Baobab – the superfruit that powers West Africa and empowers our women farmers.
We use this fruit in most of our beverages, as you may be aware of by now. Needless to say, we love it!
Baobab is a tree that grows along the equator, specifically in Australia, the Middle East, and Africa, where we have our team of dedicated female farmers harvest the fruit for Makomas. These trees are giant and can grow up to 100 feet high and 165 feet in circumference (that’s 30 meters high and 50 meters in circumference for our metric system readers!). Since the beginning of time, baobab trees have been used for food, medicine, and even clothing. In fact, people are still using the baobab tree along this same vein to this day. It’s no surprise why this tree is called the “Tree of Life” – it literally provides life.
In Africa alone, this tree has served unlimited purposes for centuries. Medicinally, the bark’s astringent properties have been used to alleviate colds, flus, and fevers, the wood, bark, and seeds are known to have anti-inflammatory properties, and leaves can be used as an antiperspirant. In terms of animal feed, baobab can serve as fodder during the rainy season to local game such as elephants, kudus, and impalas. Besides juice, such as those that we make at Makomas, the baobab seed can also be roasted and made into a coffee! The seeds are high in calcium, iron, and vitamin C, so even if the harvest is poor, you’ll still be able to reap the benefits of the Tree of Life.
We bet this isn’t the first time you’ve come across baobab. Ever seen Disney’s Lion King? The tree Rafiki lives in is a baobab, pictured below.