Jul 16, 2025
🌾 “Bawo’s Magic Rock” – A Xhosa Farmer’s First Time Using Aquastab
In the rolling green hills just outside Ngqamakhwe, lived an old farmer named Bawo Mhlontlo. He was a proud man with deep respect for the land, the ancestors, and the animals he raised — goats that walked like they owned the place, and cows that answered only when bribed with mielies.
But lately, Bawo had a problem. His rainwater tank, filled from the corrugated iron roof of his home, was turning his copper taps green and making his goats look at the water like it owed them rent.
“Amanzi ayahlanya la!” he shouted one morning, frustrated as his favourite ram snorted and walked away from the trough like a drama queen.
He called his cousin in Cape Town, a big-shot technician who wore glasses even when it wasn’t sunny.
“Hayi suka, Bawo!” the cousin laughed. “You need to stabilise that soft rainwater before it eats your pipes… Use Aquastab.”
“Aqua-what?” Bawo asked, suspicious. “Is it medicine for cows?”
“No, bhuti. It’s natural limestone. You just throw it in the water tank. It makes the water less angry.”
🪨 The Magic Rocks Arrive
The next week, a 50kg bag of Aquastab arrived at the spaza by taxi from Cape Town. Bawo opened the sack like it was a treasure chest. Inside: a pile of small white stones.
“Yho, ndinike amatshe!” he laughed. “They sent me rocks!”
Still, he followed the instructions:
He filled a netted bag with the Aquastab stones
Tied it to a string like a teabag
And dropped it into the rainwater tank
“Let’s see if these white people’s rocks can outsmart amaXhosa water,” he mumbled, half-joking.
💧 One Week Later…
The change was unbelievable.
The water tasted smoother
The taps stopped turning green
And the goats? They drank like it was umqombothi at a wedding!
His neighbour, uMama Thobeka, came by and asked why his cows looked shinier than hers.
Bawo pointed proudly at the tank.
“Amatshe la asebenzayo. Aquastab. Rocks with a job.”
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