Nonhle Mbuthuma is the co-founder and spokesperson for the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), a community-based social movement formed to oppose the proposed mine. Her grandfather was a traditional healer and she learned early on that nature takes care of those who take care of it. Nonhle is the 2024 co-winner of the Goldman Prize. Franco Augusto is a member of the Facilitation Team of the Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them. and a long-time activist on alternatives around the world. They both came together in South Africa in the context of Confluence on Radical Democracy, Autonomy and Self-Determination (RaDASD). Nonhle was interviewed by Franco in the context of a series of conversations that formed part of the collective documentation process.

Franco Augusto: Hi Nonhle! Thanks for sharing this space. Could you please can you introduce yourself - your name, where you come from, and share few words about your community.

Nonhle Mbuthuma: My name is Nonhle Mbuthuma. I'm from the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), which is in the Eastern Cape region on the Wild Coast of South Africa. As a coastal community, we face many challenges. Our land is being targeted for the extraction of titanium, oil and gas. It is also a site for mega projects which means our land is up for sale in the market. But we depend on the land for our survival and livelihood. If our land is taken away from us, it will mean poverty for our society. That is why extractivism is a big challenge facing our community.

FA: How is your community organized in terms of self-governance and radical democracy?

NM: In terms of how we organize ourselves, we are working in a collective. We are making decisions in a collective way. Because this is communal land, it is governed by customary law, which is the people's law, where the laws have been determined or decided by the people. Because communal land, which is commons’ land, has always been a target of big corporations, what we are doing in order to mobilize our community is to make sure that we educate and inform our people, especially about human rights, land rights and international law. When communities are not informed of their rights, it's easy for anybody to come from outside and take advantage of that community. This is why our community is one of the communities that is quite advanced in terms of sharing knowledge and information.

FA: I understand that's the general context, but what are the main challenges facing your community in the current moments?

NM: The main challenge is the availability of basic services. We feel excluded by our own government - and this has been a cry for many years. We feel that we need to exchange land in order to receive basic services. We still depend on water from the rivers, the roads are not maintained, and health clinics are not well provided. There's quite a lot of challenges in terms of the basic services which has been a deliberate decision because it's not what we voted for, this is not the democracy we want. In a democracy, all are equal and will be treated equally. But we don't see that.

FA: So you would say that there is the expectation of your community to get these kinds of services from the state?

NM: Yes. Our expectation is to get the services from the state because this is what we pay taxes for. If we have been taxed but are not being serviced, why do we need to pay taxes? We’re not expecting any big corporations or private companies to promise us these services. For instance, when mining companies come to our communities, they tell us that if we allow the land to be mined, they will build roads, clinics, and schools. But those responsibilities are not for the private sector to bear, they are for our government. It cannot be an exchange for land, this is not the democracy that we fought for in South Africa.

FA: Imagine a scenario where your claims for these basic services from the state are fulfilled, that is, they provide water, streets, health services and so on. What would happen with the self-governance system? Will such self-organising and community activities continue to take place?

NM: You know, we have lived for centuries without a state. The state is relatively new, having been around for just 30 years, I think. But we have lived for more than 30 years in that era and we self-organized ourselves. We organized ourselves to build the structures for schools to provide for the future of our children. We also maintain the roads ourselves.

However, some things are more complicated to organise, like the healthcare system, because you need health professionals. We need a government to act on this because medication is really, really critical. We’ve already built primary and high schools because we self-organise ourselves. We also encourage the other communities that if the government is not servicing you, then people must learn to organize and do things for themselves. In our province in Eastern Cape, it's been shown in the media that there are many kids studying under the trees who can't go to school because there is no infrastructure. But if people can learn to organize themselves like our own communities, where we use the materials we have to put things together and build structures. What we ask from the government is to support us with the teachers because the structure is already there. And when we do that, it means that we self-organize ourselves.

FA: This is all very interesting and it's clear the focus on the local level struggle and creation, so why it's important for you and your community to participate in this kind of international scenarios and networks like this one?

NM: To participate in international gatherings like this on Radical Democracy is very important. Firstly, sharing information is power. It has empowered us as communities because we are learning from other countries and from other communities about how they solve issues. Secondly, there is a need to build solidarity. It is very important because when something is happening in Mexico, for instance, I must know how I can support from South Africa. In order to be strong, we need to work together and support each other. If you feel lonely in your struggle, it's easy to be defeated.

Also, when you are working together, it's easy to avoid mistakes. For example, these big corporations are going around like they are in a shopping center. If they fail at extracting resources from one country, they will go to another. If we are not talking to each other, it's easy for the other country to just accept it without understanding. But if we are talking to each other, it helps us to be aware of and avoid the huge environmental damage and degradation that these companies inflict. So these kinds of gatherings are very important.