Last week I did my annual baobab fruit monitoring trip where I gather research information on a spcecific population of 40 baobab trees. This year I am looking at how much fruit each tree produces each year and how that varies from season to season and between land use types. Usually I have a field assistant whom I hire from the village, but […] Continue Reading
What is a bioprospecting permit? And why is EcoProducts Bioprospecting permit such a big deal? On the 12 November 2013, EcoProducts was issued with a Bioprospecting permit from the South Africa Department of Environment Affairs. So what, you may ask, is this all about? South Africa has introduced laws that make it illegal to harvest our indigenous resources for commercial […] Continue Reading
Recently, Greg Cameron was commissioned by PhytoTrade to make a film on baobabs in which he records the stories of the baobab fruit collectors and how baobab fruit help them improve their lives. Here, Itai Chibiya, PhytoTrade's Monitoring and Research Evaluator is being filmed while being interviewed. EcoProducts was chosen as the site for the interviews. Sarah Venter, the owner of EcoProducts […] Continue Reading
LOHASIA is a social enterprise working to educate, empower and inspire everyone to enjoy lifestyles of health and sustainability. Recently, they published an article on Kristi Mackintosh owner of Pura Vida, an online natural product store selling amongst other beauty products, EcoProducts Baobab Oil. Here's an extract from the article: "Recognising the potential for positive impact that our purchasing decisions can […] Continue Reading
During an impressive ceremony hosted by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs in Polokwane last week, EcoProducts was one of three companies who were awarded a bioprospecting permit. The permit was handed over to Dr Sarah Venter and two community representatives, Ms Sophiah Nemutshenzheni and Ms Livhuwani Tshivhiyahuvhi by the MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Limpopo Province, […] Continue Reading
A few months ago, we told you about Healthbox SA which we think is such a cool concept! Each month, subscribers to Health Box SA are sent a luxurious combination of health, fitness and wellness products. Each item has been tried, tested and tasted by a panel of experts to ensure that what lands up on subscribers’ doorsteps are the latest, trusted […] Continue Reading
Absolutely nothing goes to waste when we make our baobab oil and powder. We would potentially have three ‘waste’ products. The first is the shell of the fruit, which is cracked open to remove the power and seed in the primary stage of processing. The second is the seed coat, this is the very hard outer layer of the seed […] Continue Reading
Across Africa baobabs are known by many different names and we know that the fruit have been used for thousands of years. However, the first detailed botanical descriptions were made by Prospero Alpini, a 16th Century physician and botanist living in Venice who spent three years in Cairo. He first saw the fruit being sold in the Cairo Souks and came […] Continue Reading
Last week while on a photo shoot in Venda, the harvesters asked me where I went with all the baobab fruit I buy from them. So I said, why don’t you come and see? We worked out the taxi money from Venda and back and set a date for the following Thursday. The women travelled 200km to visit EcoProducts […] Continue Reading