On completing my PhD on the ecology of baobabs in northern Venda I decided to write an easy-to-read booklet on baobabs. The purpose of this booklet was to share the importance knowledge of baobabs I had gained with South Africans and in particular the people who live in the area I did my research. In 2016 I completed the booklet and soon after had it translated into TshiVenda. Many adults and children in this remote area are not able to speak, read or write English.
Over the years I visited many PreSchools to talk to the Grade 6 and 7 (11 – 13 year old) learners about baobabs and to give each of them their own Baobab Booklet to take home. At home they could share their knowledge with their brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents. Grandparents would recount their own stories of baobabs and their parents would show them how to cook traditional foods made from baobab fruit and leaves.
The book includes chapters on where baobabs are found, how old they get, the uses of baobab parts and how to grow baobabs yourself. The children were often so inspired that many of them grew their own baobabs. I am often taken to see the newly germinated seedlings months later.
