Finding your Inner Warrior through Nature How Warrior Youth means to empower Cape Town´s youngsters

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Words: Florian Bindl

Imagine you are sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. All alone. Nothing but water surrounds you. You are alone with your thoughts, alone with your feelings. You can sense the unyielding power of nature, the waves beneath, the sky above you. Wouldn´t that be an awesome, even inspiring experience? But wait. Where can I charge my phone? Do I have Wi-Fi on the boat? Can I upload a sailing selfie on Instagram somehow? I need my 3.854 followers to know and see where I am. Those questions might appear highly relevant to most young people nowadays, including myself. But nature can be much more than just a nice spot for a successful Instagram post.

Nature is the key

Matthew Furlonger, who actually sailed the Atlantic Ocean when he was 22 years old believes that nature holds the key to free the inner warrior in us. It releases us from our self-imposed life as screen slaves as we’re becoming more and more emotionally disconnected. Matthew has long blonde hair and an engaging smile. The way he speaks makes you feel as if he knows the fundamental meaning of life and nature.

Only four months ago, together with his partner Jessica Sjouerman, he founded Warrior Youth. A company that aims towards empowering young people in Cape Town to believe in their power to affect positive change. On the upper floor of their house in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, they have a small office. It is the factory of ideas with which the couple intends to change the way Cape Town´s young people look at the world and at themselves. Their office is a Youth think tank and laboratory.

The trash mobs

It started with a supermarket and the intention was to make Capetonians aware of the plastic crisis. At these “trash mob”  events, customers are encouraged to strip groceries of all unnecessary plastic packaging.  The plastic waste is then returned to the supermarket. “We wanted to give the people an exciting way to boycott the excessive use of single-use plastic.” The goal was to include as many people as possible without being too confrontational. “It took off better than we expected”, he says and smiles.

Warrior Youth returned unnecessary plastic packing to the supermarkets.

After two hours of unpacking products at a Woolworths market in Constantia, they had already filled an entire trolley. As bewildered as the customers were, they were also shocked by the sheer mass of useless plastic they were buying. The Woolworth´s staff, although hesitant at first, accepted the returned plastic. A few days later they organised a trash mob at Sea Point. Another option was to avoid certain shops whose products aren´t eco-friendly. “Our Rand is our vote”, Matthew says.

At Warrior Youth, it is all about solution-oriented disruption. “When you start to blame people and point the finger at them, the only thing you will receive is resistance.” Disruption, boycott and protest: yes. “But Warrior Youth will never be violent”, he points out. That is also the definition of what the couple calls the Modern Day Warrior. It means to lead an authentic life, to believe in one´s power to affect change. Their primary objective is to empower young people in Cape Town, especially those from disadvantaged communities.

“Then you have to get active and be this change-maker. There is this kind of warrior in every one of us. And he is dying to come out.” Matthew Furlonger

Into the wild

Therefore, their new flagship project, officially starting next year, will be Project Wild. The aim is to take young people suffering from depression or addiction into nature. More precisely, to the wild coast of South Africa, where Matthew spent some time himself years ago. These outdoor adventures will take place several times a year and include physically, psychologically and emotionally challenging situations. Matthew explains: “They will be spending time in extended periods of isolation – out of their comfort zones. We will share a few skills and life lessons with them, some that we have learned in our own days in the wilderness.” Interestingly, the strategy of Project Wild bears resemblance to Matthew´s own experience in nature.

He was working in the film industry when he realized he suffered from depression. “I got to a point where I was suicidal”, he recalls. That was when, long before creating Warrior Youth, he decided to leave his old life behind. “I ended up sailing to the world summit of sustainability in Brazil. The time that I spent on the ocean triggered something inside me. It is just you and the sea and the stars out there.”

For him, it was a life-changing experience. He continued travelling and living in places like the wild coast of South Africa, the Antarctic or the Sahara Desert. “I realized how interlinked we actually are with nature. There are patterns of order in it. The time that I have spent in forests or deserts, in challenging but beautiful environments, I had one of the most profound insights in human nature.” Things that seemed important, things that burdened him, all that, fell away.

Matthew and Jessica in their Warrior Youth office

Together with Jessica he spent several years travelling, seeing different ways of life. “We got a lot of opportunities to reflect on our own life.” Those might have been the days when the idea of Project Wild was taking form in his head. They strongly believe that these experiences can help Cape Town´s youth to find meaning in life, reconnect them with nature and reduce violence.

Two projects in focus

After doing a lot of research they planned several parallel projects. Project Wild, the trash mobs, one project for planting trees, one for transforming learning spaces in schools. An entirely new project will be about distributing the Spekboom, a highly carbon-sequestering plant. Yet, after four months of “working silly hours from 8am to 2am”, Matthew and Jessica saw themselves stretched a little too thin. “We started out with so many things that we wanted to do. But as beautiful as all those ideas are, you could start a business on each one”, Jessica says. They needed to focus to give every single one of their projects as much attention as it needs. The future of Warrior Youth will thus mainly be about Project Wild and environmental campaigns.

An obstacle to an even faster development of Warrior Youth´s projects are the costs. Even though they ask for donations on their website, they haven´t received financial donations yet. To set up and start the projects they have been working mostly out of their own pockets. However, Matthew says: “We will continue Warrior Youth whatever happens. Our strategy is almost complete, we do have a plan. There will be more and regular campaigns around Cape Town next year.” They dream about creating a community of change-makers, of authentic Modern Day Warriors.

Growing the tribe

Right now, we might need this kind of warrior more than ever. The likes of Mandela, Gandhi or Mother Teresa. For Matthew, now is the time to act. “Otherwise we would be sitting around in despair, powerless to the issues around us. Only by getting active we have hope for the future and can believe in the possibility to change the world.”

“People always thought that the world is on the brink of disaster. There are lots of them who are dying to help.” Jessica Sjouerman

What the couple is currently working on, is making the success of their projects measurable and controllable. For the trash mobs, they didn´t have the resources to number and register how much plastic was returned or whether the shops changed their packaging habits.  Hence, at Project Wild they are working on an App that assesses whether the participants improved their mental health. “We want to be able to measure how they felt before and after the trip.”

What they need most though, are people who want to join the tribe, who free their inner warrior and dare to act. Should you find yourself in a situation of being exposed to the sheer power of nature, leave your phone in your pocket next time, withstand the Instagram reflex. Don´t take the environment surrounding you for granted. Connect yourself with the power of nature instead of your digital followers. Charge your inner warrior with it. In the words of Matthew: “Be a rebel. We need the Modern Day Warrior now!”

You can offer a helping hand by donating equipment and gear, fruit and nut trees or make a cash donation. Follow the link and see how you can propel the project forward. https://www.warrioryouth.org/donate

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