Background To The Writing Of The Book

When Justin’s family lost Dorothy, their beloved domestic of fifteen years, to the Pandemic, his children started asking him questions he couldn’t answer with Covid-19 data, graphs and statistics. Justin realised we don’t have any stories to help us navigate this traumatic time and storytelling is key to ensure we extract some kind of meaning and purpose from our experience, otherwise we become hostage to it. “Stories that are not told, are wept.”

A fantastic gift of hope for this festive season can be purchased here: www.jardimfarm.co.za/jardim-books

About The Author, Justin Gomes  

Justin recently finished up a thirty year award winning career as an advertising creative and founder of FoxP2, the agency that created the iconic "Papa Wag Vir Jou" drinking and driving campaign, as well as the Coronation "Elephant Whisperer" campaign. In 2021, the Pandemic forced Justin to re-evaluate what’s important in life. He is now committed to creating a vision for his Noordhoek farm, Jardim, where he wrote “The Cloud That Helped People See” in the greenhouse during hard lockdown. Jardim opens its organic vegetable garden for community picking and teaching workshops, as well as partnering with Masi Creative Hub in the development of a self-sustainable Masiphumelele vegetable garden. The newly completed Jardim Barn has been designed as a place for real world human to human (not screen to screen) connection and recently hosted a collaboration with top African artists Andile Dyalvane, Mpho Vackier, Zizi Powsa, and Candice Lawrence. His intention for Jardim, as well as the book, is to help people re-evaluate their relationship with nature, others and themselves. 

The Cloud That Helped People See

One day a knock at the kingdom door sets in motion a series of events that will change the kingdom and its inhabitants forever. A tale for our times, “The Cloud That Helped People See’ is an exquisitely illustrated story that offers children and adults alike perspective, empathy, reassurance and above all, hope, at a time when we need it most.

The Cloud That Helped People See, is available in bookstores and online from Dec 1st. The book takes a different angle in on the Pandemic and offers people hope at a time when we need it most - at the end of another incredibly tough year, hoping against hope 2022 will be better. It's being released in beautiful hardcover format on Dec 1st , available in bookstores and online. Format is 60 x 22 and being held in a unique bookstand modelled on the lead character in the book.