Scrolling through all the main news sites on a daily basis it’s hard to find any positive news, and it’s easy to get depressed about the current state of affairs in South Africa. The recession, violent crime, the extent of state capture, it can all leave us feeling hopeless. How do we make sense of it all, how can we carry on getting out of bed every morning, when we are confronted with all the bad news all the time?

If you are reading this, you are probably a regular listener to Smile 90.4 FM and you know that we try our best to find the news that can take us forward, make you feel inspired and even put a smile on your face.

You might feel guilty sometimes for smiling, for laughing your heart out, but at the end of the day we are just human and we need a break.

An academic who spoke to Benito Vergotine on Smile 90.4 FM’s late night talk show The Honest Truth also has a different way of looking at things. Policy specialist at North West University Theo Venter suggests we just have to accept that chaos is normal, it’s a phase we are going through following years of neglect, corruption and weak leadership.

So where’s the upside of down?

Venter says only after a disruptive turbulent phase can we get into a new beginning, where we can start consolidating and building again.

He says we need look at the situation through a different lens – the Vuca lens. The acronym, borrowed from the American military, stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Venter says South Africa is experiencing a Vuca moment, and we need to accept this unpredictability, especially when looking at the economy and politics, is the new normal.

But how do we navigate through the chaos? Venter says we need to keep moving and most importantly, keep learning.

“The future can be more than one thing. Don’t let the current uncertainty stop you. In a Vuca environment you need a better vision. You need to know where you are going and you need more research.”

Arthur C. Clarke famously said Douglas Adams’ use of “don’t panic” was perhaps the best advice that could be given to humanity. Venter’s advice might be as useful for South Africans, in that we must get out of the emotional approach to what we are doing, and start looking at solutions.

“In ideology and perception we build walls and we can’t get over the walls… what facilitators do, and people that we’ve seen in this country, like Desmond Tutu, like Nelson Mandela they had the ability to change these walls into bridges, and the minute you do this people start walking over them, people start talking to each other.”

It’s always good to hear about our local agriculture sector that is thriving, despite the devastating drought. As with every crisis, it seems that the Western Cape is able to adapt and find opportunity. Enter the blueberry. This water-wise, labour intensive crop is causing a fair bit of excitement among agriculture officials. And with good reason. Blueberries, hailed for their health benefits and anti-oxidant properties, have soared in popularity around the world in recent years. And in the Western Cape, production and exports of this berry have increased drastically.

Our MEC of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde is very optimistic about the growth of this crop. His Department believes this tiny berry holds the potential to add significant value to the economy and create additional jobs.

The global market for blueberries is valued at about R33 billion, with indications that the market is still growing to meet the demand that is still much higher than supply. According to data from Hortgro and the South African Berry Association, 68% of all South Africa’s berries are grown in the Western Cape. About 70% of all South African blueberries are exported, 16% are sold as fresh in the local market and the remainder enter the agri-processing chain. Blueberry exports from South Africa have shown annual average growth of about 44%.

Currently, South Africa and the Western Cape’s biggest export market for its blueberries is the United Kingdom, with import values for 2016 reaching R228 million. The Netherlands is the second biggest market, but data shows there are a number of markets that have strong potential for development and growth including Ireland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany and Belgium. Asian markets in Singapore, Malaysia and China also hold real potential.

There are also opportunities to compete with other Southern Hemisphere blueberry producers, like Chile and Peru, who are some of the largest exporters of blueberries in the world. Peru in particular has shown massive growth in blueberry exports since 2011- with an annual average growth rate of over 300%.

So the appetite for blueberries seems endless, and Winde is determined that we benefit from this. So even though you might lament the fact that blueberries are incredibly expensive to purchase locally, just think about all the millions of rand we can pump into our local farming economy.

This week I had the pleasure of being invited to hear Professor Thuli Madonsela, the ex-Public Protector, now Professor at Stellenbosch give us some of her views on land expropriation.

She comes from a legal background, is enormously well connected and well informed so it was a delight to hear her version of events that are unfolding.

But there was a moment when she almost whispered, “Dear colleagues, but surely we have to see that in a country where the majority of the population own just 7 percent of the urban land and just 1.2 percent of the rural land, something needs to be done.”

So just in case you were wondering she is confident in our courts, in our processes and she has faith that the right decisions will be made although they will probably have to be settled in a court of law so as they say, Moenie panic nie!

She did however allude to such a positive story that I felt I had to share it with all of you.

Quietly and without too much fanfare a Stellenbosch couple David and Elaine Potter built a R30 million architect designed village and gave the title deeds to their 150 workers. Yes, gave them the title deeds.

They’re calling it compensation without expropriation. The village comes complete with a creche, aftercare and an entertainment centre.

The village has 22 cottages and is built on a 4-hectare site with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.

The move stunned the 150 odd staff of Nuwe Son farm between Paarl and Franschhoek who count among their neighbours Johan Rupert as well as Richard Branson.

One of the new owners Diane Fraser was in tears. They look like guest houses she said. I would never have been able to afford my own house.

Dianne, who is now 50, lives with a daughter and two granddaughters. A former farm supervisor, she now works full time at the village creche and benefits from regular training courses.

She said the village is close to a clinic and to public transport which means less walking and better security.

The village has homes of three different sizes all with solar geysers, LED lighting and landscaped gardens giving it a very upmarket feel.

Both the Potters are South African born are philanthropists who spent years planning the staff village on their table grape farm in the hope of meaningful social upliftment

The Potters said it has always been their intention to assist the staff since they bought the farm in the 90’s.

Elaine Potter, a former journalist, said they believe that education is the real engine for upliftment and are making a serious effort to improve the facilities and opportunities for the children of the village.

What a beautiful story and thank you to the Potters for showing us just one way in which we can make a difference.