It is said that a rock once cast cannot return. However, rocks collected from Marié Minnie’s Northmead garden have the power to spread kindness across the country.
What started as an Arbor Pre-Primary School class project in July is starting to flood the city with beautifully decorated peddles.
“My son, Matthew (5), had a class assignment during which they had to paint kindness rocks,” said Marié Minnie.
“Once painted, the tots had to give the rocks to people who they thought needed a gesture of kindness or had to hide it in random places for others to find.”
Visiting local community attractions such as the Bunny Park and the Korsmans Bird Sanctuary, young Matthew hid his creations, with mom and dad, Dewald, following closely.
It did not take long for the creative bug to hit and soon the mom of two was spending her free time decorating rocks with colourful words of encouragement.
Scouring the net for ideas, she discovered Joburg Rocks Facebook, a page dedicated to individuals creating rocks of kindness, hiding it, and those privileged to find one of these gems.
“This inspired me to create a local rock garden where my Matthew and little brother Luke (2) can place their masterpieces and where the community can participate in this small gesture of love,” said Minnie.
“With Dewald’s help and a little creative flare, we created a little rock garden outside our home.
Before long, they placed 60 colourful rocks in the garden, each bearing a sticker at the bottom attributing #Minniesrocks.
“The garden immediately drew attention with motorists and pedestrians stopping to admire the garden, some seemingly too polite to pick it up or take one,” she said.
“Slowly word around the project started spreading with admirers not only taking a rock but also contributing to the collection. We now have rocks from the US, as well as Botswana.”
With the collection steadily growing, Minnie says the garden has become a cause of great excitement for her sons.
“Every afternoon they run to see if new additions have been added,” she said.
Extending on this gesture of kindness, the Minnie’s recently added The Little Library on Sixth.
“One day I walked into the garage and my eyes fell on a broken fridge just collecting dust in the corner,” she said.
With a spark of creativity, Minnie decided to place the unused appliance next to the garden, converting it into a community library.
“The top is dedicated to children’s and parenting books, while at the bottom you will find adult reads,” said Minnie.
“Community members are welcome to lend a book, take it, exchange it and contribute to it, thus sharing the love of reading with others. I hope through small gestures of kindness, whether in the shape of a pebble or a book, we can impact the lives of others, creating a ripple effect of love, patience and compassion.”
Minnie’s Rocks are at the corner of Sixth and Ugie streets, Northmead.
How does it work?
• Decorate a rock as your heart desires.
• Write #joburgrocks, #minniesrocks underneath.
• To preserve your creation, use a sealant, available from craft shops and hardware stores.
• Visit Minnies Rocks, take a rock or leave your contribution.
• Share the kindness by gifting the rock to someone else or leaving it somewhere new and exciting for another to find.
• Do not forget to snap and share a pic of where you found the rock, left or where it may have travelled, at the Joburg Rocks Facebook page #minniesrocks.
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