The ManicaPost
Cletus Mushanawani News Editor
GENESIS 3 verse 19 reads: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
In burial ceremonies, clergymen extensively use this verse, also reminding us that ‘ashes shall return to ashes’.
While many people do not see any value in ash or dust, they are, in fact, ash and dust.
Due to their low opinion of ash, they are blind to the many uses of the by-product of burnt wood.
Historically, ashes were used for food preservation, gardening, pottery, pest control, and even in cosmetics.
Long before baking soda was discovered, wood ash based leaveners would allow the traditional chefs to make delicious holiday cookies.
It is said soap would not have been invented without wood ash lye.
While some of these uses are merely a historical curiosity, many are still incredibly useful in our modern world.
The world over, Catholics, Methodists and Anglicans, among other Christian denominations, hold the Ash Wednesday in high esteem.
On that day, their foreheads are smudged with ash, which symbolise both death and repentance.
Ash Wednesday, which is officially known as the Day of Ashes, is a day of repentance. Christians get to confess their sins and profess their devotion to God.
The day is important as it marks the start of the Lent period, leading up to Easter, when Christians believe Jesus was resurrected.
Therefore ash can be useful when one is alive to its properties.
In low-income communities, ashes have various uses, among them being used as a detergent, a sanitiser and a preservative.
With the Covid-19 pandemic wrecking havoc across the globe, people are being encouraged to practice good personal hygiene.
Ashes have come in to save the day in communities that do not have easy access to soaps and alcohol based hand sanitisers.
In countries that were once ravaged by the Ebola and cholera epidemics, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children Education Fund promoted hand washing with soap or ash.
Research has shown that using ash is more effective in washing hands than to do so with water alone.
In short-term experiments with bacteria contaminated hands in Bangladesh and India, ash was found to be as effective as soap when it comes to eliminating the bacteria.
Villagers in Mutare District have also adopted the use of ash in the fight against the coronavirus.
In separate interviews on the sidelines of a handover of food hampers to the elderly, through the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Angel of Hope Foundation last Friday, it emerged that necessity is indeed the mother of inventions.
The Manica Post observed that five-litre containers of a mixture of water and ash, strategically placed on pivots just outside the toilets or at the gates, are now a common feature at most homesteads.
For one to use the device, he or she has to step on a stick tied to the container.
As the container tilts, water trickles out, and one vigorously washes their hands for the prescribed 20 seconds.
Villagers who were donning masks of different makes said they were trying their level best to comply with the World Health Organisation’s prescribed safety measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
A widow who is staying with her four orphaned grandchildren, Mrs Fenny Kwembeya, said the price of soap and hand sanitisers is beyond the reach of many, hence their adoption of ash.
“Most of us cannot afford to buy soap. We hear of sanitisers, but who can afford them in this village? We usually access them through donations like the ones we have just received from the First Lady, Amai Mnangagwa.
“We used to be farmers of repute, but droughts have reduced our productivity. We can hardly afford to put food on the table and our plight has been further compounded by this Covid-19 pandemic as good personal hygiene is now a priority.
“We are using ash as a sanitiser and it are proving to be effective. Our local health workers always stress the need to improvise on our traditional knowledge systems. We are fully utilising the locally available resources to ensure our safety,” she said.
Another villager, Mr Shadreck Muchuwe, said ash has so many uses and is a popular substitute for detergents.
“Diseases like cholera and now this coronavirus mainly spread at gatherings like funerals.
‘‘People are being told not to converge in large numbers. But despite this advice, we are cultured to gather in large numbers and give our loved ones befitting send-offs.
“However, the availability of soap at such events is often a problem. Meals are served but the soap is almost always unavailable, so to ensure everyone’s safety, we use ash as a detergent,” he said.
Mr Muchuwe said ash is also used to ensure that toilets remain odourless.
“Ash helps absorb the nasty smells, it is very useful in our pit latrines.
‘‘We periodically deposit a small amount of ash in the pits and the smell disappears,” he said.
Gogo Theresa Msabayana said since ash can repel pests, it can also be used as a preservative.
“Before the grain preservatives were introduced, we would use ash in preserving our grain. Ash has some natural salts that keep pests at bay.
“We also use ash to treat seeds for the next farming season. It keeps insects away and prevents rotting on maize, beans, pumpkins and water melon seeds. Ash prevents the growth of fungus, thereby protecting the seeds for the next farming season,” she said.
