By Bongekile Gumede
Durban Born Author, anthropologist and founder of a non-profit-organistion, Ashling McCarthy recently released her first book “Down at Jika Jika Tarven”. As a wearer of many hats McCarthy said that although living in Durban her heart was firmly in Zululand where much of her social development work as well as wildlife watching takes place. Married to an environmentalist , McCarthy says she has learnt to “veganise” just about everything and anything.
The Springfield Weekly Gazette invited McCarthy on the couch just to get to know her and about her book better.
Springfield Weekly Gazette(SWG): You speak about Zululand as a home, however you are from Durban, where in Durban are you from and why do you love Zululand so much, and when did you develop a passion for writing?
Ashling McCarthy (AM): I was born in Zululand but raised on the Bluff and in Glenwood. I am absolutely loving living in Durban. I’ve been married for five years to an incredible man. While I focus on people, he focuses on the environment. We share five rescue spaniels, so the house is never quiet or calm.
I studied as a graphic designer before becoming involved in craft development in Zululand. The experience of living and working in a rural community led me to study anthropology, thereafter decided to do my masters in HIV/Aids and orphan care and spent a great deal of time taking down ethnographies.
I have always kept a diary or journal, and took that into my craft and research work. There are so many stories out there and I loved writing them down and thinking about the people who’d lived them, well after I’d left the field.
SWG: What inspired the writing of your book?
AM: I began writing “Down at Jika Jika Tavern” for the young women who I worked with at my NPO. We’d just introduced a library and I thought it would be great if there was a book in there that was set in their area. Along the way, a few other experiences, mainly to do with rhino poaching, helped me focus the storyline to incorporate wildlife crime. KZN was starting to see a spike in rhino poaching, and I wanted to explore that.
SWG: You also a founder of a non-profit organisation, tell us about it and its services and what inspired you to start it?
AM: I am the founder of an organisation called “I Learn to Live – Ngifundela Ukuphila”. It was founded in 2010 and was a result of the volunteer work I did with an NPO in Zululand. I was dismayed at the number of school leavers I engaged with who had matric certificates, but no clue or plan for what the next steps should be.
My mom and I began by supporting three students to go to Richtek College and we offered financial assistance and mentorship. I soon realised that youth would benefit from a much earlier intervention, where they could acquire the soft skills they needed to do well in their studies,which were largely missing.
Within a few years, we had gone from assisting school leavers to working predominantly with primary and high school children. Today we run a computer and learning centre in our rural community, with the main aim of raising up loving, creative, problem-solving, community changing children and youth with the skills to thrive in life.
We do this by exposing them to education programmes, such as robotics and coding, music, animation and soft skills development. We also work with local schools in the area, working with principals and teachers to improve education offerings to children.
SWG: You an artist as well how do you juggle all these creative talents?
AM: I am learning to be better at carving out specific times of the year for painting and writing. I used to try and do it all at once, and found myself highly frustrated by lack of progress. Currently, I am writing the second book in the series of “Down at Jika Jika Tavern”.
At the start of the year, I decided to focus solely on writing. When the first draft is done and goes out for feedback, then I can start painting again. It’s been hugely successful in that I don’t feel constantly torn between the two, and I’m making great progress on the draft.
SWG: If you had to choose one, which one would you choose between writing, art and running an NPO?
AM: That’s a tricky question, mainly because all three are so connected. Both my writing and painting subject matter is a direct result of the work I do in the development sector. Each influences the other and I am constantly thinking about ways to intertwine them further. Ultimately – being of service to others is what drives me – whether implementing a project, or starting a conversation that leads to be a better understanding of the reality of the county we live in.
SWG: Your new book “Down at Jika Jika Tavern”, what is it about and who is your target audience?
AM: “Down at Jika Jika Tavern” is my first book and was released in November 2020. Unfortunately, Covid really made it impossible to launch it in the traditional way, with no book stores doing in-person launches. The novel is about student anthropologist, Nonhle Ngubane, who is home for the summer holidays. Within a week, the calm is shattered when the unthinkable happens – her father, a game ranger, is arrested for rhino poaching. It’s a crime she believes he would never commit. Or could he?
As Nonhle struggles to make sense of the accusation, she is blind to the dark plot of revenge unfolding. On a wind-swept mountain, a conflicted traditional healer seeks revenge for the Great Betrayal committed against him. And in the shadows, a slippery rhino poaching boss is expanding his terrible business.
Nonhle wants to help prove her father’s innocence, but she’s out of her depth. Yet, when the evidence against her father starts stacking up, and help is too slow for her liking, she knows she must act.
She takes matters into her own hands, and unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events. Events that find her fighting for her father’s innocence, but also, for her life.The book was written for adults, but I’ve found that high school learners are also enjoying it. The themes in the book really lend themselves to important current topics such as conservation and wildlife crime, culture and diversity, as well as faith.
SWG: Do you have another job, a day job, what is it?
AM: Between the NPO, writing and painting, there is not much time left in the day. But if there was – I’d love to own and run a small eco-lodge in Zululand, offering writing and painting workshops.
SWG:If you could describe your normal day in three words, what would they be?
AM: Interesting, varied and creative.
SWG: Have you travelled out of the country, if yes to where and if not where would you travel if given the opportunity?
AM: I have been incredibly blessed to travel out of the country quite a bit. My parents were both born and raised in Ireland, so we travelled their as kids to see the family. I lived in the UK for two years, and it was relatively cheap and easy to explore Europe from there.
My favourite trips in Africa have been to Zanzibar and Namibia. My husband and I did a road trip from Durban to Namibia for our honeymoon and I’d happily revisit over and over. Morocco was another Africa trip, which I have mixed feelings about, all these years later. It was both magical and probably one of the hardest trips I’ve done as a woman.
SWG: Please choose one –
• When doing your art work do you listen to music or sip on some coffee?
AM: If I’m painting, I listen to music. For writing, I prefer silence with only the garden as a backing track. I can’t seem to write and listen at the same time!
• What do you prefer colourful art or black and white?
AM: Definitely colourful art. I love it when my eye catches something bright and happy.
• Whisky or Wine?
AM: White wine (with ice).
• Gym or picnic?
AM: Definitely a picnic.
SWG: How can people get their hands on your book?
AM: Books can be ordered directly from me or via email or via my website: https://ashlingmccarthy.co.za/product/down-at-jika-jika-tavern or from Bargain Books, Musgrave Branch which currently has stock, Exclusive Books, Takealot, and other independent book stores.
