You wouldn’t know that a community of sugarcane lovers lives right here—or that so many international neighbors pass through—until you post an ad on Facebook Marketplace to sell your organically grown backyard sugarcane.
I’ve met visitors from countries across Africa, East Asia, and India, and they’ve always been the most thrilling encounters. A woman priest from Nigeria taught me how to harvest it her way. Ignoring that she was in her 60s, she bent and jumped onto the stalk like a little girl, then pulled powerfully like a gladiator. Until then, my method was to wear skin-protecting shirts and gloves and use large shears. I still use the long sleeves and gloves, but I’ve learned to jump onto it—it works! She also taught me which parts she prefers for eating and which parts are best for planting.
I’ve had a few people come by cab. They couldn’t afford to own a car, but they needed sugarcane for their families, for nostalgia, and for cravings. One visitor was in her first trimester of pregnancy and couldn’t keep anything down; the only thing she wanted was sugarcane.
Last night, I met a lovely woman from Tanzania who is also pregnant—with her sixth child. She wanted to make her own sugar and uses only homemade sugar. She knew exactly which canes she wanted, drawing on an intimate level of growing experience from her childhood that I don’t have. But I’m learning from her and from all my guests.
My favorite lesson to learn from my guests is the word for “heart” in different languages. Before the internet existed, I collected these words by meeting people from different countries. Of course, libraries existed in the early ’90s, but I thought using one would feel like cheating. I wanted to collect these words by connecting with real people. Each time I learned a new word, I named a Heartling after it.
Though I’d heard I should have six main characters, that didn’t stop me from drawing many other heart creatures. I figured they could be guests from other heartlands and nearby planets in the Heart Galaxy—because why limit it to just one planet?
My guest from last night speaks seven languages. She had no problem telling me the word for heart in each one, which is pretty incredible. She doesn’t have many people to practice with here, but the words are fresh and clear in her memory. I love how related they sound:
- In Swahili, it’s “moyo” or “moye,” depending on pronunciation.
- In Kinundi, it’s “oometima.”
- In Lingala, it’s “omotima.”
- In Kifulero, it’s “Umoyo.”
- In Kinyankole, her mother tongue, it’s “olé motema.”
- She also speaks French and English.
When my guest came over, I hugged her. She was so warm and friendly in her communication that we became instant friends and ended up learning a lot about one another. She is an entrepreneur working on her own brand of lotions, so I showed her my books and merchandise. She came to the United States directly for business school, and she kept telling me, “Why aren’t you selling your stuff already?” It was both cute and empowering.
We even ended up matching. I lent her the same UPF light-blue shirt I was wearing, and we worked together to grab and pull the canes. It was teamwork, although she was much more efficient. I’m looking forward to learning about music from Tanzania that I can use for my yoga students. She immediately knew which styles would fit yoga versus Zumba, and I can’t wait.
The theme throughout all the products I make is Connect Through Love™. I love to say that my hearts are like people: unique individuals who love to connect, and when they do, they connect through love. When it comes to niche gardening, we connect through harvests. Who knew? Maybe we all need more natural sweetness in our day.
Guess what? I published a coloring heart mandala book that features the word for heart in many languages—including Swahili. Find it on Amazon.