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
J Pierneef was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters. According to this website, Pierneef’s painting, The Baobab Tree (painted around1934) holds the record for most expensive South African painting sold at Bonhams in 2008 for R 11.8 million! Apparently the buyer, says a Mail & Guardian archive article from 2008, was an unidentified South African individual. A powerful painting with an […] Continue Reading
This Order was created in 2002, to be awarded to South African citizens for distinguished service. The service awarded is well above and beyond the ordinary call of duty. It is an award for exceptional and distinguished contributions in the following categories. The struggle for democracy Building democracy and human rights Nation-building Peace and security Journalism, literature, arts, culture, sport […] 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
What an honor and a delight spending time with Gillian Condy sketching baobab flowers under the boughs of the baobab trees in Limpopo. Gill is South Africa’s foremost botanical artist and works for the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) as a resident botanical artist. Her award-winning works are world famous and include a plate in Highgrove Florilegium, a two volume book on […] Continue Reading
Not just a highly nutrititious food, with some imagination, skill and flair look at these amazingly creative decor ideas with Baobab pods! find them here, here and here.
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
Last month, 50 rural women harvesters attended a baobab growing and sustainable harvesting course. I had such fun with this, taking 50 rural women baobab fruit harvesters on a field trip from Zigodini village to Pafuri River Camp Nursery, on the banks of the Mutale River. The course was done with a mixture of practical parts and discussions. The discussions […] Continue Reading
Madiba's unmistakable stature as statesman, leader and human being made him visible in a way that made it possible for all to see. May his moral example be as long lived as the Baobab tree, may the memory of his wisdom serve, and be the same shade under which people have gathered in community for generations to draw inspiration for the way forward. RIP.