Meet woman who eats SOIL as snack ...It makes me feel good, calm and focused

MOST people choose chips, biscuits or sweets when they feel like having a snack.

But Nondwe Nonkonyana (34) from Ethembeni squatter camp in Concordia, Knysna South Africa has an odd choice of snack. The mum of one craves soil!

“I don’t know what made me so fond of eating soil. I just love eating it, at least twice a day.

“After it’s rained it smells particularly delicious. Eating soil makes me feel good, calm and focused,” said Nondwe.

Nondwe said soil has been her snack of choice ever since she was a 14-year-old girl living in Tsomo in the Eastern Cape.

“I prefer rural Eastern Cape soil because it’s fine and crisp, unlike the loose, sandy soil in the southern Cape,” said Nondwe.

The Sun team witnessed how she collected a large portion of red coloured soil from an embankment near Woodcock Road. She used a stone to break the hard soil into chunks small enough to fit into the container she brought with her.

Back in her two-roomed apartment, Nondwe eagerly tucked into her newly dug snack, washing it down with water!

“I don’t mind what other people think because I enjoy this natural snack.

“People warn me that I’ll experience stomach problems if I don’t stop, but I ignore them because it has never caused me any problems.

Nondwe said she knows that some women crave soil when they’re pregnant, but said that’s not the case with her.

Dr Thulaganyo Motaung said eating soil is dangerous as it causes worms in the stomach. “It also leads to low blood pressure or anaemia,” she said.