Zama Shabalala joins The Spirit of Alchemy to explore the power of ancestral wisdom, science, and surrender. In this conversation, he shares how his childhood surrounded by herbal medicine, his studies in biotechnology, and his journey into cannabis innovation shaped a purpose-led path. A powerful episode about transformation, courage, and turning the ordinary into something truly extraordinary.
Step into a story where ancestral wisdom meets modern innovation: a journey shaped in the soil of Thembisa and refined through the quiet alchemy of becoming.
In this episode, hosts Bobby and Rehema sit with Zama Shabalala, biotechnologist, entrepreneur, founder of Earthling Emily, and a son of herbalists who transformed lineage into legacy. Together, they explore:
• The influence of growing up with traditional herbal medicine and herbal healing
• How biotechnology opened the doorway to plant medicine and cannabis research
• The courage to challenge norms, including stopping a national brewery beer line
• Building Earthling Emily and pioneering accessible cannabis wellness
• The deeper mission: community upliftment, spiritual wellness, and surrendering to purpose
Through raw honesty, laughter, reflection, and the wisdom of lived experience, this conversation reveals what it truly means to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and why surrendering to the unfolding often leads us exactly where we’re meant to be.
Connect with Zama:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zama_shabbaranks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zama.shabalala.5/
Earthling Emily:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthling_emily_/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthling_emily
Website: https://earthlingemily.com/
Bobby: Good morning everyone. Welcome to another episode of The Spirit of Alchemy, Bobby and Rehema here. We'd like to welcome you to our show. The Spirit of Alchemy is the creative force that transforms imagination into tangible value. It's the art of seeing potential where others see only raw material of taking ordinary experiences, ideas, or fragments of inspiration, connecting unseen dots and combining them into something new, meaningful, and alive. It's about turning insight into innovation, vision into structure, and risk into opportunity. It's a courage to experiment, refine and persist until the essence of an idea reveals its golden form. The spirit, however, also involves inner transformation as, as the idea grows, so does the creator. The process of building a business becomes a mirror revealing strengths, fears, and hidden capacities. It reminds us that entrepreneurship is not only about making products, but about taking curiosity, courage, persistence and heart and turning them into a new vision of oneself. And with that, I would like to handover to Rehema because we do have somebody here, Zama Shabalala, who embodies all of this. So Rehema over to you.
Rehema: The spirit of Alchemy. Today's guest is Zama Shabalala, a son of the soil, a bio technologist, a young man whose dream was to become a doctor when he was young and lived with his mother and his grandmother, who were herbalists. Taking this African tradition of understanding how the soil works with plants, he transformed his career, which worked with cannabis to what is now a flourishing business called Ancient Emily. This is an exciting conversation for me personally because it asks me to reflect on some of the prejudiced areas of lack of knowledge that had me thinking that: Cannabis? Me? Conversation? NEVER. But only to appreciate that with the changing world and changing knowledge and insights about how we actually use this plant, understanding how a young man became not just a pioneer in this field, but continues to break barriers. His career spans one of learning in the University of Johannesburg about biotechnology and about the plant and cutting-edge developments around the plant, but also working for world-class breweries, where he was responsible for stopping production lines on two labels of beer. I know that now, and I'm understanding that that is a big deal. So quality assurance, knowledge about the field, and a deep-rooted understanding of not only how things work, but how to make them work well with great quality and producing world-class products is nothing new to this gentleman. Today, it sits across from us and is somebody who's finally convinced me to have a glass of drink with cannabis infused into it, my family will be shocked. We have on board the young enterprising entrepreneur who's also had the benefit of being amongst South Africa's 200 top entrepreneurs as recognized by the Mail and Guardian. You can see the accolades that come before him demonstrate a son who has been able to develop his knowledge, work in the field, but also put forward his own insights, his own acumen, and created alchemy, basically magic. Magic from the cannabis plant into what it is today. Welcome to the show, Zama.
Zama: Thank you so much. Uh, greetings Bobby. Greetings Rehema. Thank you so much for that lovely introduction. Uh, greetings also to our viewers at home. So lovely to be here. I'm honoured.
Rehema: It's so good to have you here. It's so good to have a young person, and I'm calling you young, relative to my age, relative to Bobby. You're clearly older than me, right?
Bobby: I'm not old.
Rehema: It's a spiritual thing. It's so good to have a young person working in a field that I think is, is captivating for a number of reasons. Cannabis has got a socialisation around it that historically meant that it was a no-go zone. It was illegal, quite frankly. And it means that there is, um, there's a perception around what it is, what it can do. But you've worked in a field where you've worked on the science around the plant, and that has meant that you have been able to delve into your own knowledge, but being very deliberate about how to transform it. What is the alchemy that you've been able to, I guess, forge from this plant, which has made it into a business for you today?
Zama: Yeah. Well, um, I've been introduced to the plant from a very young age. So I grew up in a household where, um, Cannabis was a big thing. You get a flu, simple flu, uh, we go out into the field or just, uh, we weed small plants like your African home wood, your thyme, your eucalyptus. So we, I grew up in a household where we mix up a lot of herbs for, for our different illnesses, and cannabis was one of those, eh, plants. I remember it used to be so mysterious. My mother was the one who was, who, who always made these muthi’s for us.
Rehema: For those who don't understand, what is muthi?
Zama: Muthi? A mystic product.
Rehema: That sounds like a polite, sanitized version of the word.
Zama: It's a mystic medicine
Rehema: medicine,
Zama: A muthi, yeah.
Rehema: Yeah.
Zama: It has different definitions, but, it's a medicine. So this particular plan, cannabis used to be ordered separately. I remember this uncle of mine who used to be such a fanatic, he used to smoke in his taxi all day. So they would send him to go grab a few grams for our muthi. So that's when I got introduced to cannabis. I knew it as a smokeable product, but then I was so astonished to find out that we can also even drink it, apply it on our skin and so forth. There's a lot of applications where we can use the product as you can see I've got a few products here that are infused with cannabis, of which I believe we can talk about a bit later in our conversation. I was so privileged as well to choose a career path where I will be free to explore the cannabis flower and other plant as well for medicinal purposes. I started biotechnology from the University of Johannesburg, which is simply a study of microorganisms for industrial benefit. So in this case, I was majoring in plant biotechnology, which was the extraction of plants for medicinal purposes. So the stigma that the general population had on cannabis, it didn't really apply to me 'cause I'm like your cannabis advocate. I'm the guy who actually tried to destigmatize the plant and bring it in the best way possible to the population.
Bobby: So just in terms of, um, a little bit more, because we had the privilege of meeting with you yesterday just to learn a little bit more about you and dig into a few experiences of your past. Just the part of how the universe has unfolded for you to get to a point where you just said you studied biotechnology, but there was quite a bit of story before that, that was pretty rich in terms of, you know, your ancestral exposure to, medicinal plants, to herbs, to muthi, et cetera. But, um, there's a good a point I wanted to raise a little bit later, but you wanted to be a doctor. You were the kid at school who always had the most beautiful skin, the healthiest. Mm-hmm. And you had your moms
Rehema: Glowing skin.
Bobby: Glowing skin, and you had all your mom's concoctions and you became the go-to person around that. So that exposure to wanting to be a doctor, but you got into biotech, just talk us through that because that's, to me is part of the alchemy of life.
Zama: Absolutely. You know the universe works in mysterious ways. How can I put this? Its like so crazy because where I am right now, it seems like, or it feels like, it was in my dream, like I was dreaming whether I was asleep or I was awake. So since I was like a little boy, I've always had these visions on which path I wanna take. So it was such a blessing that the inspiration was all around me. So now, I mentioned my mother being a herbalist, but she also got it from her grandmother, her mother's mother from her mother's side, who was a very big herbalist back in, Mpumalanga, she was a very big herbalist. So there's this product, unfortunately we didn't put it here 'cause it needs to be refrigerated, called Delta99. So Delta 99 is a tonic packed with vital herbs, cannabis included. A cannabis extract. It was made, it was solidified by myself, actually because I got to understand scientifically exactly what benefits it brings into the whole concoction. So taking it back to my household when I was growing, cooking this Delta 99, I just call it Delta 99 because back then it didn't have a name. It was just called imbiza. Yeah le ya imbiza, yaka mamakho.
Rehema: Can you translate that for us, le ya imbiza, yaka mamakho?
Zama: Yeah your mother's muthi. Your mother's concoction. That's what my friends used to call it when they wanted some to have a detox. So this muthi, we used to cook it there at the house and had a neighbors coming into purchase, rather a cup for X amount of money, R10 or whatever, or just purchase a whole bottle. So now I was so fascinated with this muthi where I ended up sharing it with my close friends. Because they could see what it used to do to my body. It's actually a joke my peers used to do around the muthi because I'm like a teenage pregnancy. I got my firstborn son. He's grown now. He's 15, born in 2010. So this means that the muthi makes you very fertile because of course, I mean, you detoxing. And I was only in my teens, so everyone thinks that, uh, I actually got a baby because I was too fertile with this thing. So yeah, I was sharing it with my friends, my neighbors, and of course I was known for, I was known as the muthi guy. If you wanna detox, if you wanna do anything herbal related, then you call me.
Bobby: And that exposure to muthi, was that something that sort of peaked your interest in being a doctor? How did that, how did that swing from wanting to be a doctor go into the field of biotech?
Zama: Yeah. Being a doctor, I guess it had stemmed from a few inspirations. Number one, like seeing my mom helping all these people. Also like, uh, I think most of us here either wanted to be doctors or pilots, so I guess I fell under the doctor…
Bobby: Okay. Yeah.
Zama: So yeah, for the longest time I wanted to be a doctor
Bobby: How did the biotech opportunity present itself to you? That you said, I want to do this.
Zama: So now it's kind of funny because I didn't have, uh, post my matric. I didn't have doctor marks you know to get myself into medical school.
Bobby: Okay so you were fully qualified to manufacture and distribute muthi, but you didn't have the right marks
Zama: To go into institution.
Bobby: Too much time and attention spent on being in the real world.
Zama: Yes, yes, yes.
Bobby: Okay, cool.
Rehema: That's a nice way of putting it.
Zama: I passed with high, flying colors in the realm of alchemy as an alchemist that was already graduated, you know, because I could already put two and two together, mixed this herb and that together. And I was able to dream to put myself to position myself into the right spaces that’s gonna solidify myself and elevate myself into this muthi space, as far as muthi is concerned. Yeah but then I was so fortunate to, to come across biotechnology because I, myself didn't know what biotechnology was until I paged through that prospectus from the University of Johannesburg trying to look for space. I wanted to get into university by hook or crook. Since I couldn't get into meds, which was my dream. But, you know, we were playing too much in high school back in Thembisa. But then I'm so grateful that I went to the University of Johannesburg and I spotted that course. I wasn't sure what that course was all about.
Bobby: Okay, so you, there you are, you want to go and study medicine? You earlier, I think there was a bit of a slip of a tongue there. You said you passed with high colors and then you changed to flying colors. Um, I can relate to the high colors. Good correction there in terms of flying colors. But so you're just paging through the, these are your options of degrees and something jumps up at you, biotech. The Universe unfolded and you said, this is for me. You plunged into that. Just talk us through that experience of biotech and where that took you on your journey.
Zama: Absolutely. As I was saying, it was, there was two courses there, it was three courses there. It was a biosciences, biotechnology, and food technology. I didn't have a clue what they were. Biosciences… They all sound similar. But then I said I didn't wanna be making food, not realizing biotechnology also includes, but I just went for the biotechnology. So that's when, uh, when I started my classes in biotechnology, everything unfolded.Biotechnology is the master field, you know, create anything and everything for the advancement of our society, you know.
Rehema: What does that mean? What is for those, you said something quite important that, you know, biosciences, food tech were, are similar. What is the distinction of what biotechnology is the study of?
Zama: So biotechnology in, amongst these other two ones, biosciences and food technology. Biotechnology is like the general practitioner. It embodies biosciences and food technology as well because we do, recombinant DNA, we can clone humans or animals or produce our own food. We can make vaccines, you know, etcetera. Like it embodies everything that Biosciences does and food technology does. Food technology, it's a specific area of practice. So is bioscience. So with biotechnology, it's a general cause. That's why I was majoring in microbiology, which is a study of microorganisms, bacterias, and viruses. So you study these microorganisms to understand where are we in terms of our health and also food security as well, just the betterment of society or industrial benefit.
Bobby: So the biotech is an umbrella, of course. And it covers the other, other two you mentioned.
Zama: Absolutely
Bobby: I wanna dive into how did that move you forward on, on your journey? Because, until now you’re in the studying phase, you're doing a degree that you chose randomly, it really resonated with you. You're doing really well in it. And what next?
Zama: So now, I would say I'm a very lucky person, of course mixed with a bit of the hard work that I put in. Fast forward in my course, I got fortunate enough to be paired with a group of master students. There was this doctor called Dr. Vuyo. He was placed to do a research on cannabis. It was one of the first times South Africa allowed actually for the research of cannabis. So it happened that I was a young student placed to help these master students in the lab. Okay, so it happens that they are studying, they're studying the cannabis plant along with other plants, of course. So I gained great interest in like, finding out what the cannabis plant pegs. So now this side of research is called plant biotechnology. So it's like a niche on its own. You find out that every plant that's put on the face of the earth has some kind of benefit for us. So I've got to learn all these interesting facts about different plants.
Bobby: So here you are, right time, right place. You get paired with a couple of master students to assist them in CBD research, which is the first time it's allowed in SAB because part of the legalizing of it. And that talks to your history, your ancestry of plant-based stuff. So wonderful opportunity of the universe, or not opportunity, but really the proof of how the universe actually aligns with whatever energy you're putting out there. Okay. So now you're this expert in biotech, CBD, the study of plants has become your thing. Where to from there?
Zama: So now I'm so driven. I'm involved with this cool thing and remember I still have very strong connections to the cannabis plant. I never stopped, 'cause we never stopped producing the Delta 99 at home. So every now and then, I'd also enjoy the benefits of the plant, through puffing, you know, sharing with my friends who were like-minded, you know, fast forward, I get an internship, it's called Will, so that you can be able to graduate. FoodBEV SITA calls me up and places me at AB in Bev. Now, it used to be SABs, the South African Breweries, SA Breweries. So they deal with hops now, which is another form of a plant. So we are going to make beer now. So I'm placed there by the microbiology lab. I get there my first quarter I was so motivated, you know, I come from UJ where I had a very decent position. I was a tutor for first year, second year. You know, I'm very zealous about science, so I'm entering into the beer world now. Quality assurance, these two lines that produce the biggest brands in Southern Africa, Black Label, Castle Lager. Go there as a junior, stop that line because of compliance.
Rehema: What does stopping the line mean?
Zama: So the line continuously running, 24 hours. Like they're picking the beer now for distribution, but then, they need to meet the right standard, the right safety and quality standards. So I get there as a junior. A lot of people are, so I heard, most people don't have the guts to stop the line because those lines make millions for the company. You can't say you wanna stop the line to clean whereas someone in Thembisa, they’re thirsty, they want their Black Label. So I stopped that line, didn't realize it was a big deal. I'm new to the company.
Bobby: What does stopping the line mean? Do you actually go and push a button?
Zama: I'm there with my lab coat as a quality assurance, I'm like the cop when I get there.
Bobby: Yeah.
Zama: “Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop running. Stop everything. Stop what you're doing” Quickly call my manager. “Hey, I stopped the line because of one, two three.” “What?” They take me back to the lab, it was the following morning when all the bosses have spoken. The manager for that particular line now is in conflict with my manager from the quality assurance. “You can't do this, you can't do that.” I'm just a little guy. 'cause only the following day when I realized how much of a big deal my actions were, you know, I was so fortunate to be nominated or to be, I was the employee of the quarter and mind you, I'm just a student.
Bobby: So you are stopping the line a hundred percent legitimate based on science, based on what you've done. Quality wasn't up to standard. Boom. And you took the courage to actually go and back yourself and say, stop this.
Zama: Absolutely.
Bobby: It's amazing. Well done. Where did that get you employee of the of the month, which is awesome.
Zama: Employee of the month, of the quarter in all Southern Africa. So that plant
Bobby: Wow, okay.
Zama: That plant I was working at is the biggest in Southern Africa. I would say the direct competition of Heineken SA. Those are the big guys, those two plants. And that plant there, it supplies, is the biggest distributor in the Southern hemisphere. I can put it in simple terms. So anything you do in that plant, it's regarded as topnotch because of there's a lot of talent in the plant, a lot of people doing great things. So to stand out in that environment, meaning you also, contributing something very special there.
Bobby: Okay, so here I'm now seeing you in a white coat, spending the rest of your life at SA Breweries, getting to a point where you are chief, top head, CEO, Chief Executive Quality Controller, or whatever it may be. But that's not the picture.
Zama: Yeah, I had aspirations
Bobby: How did you go from that corporate into what was your next step of your journey?
Zama: Yeah, so during the midst of all of that, I had a small project I was doing with the University of Johannesburg. Before I left for SAB. So I had this thing whereby I was supporting high schools back in my township in Thembisa. For science students particularly, 'cause I'm such a science head, so now I used to compile study materials, like past question papers, past exam question papers together with their memorandum. And I had this special booklet whereby I just outlined simple lab rules, what to do and what not to do when you're in a lab. Because when I went to UJ, I realized that I didn't have any exposure of, I didn't have any lab experience because of the schools I come from. We didn't have any labs back in Thembisa, only a few schools or none actually. So I took it to myself that, okay, this platform that I'm given, I'm gonna try my best just to educate those kids so that when they leave that high school and come here, they know what's what, so that they don't endanger themselves, you know?
Bobby: Yeah.
Zama: So now that project was still ongoing when I was still at SAB, grew from supporting one school to six schools, supporting over 3000 students.
Bobby: That's amazing.
Zama: Yeah. Raising funds over R50,000.
Bobby: You were doing this whilst at SAB?
Zama: SAB, everything
Bobby: And you're doing it together with UJ and you're bringing your learnings back to schools in Thembisa. So paying it forward in a very cool way.
Zama: Absolutely.
Bobby: And how did that, this sounds like you're getting more entrenched in SAB. There was a breakfree moment. Where did it and how did that happen?
Zama: So now, a very special thing happened. Now because of me leaving SAB, meaning I'm losing my direct sponsorship because when I was at SAP, I was able to just go to the department and print the books by myself. No one's gonna ask me a lot of questions.
Bobby: Yes okay.
Zama: So now, I left, meaning it's gonna be a telephonical or through email, but then I was fortunate to be introduced to the Rotary Club. Rotary Club is a big organization, humanitarian organization, which is known for their fight against Polio, but they support a lot of initiatives from education, sanitization, a whole lot of stuff. So those guys picked me up. They liked what I was doing with education, trying to help our community through education, which is one of their seven cardinal pillars. So those guys continued the project with me. So, as you know, Rotary is a club of very vibrant leaders who are connected in their own right. In the midst of that, I get nominated for the Mail and Guardian, 200 Young South Africans. Someone said, “Okay, just apply here. I think you are doing very well for yourself. Just give it a shot.” Almost immediately, my name is up there: number one in the country under science and innovation, us are supporting all these children.
Bobby: That's amazing.
Zama: Yeah, it's groundbreaking.
Bobby: That's very cool.
Zama: And like, I'm still in shock because to me it's not a, it wasn't all about the accolades or what, I think I was still in my bubble. Like still, I'm in that dream. I'm still in that dream. I'm not chasing billions or accolades and what not. Everything just happened so fast for me and almost simultaneously. So fast forward SAB, I wasn't permanent there. I leave SAB, I leave with this employee of the quarter and I've got the Mail and Guardian and I've got a very healthy relationship with the University of Johannesburg and I focus all my energy on cannabis research on my own now. Still like keeping contact with the University of Johannesburg and I'm still a good-standing member of the Rotary Club doing other amazing projects. So fast forward, focusing on the cannabis plant. I forgot to mention that before leaving SAB, I bought myself a car, which was very important, vital. That was the.. If I didn't have that car, I think my life was going to go a different direction to what it is now.
Bobby: So a life changing car. Sorry. You were gonna ask..
Rehema: I was going to ask, how does a car change your life to that extent? What's the significance of the car?
Zama: So, being mobile, you know, being able to move around, meeting all these people with their own beliefs or takes for marijuana. So I was solely focusing on cannabis. And at the time, three years, four years ago, the cannabis space was, it wasn't what it is right now. It was still very taboo, five years ago. Like “what are you saying, what are you doing? Hey”, you know, but I was there on the ground, you know, together with other people trying to commercialize or destigmatize the cannabis culture.
Bobby: Alright, so you're engaging with a network of like-minded people, similar maybe levels of experience as you, but all with the focus on bringing the awareness of cannabis or promoting that, promoting cannabis not just as a recreational product, but all the medicinal side of it as well. So that's, you were moving in that space?
Zama: Yes, yes.
Bobby: And then there's a point when that gets commercialized.
Zama: Yes, actually, you know, we were one of the first guys to place cannabis online saying, here in South Africa, or here in Joburg at least.
Bobby: Okay.
Zama: To place it online, on Instagram, you know, advocate for it properly on Instagram, although we were getting blocked a lot, we had a website whereby people who can choose what they like. But most importantly, we had groundbreaking innovation around the plant that made us actually stand out. So, cheese tea, I don't know if I can pick that up.
Bobby: Yeah. Which one is that? Oh
Zama: That one.
Rehema: I'm doing the poster advert for cheese tea now.
Bobby: Cheese Tea
Zama: Cheese tea, cheese, tea. Before it was even branded so nicely there by Emily, that was one of the first products that we put online. “What? Cannabis tea? Le tlo re bolaya lona. Yoh i tea lani mangi lentsango?”. Like, no its an actual tea, it won't like make you go crazy or high or what not. This is for your muscle relaxation and anxiety relief. You know, it's like you need this to feel serine. Then people start giving us like attention, like these guys are not just “weed dealers”, you know, there's something going on here.
Bobby: So when you went online, you went online with products aswell, it wasn't just recreational weed but you started bringing online.
Zama: Yes. So I guess I mastered the narrative of how we want to be seen in the cannabis space. From day one, we've always been seen as these science guys, these scientific guys, not these hippies, recreational. From the first time we were seen as like, “no, these guys are actually onto something in this cannabis space. Look at all these products”. We had, what do you call, lotions. Shea butter, although, it wasn't up to standard but like the idea was there but what we are trying to do, creating a line of CBD infused body products. Yeah. So we were so fortunate to be able to position ourself in that manner, to say we are scientifically driven through this cannabis plant.
Bobby: So, sorry, go for it.
Rehema: I'm tempted to do a timeline check because I'm listening to this story and I'm sitting back and I'm like, oh, there's been so much that you've actually shared that I always like to pause and say “timeline check”. So started off, herbalist at home and that's got more of a traditional connotation, right. And what I'm hearing is that you, your journey going into science, more codification of the practices of how we use certain products, gives you a certain level of credibility in the market. And so the journey that you had through the work experience and through the educational exposure made you more of a credible reference point for the studies that you were doing once you left corporate in cannabis. And if I'm to hear you correct, if I'm understanding you correctly, those studies that you did, other ones that helped you to develop the product lines that you're currently servicing the market, is that the birthplace of Earthling Emily? Because that's the brand name that you're trading under. And I know you've got a couple of others, but Earthling Emily became the house, became the, I guess, the home for your cannabis innovations and here for me is the alchemy, right? Because you've got this plant, innocuous that lives out there, whatever the social connotations are, but has got true medicinal benefit that's been understood, time in memorial. I love the fact, that you actually quote that this is something that's been in your family from your great grandmother's time and even before, but what you've brought into it is the science that the world interacts with to understand these benefits are not woven at the edge, but really it's stuff that you've been using. You said, I love that you said that your body was an explanation. Your body was a demonstration of the power of the product. You know, scientific evidence is always looking for decades of knowledge and research. And you're saying it exists, it's there, it's prevalent in how we've existed, but perhaps now we can start showing you some scientific data using some of the, you know, data points that the world wants to interact with. And through those data points and through that research you've produced these products, one of which is a cheese tea. I'm so curious as to why cheese? Because cheese, I'm already thinking dairy, I'm thinking cows. Um, and perhaps that's part of the alchemy, the fact that you're saying these products, I am producing the biotechnology history that I have allows me to play with the modification of food, food particles, food elements, I don't know the scientific terms and that’s where you'll correct me and that's why we are a credible business that you should be paying attention to because there's a science around this. There is an innovation around this, and there is a significance of these products in terms of what they can do for you and your body, and a lot of more studies are coming out with that, but you're making it more accessible in terms of how we can access it as a man on the street. I think that's magical. It's magical for you as an individual. The touch points you have, also demonstrate, I think part of what you were saying in the pre-conversation was some of it is luck, and I'm listening here, the inspiration you're giving me for a young person is to say it's not where you are with what you have, your family, your background, you've got magic sitting with you. Understand how the world is interacting with that developed knowledge. They'd say it takes, what, 10,000 hours to become an expert in something. What you're saying, it's taking you a lifetime. This is your life study. It's your life's work that you're manifesting. And there's an invitation there for us to, to do that, to invest in the knowledge, in the insights, to not be complacent about what we know to further enhance those knowledge bases, to keep producing stuff that the world can interact with. I wanted to put that as a timeline check for me. 'cause I'm always saying of what you said, what's coming up for me? What's resonating, what's powerful in there, and how does this connect to this idea of alchemy and spirituality? It's magical what you're saying. It's not linear, it's not defined by a process that you say do A, B, C, D. Some of these things are only evident after the fact that recognition that you had, that being in the right place at the right time, but also being in spaces that are safe enough to acknowledge you. Not many people, and here's the caveat, can walk into a large organization and say “Stop”. That also says something about the organization's willingness to listen to young voices. There's lessons in all of this about how we show up, and those lessons allow for people like you to create and be innovative because there has to be a lot of trust that you're putting in the world, in the universe to accept that what you're bringing on board, which may be unfamiliar. This is an unfamiliar field for a lot of people, me included.
Zama: Well, you know as far as the credibility goes, I would reemphasize actually how blessed we are to have, call it certificates that we have. You know, especially being a boy from Thembisa, my background, you understand? So, coming out as this beautiful flower that rules from that concrete jungle and having our products being accepted on a mainstream level is really a blessing. Of course we constantly try to change because of this market is very dynamic. Like I said, three, four years ago, it wasn't like what it is right now.
Rehema: What changed?
Zama: So there's a lot that changed. Anything can change, even tomorrow. Just a few months ago there was this big big news around edibles. Food infused with cannabis being banned and whatnot. So that shifted the balance a bit because it caused a lot of confusion, you know, and it was already deep into the development of the cannabis industry, or as you can see, even the big guys now, these scams and your cliques have joined the game. So these small changes that come, we also need to be changing somehow so that we can meet with the current regulations, law regulations. So at first we were going under the brand 420 Logan, which still exists, but then that term only emphasized that we are role players in cannabis only. So we introduce Earthling Emily, which is an ayurveda, ayurvedic-inspired inspired brand that uses holistic healing through the balance of the mind, body, and spirit. Within that mother brand Earthling Emily, you find your 420 Logan, which is your special herb, particularly the cannabis herb, we've got Blue Still Water, which is our water manufacturing or water purification site. We’ve got bottle water and also cater for house or home and office, water infrastructure. So these three brands or products, they have a balance, some sort of balance because when we produce these products, we produce them with the aim they carry a message. Blue Still Water, it's not just water, it carries this message that, you know, I always had this dream, before I had Blue Still Water because I didn't mention this before when I was talking about SAB, that actually, in SAB, I worked in two departments, quality assurance and water treatment. They took me to water treatment, 'cause they say this boy “you’re too good”.
Bobby: Yeah. Yeah.
Zama: So I was doing brewing water for the whole plant now. Which is a very important role in the brewery, because water is a raw material for the product itself. So now I had these, going back to Blue, I had this vision that, you know, I have such a revolutionary heart. I feel like I'm at war. That it is not, it's not, I'm not saying I feel like.. I know that I'm, I'm at war. I'm starting that war conversation again. I'm at war. So now me being the master of Mystic Art in my own right, because of course, such a rich background in muthi or herbs. I just thought to myself, maybe let me create a product whereby, when the masses take this product, then my ideas or my ideals, although even though maybe I don't vocally say them when they drink my product, they'll be indoctrinated into this idea through the message that the product carries. So the Blue Water is actually, is a tool that carries some kind of message.
Rehema: What's the message?
Zama: So me to decode it. So I'll just lay out a few examples as Blue Still Water, we sponsor a couple of initiatives. We’re sponsoring some guys, Hands On foundation, Hands On Mental Health Foundation. It's a big organization, foundation in Thembisa, led by, the names are.. Yeah, but the, the name of the foundation, that's the Hands-on Foundation on mental health, it’s a big one. So they address issues like mental health, you know, staying healthy. So Blue Steel Water supports those kind of initiatives. You know, we take our water to, we were in a Leeukop prison. There's some wonderful guys there, the wardens that foster rehabilitations of the inmates 'cause in my language we say,
Anywhere where help is needed, whether in jail, in hell or wherever, we go back and we helped that person. So Blue Still Water is involved in those kind of initiatives, fighting the spiritual warfare, you know, trying to put a smile in people's hearts.
Bobby: Okay. That's a lovely story.
Rehema: I am so loving it. Because I think for me, speaking metaphorically, when you first said that, like, you know, my product is an indoctrination, I was like, what do you mean? It sounds cultish, right? But taking a step back, it just makes me think about how, as entrepreneurs, that's what we do. We create stuff so that people can consume what we're doing. We are, there's a reason why you're creating something. You believe in it, you love it. You, you're producing something for the world to enjoy, to engage with, to consume and to share and that's the essence of it, right? And for yours to have an even deeper message personally, to be able to share that about how. Water is the essence of life and, and bringing that back to a cultural connection with. You don't leave a person behind irrespective of where they are. You give them a connection to humanity internally, externally.
Zama: Absolutely.
Rehema: It's a powerful connection and I think it's a very spiritual way of looking at how we coexist with the world, even as we produce for, you know, entrepreneurship. You are, you're producing for profit, but even in that, there's a consciousness of a oneness with the world and with humanity and that's coming through. That was my takeout from that.
Bobby: No, no, very much so. I think the whole, your whole story is really, for me, it's very inspirational. I'll tell you why now, but I just want to check in quickly. We do have a time check. So we need to wrap up in terms of where we are at, but going back to the, the sort of inspirational story of you, you've brought up early on that you've always had this vision about where you want to get to. I don't know what that vision ultimately is, but what has stood out for me is that the vision that you have has been one of, not, sorry, not necessarily the vision you've had, but the way you accomplishing your vision is through surrender. You say you're at war but you're surrendering to how the universe has unfolded for you. You've wanted to be a doctor. A biotech opportunity presented itself, you went with it. You were in the right place, a CBD opportunity came up for you. You went with it. Post that, you got through one of the SITAs, placed at breweries, you backed yourself, you went with it. So the universe has been delivering to you without you being like, no, I want to be a doctor. I'm gonna go back to school. I'm gonna do my marks. I'm stuck with this vision of being a doctor, your vision is greater than a specific career or it's, and maybe you can finish off with sharing us what the vision for Earthling Emily is going forward but just to really acknowledge you for living a life of surrender and making that work for you or allowing the Universe to flow through you that, everything, where you've gone, it's either you've been blessed or you've brought blessings to people you've been working with. You also referred to luck quite a bit but luck favors those who really do work hard at what they focus on and where they put their effort in. So yes, you are lucky, but you really worked hard to become lucky to spot those windows of opportunity or luck. So a beautiful story, inspirational in terms of going with the flow. Allowing the alchemy of life to work in your favor, without being stuck to a particular outcome through everything you've done. So that's absolutely amazing. So it's just whoever you are out there, you know, anything's possible. That's what I'm seeing from you. It's, you know, the world's your playground. You can do whatever you want and you're doing something that you're clearly very passionate about. A beautiful story, not just a story, but the reality of the benefits of CBD, the plant, the biotech side of it, bringing that sort of wellness into the public domain that people can understand it better. I mean, how you pay stuff forward, going back to schools, helping them, Rotary, I mean, wow, what a beautiful example of a beautiful human being.
Rehema: Yeah.
Bobby: So thank you for sharing all that with us. But moving forward, what is your vision? What little bit of inspiration can you give to the viewers, the people looking at this podcast to say. Wow, that is, I would like to have a vision like that.
Zama: Yeah.
Rehema: Well, I'd like to join you in some way, finding ways that they connect to your vision and be a part of it.
Zama: Well, in terms of, I’d say I've got two visions, but it's one vision, as far as business is concerned because we, we need to make money at the end of the day to sustain this war that we are embarking on, right. So that you can feed that dream I conceived when I was five or as long as I can remember. So the vision for Earthling Emily, as a company or as a brand I wanna create is, creating an oasis of wellness, a community of wellness there whereby people can nourish not only their body, but their souls as well, while having a smile on their faces. Like I said, the way we position our products, we put them in such a way that they bring balance to an individual. While they spend their hard-earned money willingly to us. You know, at the shop there, we've got like a fountain of water where people are willingly putting their donations in the pot.
Bobby: Yeah.
Zama: That to me, shows me that people can see what we are doing. It's full of coins there and paper money.
Bobby: They can feel what you're doing.
Zama: Yeah.
Bobby: What stands out for me in terms of your vision is. It's not, you don't have a tangible, I want this and this and this to happen. It's the why, it's the feeling that your consumers are going to have engaging with your brand and how you're gonna get there, I'm a hundred percent certain that the universe is going to move in your favor to get you there. Call it luck. I know there's a lot of hard work behind it.
Rehema: Yeah.
Bobby: And it's certainly gonna get you there.
Zama: Absolutely. You know, this mentality, it got reinforced in my head. I had this mentality that, okay, you know, when you're doing things or anything in life, you shouldn't, shouldn't be because of money. It's kind of a strange concept because it is about money, but like, it's not really about money. Right? So I heard once in an interview, Elon Musk, I think it was his ex-wife or wife, they were asking her, how did this guy become a billionaire. Then she's just simply said, he doesn't talk about money. It's not about profit, it's about the product, what the product is gonna bring to society. So for us as well, our product is because we’ve got such deep belief in our products that our product will bring a great change in our society or in a human sport.
Bobby: Fantastic. I think, that kind of like really summed it up. So I would, yeah. Thank you Zama so much for joining us on the podcast. We’ve got a little ceremony that we would like to do. I'm going to just find my little writeup on it behind you. You'll see there's a little Tree of Life and I'm gonna just tell you what that is all about. I will know this off by heart shortly. The Tree of life behind you. It's a sacred map of interconnectedness. Its roots plunged deep into the soil of your ancestors while its branches stretched into the heavens, connecting you to spirit. It speaks of wholeness, vitality, and the cycles of renewal. It speaks to your experience of life. You know what we love to do is we love our guests to actually dip the thumb or finger in some ink and put the leaves on that Tree of life behind you and yeah, so let's get up and do that. I think the ink is somewhere here that, oh, so I'm gonna hand it over to you. You can just stand up there and do it. Pick a branch.
Zama: The heart of the tree.
Rehema: Oh, okay. Thank you. We've got your mark on the tree. I think it's fascinating that you spoke a vision. He spoke more of dreams and I was thinking as you were saying, that we don't control our dreams. They come to us and the evolution of a dream as you're dreaming. It is not something that you can actually control, it just evolves. The minute you start taking control of it, you actually wake up and the dream ends. I love the idea of you thinking about your future as the things that you dream about, being more natural. I love that it's not prescribed by you must have A, B, C, D that kind of controls the tactics of getting that dream into effect that you can only do when you're awake, but to keep a certain part of you sleeping, dreaming, and imagining, I think for me is one of my key take outs from today. Permission to dream, where you surrender completely to the possibilities that will come to you and that's trust in that you have enough for the dream to actually start happening.
Bobby: I think there's some big lessons for you and me in that, isn't there?
Rehema: Well, you're getting in touchy there. Absolutely.
Zama: Zama thank you so much for joining us.
Bobby: Lets wrap up.
Rehema: Thank you so much. That was a wrap. That was beautiful. I love your authenticity. I love your candidness and um.
Zama: I tried, I tried.
Rehema: No, you were natural.