Adonmu (Our Beauty)

The Baobab tree, native to Africa is called the "Upside-Down Tree" because the branches of the tree look like roots. The fruits of this tree grow as pods hanging like lanterns on the tree. Baobab also grows in Australia and the Middle East. To survive harsh weather conditions and drought, up to 120,000 liters of water is stored in the trunk! Animals can be found chewing on the barks to get some hydration against the heat. The leaves are dried and grounded into powder, used to prepare soup - "miyan kuka". This soup is usually combined with "tuwo" (mashed meal made with a given grain) - to prepare a very rich and tasty meal. The Baobab trees live for thousands of years and grow into ginormous plants of almost 100 feet tall and 36 feet thick. The largest Baobab tree could be the Glencoe Baobab on a farm in the Limpopo province of South Africa, while the Panke Baobab in Zimbabwe lived to about 2,450 years before it died in 2011 (it got the record of b...

Natural Soap-making is an art, but it is also a science. You combine oils from nature (plants or/and animals) and combine it with an alkaline to make soap. An exact amount of alkaline is needed to change oil into soap, and there are other ingredients you may want to add to your soap, which also need to be measured. In this post, we show you a simplified way to understand the math needed for successful soap making (which you could also apply to other formulations like lotion making etc). Measurements Every ingredient used to make soap MUST be measured, this helps you achieve a specific result, and also helps you get a consistent batch every time you produce a product, so if you want to re-do a particular soap you love, you know exactly how to make it again. Soap making is so precise that a small change (either too much or too little) of an ingredient can lead to a soap fail. Also, you are sure that you are using the right amount of an ingredient that is safe for use in skincare ...

The  word "Moringa" was borrowed from an Asian language (Tamil); "Murungai" which means "Twisted Pod". In Hausa it is called "Zogale". The moringa plant is a fast-growing, drought resistant tree that grows daily on semiarid, tropical and subtropical regions (Africa, India, Central and South America, as well as South-East Asia). It is a sun and heat loving tree that grows fragrant flowers with five petals, and seeds in long pods (also called drumsticks). Every part of the moringa tree is useful: the leaves, fruits, seeds and bark, giving it the name "Tree of Life". The leaves are the most nutritious part of the tree, containing vitamin B, C, A and K, as well as beta-carotene, manganese and protein. The leaves and seeds are used to prepare various meals and herbal remedies around the world, they are believed to have antibacterial, antivirals, antimicrobial, antidepressant and anti-inflammatory properties. Moringa seeds are also used...

This is a blood disorder where there is an abnormality inside the red blood cells of the patient, making the cell become rigid and deformed - looking like a sickle, these cells are not able to carry enough oxygen to the body, and they die early, causing a shortage in red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are flexible, with a shape like a doughnut, and are able to pass through the veins and arteries of a person. However, the shape and rigid form of the sickled-shaped blood cells of a patient causes blockages and preventing free blood flow. Who Does Sickle Cell Affect? Sickle cell anemia is inherited from parents who carry the abnormal genes, the patient gets one of these genes from his/her father and one from his/her mother. If only one parent carries this abnormal gene, then there is a chance that the child will also become a carrier. To know if a person has sickle cell, or is a carrier, a blood test is usually carried out. 80% of sickle cell cases occur in Africa, a repor...

Boswellia Tree - Source google images Frankincense, also known as “al-Liban” in Arabic, and  “Olibanum” in Hebrew, comes from an aromatic resin from the Boswellia tree in Somalia. The tree also grows in southern parts of Saudi Arabia and in India. Frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula for over 6000 years. This resin got its name from the Old-French word “franc encens” which means “noble/pure incense”. Processing The Boswellia tree begins to produce resin from around  8 - 10 years of age. To get the resin, the bark of the tree is slashed, letting the resin run. When it dries it hardens, the dried sap is referred to as “tears”, the resin is then collected and formed into lumps. Tears of the Boswellia Tree - Source google images Different types of resin are gotten from different species of the Boswellia tree, with quality based on the colour, purity, aroma, age and shape of the resin. The Silver and Hojari types are generally considered to be of th...

Looks like a tiger, tastes like a nut, but is in fact a tuber - Tiger-nut - aka "aya" in Hausa, "aki awusa" in Igbo, "ofio" in Yoruba. Tiger-nut is grown in Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle Esat and the Indian sub-continent. Its a wild grass with edible tubers, which grows in sandy, moist soil - just like rice paddies or peanut farms. Tiger-nut is planted between April and May, growing through July-August, then harvested between November and December. After harvesting, the tubers are washed to remove sand and small stones, then dried in the sun, turning them daily, for three months. When dry, they shrink and become wrinkled. Uses Tiger-nuts have a sweet nutty taste, they can be eaten raw. The dried tubers can be munched as is, or soaked in water overnight (or for a few days; changing the water daily), to rehydrate them back to a plump, crunchy snack. They can also be slightly roasted and coated with sugar or honey as a dessert. "Kunun...

Tell us about yourself  My Name is Ojoma Ahmed, from Kogi state, a mum of 2 kids. Until recently, I have been just an IT professional (Business Intelligence) and then started an NGO about a year ago, and from that sprung a business idea. Tell us about your business, how did you start?  It’s interesting how life throws you lemons and you then make lemonades. My partner suffered a heart attack and I spent 3 months going in and out of hospital caring for him. Then I had an epiphany - a sudden realization that I needed to do something with my mundane 9-5 job and give back by developing my community.  I had a building project going on at the time, it was meant to house some family members, but I decided to use it as a training hub to offer free training to girls and young woman, then I started a community project to mechanize palm oil processing in my village, to support the women. Then it turned to a business Idea, I remembered my grand mum raised he...