Our Baby Baobabs are Growing Up!

Our Baobab Guardians have been doing a wonderful job this year taking care of their baobab tree seedlings and growing them in a protected environment until they reach 3 metres in height and are ready to fend for themselves. Baobab Guardians make sure the baby baobabs get enough water and are physically protected from being damaged or eaten by livestock.

Samson Mathegu stands next to his well-protected baobab seedling

This guardianship is sponsored by generous donors and has two key impacts: 1. ensuring new baobab trees are successfully added to the environment (many seedlings struggle to survive in the wild) and 2. cultivating an understanding on the importance of caring for the environment in local Venda villages. Baobab guardians are paid a small sum for every centimeter the tree grows until it reaches a height of 3 metres.

Joyce Manenzhe and Maria Sihotha next to their grown up baobab trees

Usually we take measurements twice a year, in March and November but this year, due to Covid we’ve only been able to measure them in November. We are so pleased to see that all our trees have done so well!

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Baobab Guardians: Tree Measuring

Baobab Guardians: Tree Measuring

The Baobab Foundation now has 75 baobab trees planted. Baobab Guardians are appointed to take care of baobab seedlings until they are 3 metres tall when a baobab tree can take care of itself in the wild. Until then, it needs to be watered and protected from goats above all!

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Living in a baobab tree

Living in a baobab tree

Here are some pictures we found of how people have used the hollow spaces within a baobab tree as living spaces – there's a bar and another has even been fitted out as a toilet! One ancient hollow Baobab tree in Zimbabwe is so large that up to 40 people can shelter inside its trunk. […]

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and the harvesting and processing season begins!

and the harvesting and processing season begins!

After our community workshop on Monday, my manager Colly started visiting the villages to buy our first fruit for the season.  The fruit are packed into bags then loaded onto our pick-up and trailer.  Each women is paid on delivery, so that she does not have to wait for payment.   The bags of fruit are transported […]

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