people to get something in return, especially in career advancement. That is networking for a motive.

But when we co-operate, there is an unwritten code of support and sharing within the group. Co-operation results in networking at a different level. Everyone brings with him life’s experience and perspective. When we put that together as a group, it becomes a powerhouse of knowledge. For cooperation to work, everyone has to be an active member of the team and do what they agree to do.

I guess what I enjoy most about co-operation is that it is not about me, myself and I. It is about us and there’s a good feeling that comes with it.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NEW STRAITS TIMES MALAYSIA ON 25 JUNE 2017  http://digital.nstp.com.my/nst/books/nstnews/2017/20170625nstnews/index.html#/25/

ALL SET TO START GARDENING IN MY NEW GREENHOUSE

When we go for rides, I love to look at houses. The first to get my approval are those with neat gardens and thatched roofs. Clean pavements, tidy yards and good colour combination all get the thumbs up. With the days fast leading up to Christmas, many proud  houseowners will decorate their houses to the max with strings of lights complete with reindeer and sleigh in the garden as well.

Buying a house is a big step. Making it a home is another.  

Some might prefer getting professionals to do the interior decoration but personally I like to decorate it myself as every splash of colour and picture put up on the wall reflects individuality. So much so that one of my friends quipped that the beloved must keep on moving or I’ll paint him too.

I bought my first apartment when I was 28. It was on the top most floor because of my preference for great view and privacy. For those who have lived in apartments, they come with a peculiar set of problems and so I moved out of the apartment when I bought my second property in my 30s, this time a landed property and one that was nearer my workplace.

With every home, I had great joy putting my mark on it.

As I am the sort who cannot be idle, most things are handmade…from cushions to curtains to furniture. Now that there are no more corners in the house for me to indulge my creativity, I have moved on to the garden instead - my greenhouse.

It took me 6 years to decide to buy a greenhouse because it is quite an investment and I do not want it to be just a fad. I have seen so many greenhouses standing empty in my neighbourhood. Because the weather in Ireland is wet, wet and wet, I needed to learn how to turn the garden to my advantage.

So I enrolled for horticulture workshops and learnt about planting according to the seasons. These workshops were always a delight to attend because the teachers were very knowledgeable and I made lots of like-minded friends.

Every keen gardener has her fair share of success and failure stories. It is wonderful to know that you are not alone in your experiments with seed and soil and that you are not crazy to put in more capital then you can reap from your harvests. We all share the dogged determination to find pleasure in gardening. Somehow that forked carrot or mottled cucumber tastes so much sweeter than the perfect ones that you buy from the market. There is something magical about going out to the garden to harvest the greens, to unearth the spuds and to pick the apples and berries.

I debated whether to get a polytunnel or a greenhouse.  The sliding door window in my room opens up to the garden. When I look out I can see the flowers, the birds, the bees, the butterflies and the trees. I see rainbows very often and can hear the church bells pealing. Somehow glass gleaming in the sun is something that plastic can never deliver.I want to be greeted by something beautiful and yet practical. I decided to buy a greenhouse.

So we went hunting for the perfect greenhouse - checking online sites as well as visiting the suppliers. I decided to buy a good-size Eden Blockley model.

Finally, the greenhouse arrived. The truck driver was pretty friendly and burly. He had been driving the whole day - from Gloucester to the ferry terminal to Dublin and then to me. He carried the flat packed glass, piece by piece. Then he carried the frame and all the smaller parts. He subsequently left to return to the UK. I closed the door and looked at the array of equipment on the floor and felt that heaven had landed.

My greenhouse is up now and it is as exciting as a child waiting for her friends to come celebrate her birthday party. Yes, it is a birthday party after all - the birth of a new gardening experience. I have made a few stained glass and mosaic pieces to hang in the greenhouse. These sun catchers give the greenhouse a me-feel. The seedlings are in their plugs and I want to try and grow crops for all the four seasons.

Even when the slugs come and the frost falls, I will toil in delight. I live in hope.

After all, this is my Eden.

This article was originally printed in The New Straits Times Malaysia 30 October 2016

http://digital.nstp.com.my/nst/books/nstnews/2016/20161030nstnews/index.html#/23/