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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Truckloads of Baobab leaves for West Africans

Truckloads of Baobab leaves for West Africans

“I always wondered what the fuss was about dried baobab leaves in West Africa,” says Dr Sarah Venter. “In Southern and East Africa baobab leaves are known to be eaten but it is not very common. In West Africa however, stories abound of smuggling and theft of truckloads of baobab leaves from one country to […]

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Training to assess Baobab resources in Zimbabwe

Training to assess Baobab resources in Zimbabwe

Dr Sarah Venter recently trained a group of ecologists on doing tree-health assessments in Zimbabwe. “We were looking at various aspects of baobab health that include the impact of elephants on baobab trees, bark harvesting and diseases.  This work took us all around Zimbabwe including the Hwange National Park, where the assessment team measured over 900 […]

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2015 Jan: Bonga, we thank you!

2015 Jan: Bonga, we thank you!

Gratitude.  Giving back is a way of giving thanks; thanks for what we have, and what we are able to give.  And today we’re so grateful to Bonga Foods and the Bonga Foundation for their warm generosity. Their most recent donation has enabled us to give back to the Venda community which supports us in harvesting Baobab […]

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