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Mpesu is an indigenous Venda aphrodisiac, originating in the area of Thohoyandou in South Africa (Limpopo province). Mpesu helps empower penile erection for men, and it is commonly available in informal market stalls around Venda. Surprisingly, women know much more about Mpesu than men, who buy it for use at home and to combat erectile dysfunction during intimacy with their sexual partners. This paper explored women’s views on the use of Mpesu to empower penile erection as they advertise and sell it to both men and women. An analytical theoretical framework was used as the lens to academically investigate the women’s understanding and their perspectives on the use of Mpesu in this explorative study. A purposive sample of four women who sell Mpesu in Tshakuma was observed as they advertised and sold Mpesu at their stalls. Data were collected using observations. In addition to Analytic Theory, thematic analysis was adopted in this study to adequately assess women’s perspectives on the use of Mpesu by men as the indigenous South African aphrodisiac. Additionally, three YouTube videos of interviews about Mpesu were used during the conceptualization of this study. This study adopted the observation method for data collection, and the researchers found that the use of Mpesu is more known and welcomed by women than by men in Venda, South Africa. Additionally, this study contributes empirical evidence to the existing body of literature, providing practical recommendations on the use of indigenous aphrodisiacs in Venda and similar settings globally.

A positive psychosocial environment is necessary to create a conducive environment for effective teaching and learning. Thus, this study assessed students` experiences of psychosocial support for sustainable learning at a South African TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) College. This study followed a qualitative phenomenological research technique, which provides participants with a voice to share their psychosocial experiences. Data was collected from twenty individuals through face-to-face interviews and a focus group discussion. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The results of the study revealed that majority of students at this college experience low self-esteem, stressful situations, lack of peer tutoring, peer counselling, counselling skills from a Student Development Practitioner (SDP), and inadequate provision of social and emotional needs. This was attributed to a lack of psychosocial support to students from lecturers and SDPs, who ought to work collaboratively to provide such support to students at South African TVET colleges. It became evident from this study that lecturers and college personnel need to assist students in improving their self-esteem by doing the following: reducing students` stressful situations, promoting peer tutoring, providing peer counselling, providing counselling skills and catering for students` social and emotional needs at a college in order to promote sustainable learning. This study will empower lecturers and SDPs with psychosocial support skills to be able to respond to the psychosocial challenges of student development.