When the barracks were completed, the Settlers started clearing bush to plant the seeds they have brought from Madeira. The oxen that pulled the wagons to Lubango were now used to tow the plough that prepared the first wheat fields and vegetable gardens.


Like any good catholic community the Settlers also built a modest church they called Nossa Senhora do Monte - Our Lady of the Mountain.


Every spare minute they had from looking after the crops, the Settlers started building their family homes using mud mixed with grass to build the walls. The roofs were still elephant grass and there was no such thing as running water, toilets, electricity, etc.


Since they were mainly farmers, establishing the crops was a matter of survival. There were no carpenters or other tradesmen amongst them to build furniture. Once their houses were completed, the settlers had to build basic furniture for themselves.


Looking after the wheat fields and vegetable gardens consumed most of a settlers family's day. Tractors and all the convenience of modern farming were not yet invented at the time, so all work was done by hand and with the help of the oxen.


At the beginning of the settlement, the natives of the Muila tribe were not very helpful. Firstly, they did not understand their language and therefore, could not communicate with them. Secondly, the tasks the white men performed were totally strange to the Muilas, a nomad tribe with vast herds of cattle.


Unemployment was not a thing known to the Settlers. To the contrary there were not enough people to perform the essential tasks and this explains the large families of the earlier settlers.



Nossa Senhora do Monte (Lubango)


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