40 days in the desert – spiritual journey or environmental resolution?

It’s trendy once again to consume plant-based foods, and to observe one or two meat-free days a week. This kind of secular dieting is said to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and some mental health illnesses.

Eco-vegans don’t only promote a sustainable diet, they are also concerned about the negative environmental impact of meat production, bearing in mind that livestock is thought to be responsible for around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Religious fasting, however, is symbolic, and refraining from eating meat is a traditional practice during the Christian religious observance of Lent.

Tofu and sushi salad bowl at Keenwa and Kale in Chisipite.

Lent lasts for 40 days, the length of time Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and praying, while withstanding Satan’s challenge to change stones into bread and rejecting his offer of ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour’. A period of penitential preparation for the feast of Easter, Lent has some aspects that resemble Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when Jewish people reflect on whom they may have harmed during the previous year, and ask for forgiveness.

Tubular bells and Sound Therapy in the shack in Drew Road

Forgiving someone for a perceived insult or wrongdoing could be   more difficult, say, than giving up chocolate or alcohol, or spending time scrolling through Instagram; almsgiving, also a requirement during Lent, is easier than letting go of a grudge. Easter, however, being the most significant day in the Christian calendar, and Lent being a time for reconciliation, those seeking forgiveness may also find themselves prepared to forgive.

It’s no longer required to show repentance in a public display of dressing in sackcloth and dusting oneself with ashes, but periodic fasting, giving up meat , alcohol or your favourite junk foods, are ways to prepare yourself for Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday.

Having forsworn minute steaks, beef burgers and pork chops for 40 days, and not being into vegetarian cuisine, you may have been existing on cheese and tomato sandwiches and avocado on toast for the last few weeks.  Ready for a change, or in need of a boost, make a visit to Keenwa and Kale in Drew Road in Chisipite, where Lara Memper and her staff have created a mouthwatering variety of vegetarian salad bowls. Ingredients include combinations of chickpea, sweet potato and kale, halloumi, shrimp, rice noodles, avocado, cucumber, mango, blueberry, walnut and feta, to name but a few. Meat eaters aren’t left out; the menu has salad bowls featuring pork tenderloin, Bulgogi steak, Cajun chicken and steak fajitas, to name but a few of the choices. Lara’s experience as a chef on cruise ships, and time spent abroad, has enabled her to come up with 30 different multi-coloured salad bowls featuring the popular cuisines of Mexico, Thailand, Korea and Vietnam.

Salad bowl of the day last Friday was roasted Tofu and deconstructed sushi. Spiralised carrot, thinly sliced cucumber and creamy avocado surrounded cubes of tofu and fluffy Basmati rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds, with flavour hits from sweet and spicy pickled ginger and organic roasted seaweed.

Keenwa and Kale serves coffee and breakfast from 7.30 am, and offers lunch subscriptions (a different salad bowl for every weekday) that can be transported by a delivery service to your workplace or home.

Seating at Keenwa and Kale is either on the verandah, or on the smooth green lawn of a garden lush with trees and flowering shrubs. Lara shares the rest of the property with a small number of businesses, including a beauty parlour, pilates and yoga classes, and a social media expert who can help you perfect your Instagram and WhatsApp skills. There is even a small art  gallery exhibiting paintings by talented artist Valentine Magutsa.

At the bottom of the garden is an elegant little wooden shack on stilts, partly hidden by palm trees and thorn trees. This is where trained practitioner Richard John holds Sound Healing therapy sessions, said to relieve physical pain and tension in the body, alleviate stress or anxiety and improve clarity of thought. Clients remain still, quiet and relaxed during a sound bath from the tubular bells, handcrafted by Richard. A mechanical engineer in a former life, Richard now directs his restorative skills towards the human mind and body, rather than to the engine of a car.

If the long, meat-free weeks of Lent are proving arduous, console yourself with knowing that your fasting and abstinence can add an ecological benefit to the environment. After celebrating Easter, find time to add further dimensions to your wellbeing, with yoga, pilates and Sound Healing, all to be found in Drew Road, Chisipite.