A wonderful story that meanders along a trail, 1 000 years old, linking Vilanculos on the coast of Mozambique with the home of the little golden rhino, Mapungubwe. The trail is marked by the presence of giant baobabs, observers, watchers, sentinels of the past, silent witnesses to the rise and fall of cultures and communities. Along the way, we hear from EcoProducts owner Dr Sarah Venter.
The second print of the Little Big Baobab Booklet has been funded by Baobab Foundation donor LATHER. Inspired by her PhD research on baobab trees, Dr Sarah Venter wants to make the fascinating information usually available only in obscure scientific papers, available to a much broader audience including children. curious adults, and anyone who loves baobab trees…
Dr Sarah Venter, founder of the Baobab Foundation, has just had another one of her papers on the fascinating world of baobab ecology published in the prestigious international journal Forest Ecology and Management.
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!
Dr Sarah Venter is researching the long-term patterns of baobab fruit production between different landscapes over a period of multiple years. This research provides important insights into the natural variability of baobab fruit production helping EcoProducts ensure that their harvesting practices remain sustainable .
Sarah Venter’s Baobab Guardians tree planting project had reached its goal of 50 trees and so she believed the project was complete. But it seems the project has other ideas…
Agence France-Presse, the third largest news agency in the world recently visited EcoProducts in the Limpopo to film them at work. Some lovely footage of the EcoProducts team processing the baobab fruit pods.
Inspired by her PhD research on baobab trees, Dr Sarah Venter wans to make the fascinating information usually available only in obscure scientific papers, available to a much broader audience including children. The Little BIG BAOBAB book is for everyone who loves baobab trees…
As some of hardiest, long-lived trees around, Baobabs know how to make the most of scarce resources, especially water. On World Water Day, when we’re bringing awareness to one of our Earth’s most precious resources, what lessons can we learn from Baobabs?
These baobab seedling pics remind me of the boldness of youth. And these days sadly, if they’re growing in an inhabited area, they’re bound to get eaten by livestock. Out there in the ‘wild’ they just have to make the most of a few weeks of life and then the thousand year promise in their genes is extinguished. Which is why the work of the Baobab Guardians becomes so important.
EcoProducts has been recognized by the South African Department of Environment Affairs as a “Game Changer” in the sector. Sarah Venter, founder and owner of EcoProducts has been invited to share the stage with Minister Dr Edna Molewa at the official opening of the Biodiverisity Economy Indaba being held in East London on the 8th March 2018.
It is baobab flowering time again giving us the chance to continue our research into the ecology and pollination of the baobab flower.
Baobab trees and animals often spend time together. Here, Vanessa Bristow reveals through her quiet, observant lens, a bird’s guide to the baobab tree
As some of hardiest, long-lived trees around, Baobabs know how to make the most of scarce resources, especially water. On World Water Day, when we’re bringing awareness to one of our Earth’s most precious resources, what lessons can we learn from Baobabs?
How are baobab flowers pollinated? It’s still a subject for considerable research and Nisa Karimi has been studying baobab flower pollination in the Limpopo area.
Skelmwater is a bare stony hillside dotted with baobab trees, but this has become a special place for Sarah Venter and Diana Mayne. The baobab trees here are each numbered and painted with a neat stripe around their girth. The girth of these trees has been measured since 1931. Diana and Sarah discovered this plot in 2002 when they first went to visit it and found that the measurements had been forgotten and no one was measuring them any more.
Bernadette McCabe is a Fine Art – Documentary stills photographer based in Cape Town who has developed a deep passion for colour, light, style, mood & texture… and for the magic of telling a story through the lens of a camera and capturing it in a single frame. She loves to create imagery that will move […]
Last December I visited the Sagole Big tree which is looking more magnificent than ever. Located in Vendaland, Limpopo Province, The tree has been carbon dated as being 1200 years old! It is the biggest baobab in the world. It has a girth of 37 m and a height of 22 meter and its crown measures 38 […]
Baobab: is there some wondrous special quality which comes from eating the fruit borne by such very ancient trees.
In the last of our series featuring photographer Vanessa Bristow’s wonderful work, we leave you with these simply stunning photos of baobab trees at sunset. It’s not difficult to see where EcoProducts got its inspiration from for its striking logo! 🙂
Baobabs usually stand out in the landscape. But they can also blend… Photographer Vanessa Bristow captures this beautifully here.
Photographer Vanessa Bristow has wonderfully captured these different birds perched in baobab trees in Zimbabwe. Featured here are a Marabou Stork, an owl and a pair of Bennett’s woodpeckers busily pecking away (the female below the male). As Vanessa says of her photographs: ‘They are in humble tribute to a mighty tree! Baobab’s provide shade in summer, beautiful […]
Here, talented photographer Vanessa Bristow shares some of her photographs of Baobabs taken at Sentinel Ranch in Zimbabwe. We’ll be featuring more of her stunning photographs during the week.
Spring has arrived in the Limpopo with budding baobabs! The baobab trees which have been bare for most of the year are bursting into bud and leaf. The round buds which look like fruit are actually flower buds. They will still grow to three times that size over the next month before they are ready […]
Do you recognise this painting? Find out how the Baobab has inspired other crafters, artists and photographers. Visit our Baobab Inspiration Pinterest page here: http://www.pinterest.com/ecoproductsza/baobab-inspiration-art-craft-photography/