By Patrick Maundu
Introduction
Kenya held its first Indigenous Seeds and Food Culture Harvest Fair at the National Museums of Kenya in October 2022. In this fair issues of traditional seed conservation, biopiracy and the threat to local seeds by genetically modified (GM) were discussed both in plenary and in a seed and traditional food exhibition taking place in the compound. The theme of the fair attracted unusual attention as Kenya, early in the same month had lifted a 10-year ban on the cultivation and importation of GM crops which were seen as a threat to local seed varieties – but to others, a solution to providing food to millions of hungry residents following one of the worst droughts to hit the region.
The emotive subject of GMOs aside, farmers displaying their seeds at the traditional seed and food fair felt that traditional seed resources had been lost due to the failure of responsible institutions to support traditional seed and food systems –instead, the seeds had been vilified as uncertified and low yielding, a claim Mary Omoke, an exhibitor said was untrue, and a gimmick by commercial seed companies to discredit local seeds. ‘Our traditional maize is tastier, more adapted to local conditions, gives more flour and we can process it with our traditional implements and above all is more nutritious’, she said as she displayed her large multicolour traditional maize cobs.
Figure 1 Sorghum on display during the Indigenous Seeds and Food Culture Harvest Fair held at the National Museums of Kenya, October 2022.
Traditional maize e.g. muzihana of the Jibana people of coastal Kenya comes in many colours such as orange, yellow, pink, red, purple, indigo and blue. The maize is much healthier than the highly promoted white hybrid maize. The traditional types are coloured mainly due to anthocyanins and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A) and lutein (in yellow maize) which is good for eye health.
‘Our laws favour multinationals – not the ordinary farmer’, she adds. ‘Their (genetically modified) seeds produce sterile seeds at harvest, preventing the farmer from replanting the same seed, thus forcing farmers to buy seed every planting season. They also want their seeds grown solely (monocropping) while in our traditional systems, we intercrop to ensure the soil remains healthy and the field has a high crop diversity so that the family has good access to most nutrients it needs. Even sharing seeds with your daughter when she visits is outlawed in our country. Our law-makers have let us down (referring to the Seed and Plant Varieties Act (2012) which prohibits anyone from sharing, exchanging or selling uncertified and unregistered seed).
Traditional multi-coloured maize is just one of the many traditional food and food seed displayed by farmers from all over the country. The exhibition also featured local vegetables, of which there are over 200 in Kenya, most of which are more nutritious than the cabbage- which people are used to. Saga or spider plant for example has up to 150 times the amount of beta-carotene than in white cabbage and seven to ten times as much iron, an important element in the manufacture of blood. Traditional sources of starch like cassava, sorghum, plantain, pearl millet and finger millet and their products such porridge were also on display.
Figure 2 Coloured traditional maize is more nutritious than current maize.
‘You stay full and feel stronger with these traditional starches’ adds Mrs Peninah Mwangangi of Kitui County. Typically local cereals and cassava have low glycaemic index (GI), meaning they have a low potential to raise glucose concentration in the blood after a meal.
Also on display at the fair were local tubers like aerial yams, known as matugu or liruku in western Kenya, Meru yams, a variety of local pulses like Bambara nuts and lablab beans (njahi), edible insects, edible rodents, edible fungi and implements that are used in food production.
The baobab
Baobab fruits stood out as one of the most popular indigenous fruits. Products displayed ranged from sour-sweet cream pulp to coloured pulp-coated seed (mabuyu)- quite popular with children; yellow-orange baobab seed oil mainly used in the cosmetics industry. The fruit turned out to have great economic potential for Kenya and rest of Africa where it grows.
Figure 3 A baobab tree in Jibana, Kilifi
Like the coconut palm, every part of the baobab has some use. ‘Baobab is second to coconut’, says Dubi Dzua, an elder from Kaya Kambe. ‘We use its leaves while its fruit pulp is used for flavouring a type of small fish known locally as kata shingo. Baobab leaves are pounded in a mortar and mixed with pounded cassava leaves. Eaten alone, the vegetable is slimy and so it is mixed with other vegetables such as cassava leaves to make a sauce. Among the Mijikenda, baobab shells are made into utensils like kaha (a ladle), kata (a ladle for drawing water), muhoto (rodent trap) and drinking cups. In Kitui, a strong fibre is obtained from the trunk. It is used for weaving local baskets.
The baobab tree has innumerable uses. Associated with these uses are unique forms of indigenous knowledge and skills which are now in danger of getting lost. The tree is used for placing traditional barrel hives and it is appreciated because of its aesthetics and cultural uses the ceremonial offering of sacrifices to appease the spirits. Fruits and the fruit pulp are a source of income while the tree may trap water in its hollow trunks but also provides shelter in such caves.
The white to cream pulp of baobab fruits has one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C in plant foods, six to ten times that of an orange but it is also rich in other minerals. The pulp is made into a sauce to accompany ugali, the local staple food. Pulp with seed are crushed, the product sieved, mixed with sour milk and made into a ready to eat meal known as kinaa.
Most pulp and seed producers separate the pulp from the seed manually, quite a tedious undertaking. Machines for processing the pulp and also for cold-pressing to get oil are available but their cost is still beyond the reach of most small-scale farmers.
Pricy seed oil
One of the products displayed at the exhibition was the baobab seed oil. This fetches good money in the European markets. The oil is rich in nutrients with many health benefits. Baobab oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other fats as well as antioxidants – vitamins A, C and E, and hence used in cosmetics and skin care as a skin moisturizer and anti-inflammatory as in skin irritations. It prevents the skin from drying out, and keeps the skin soft and smooth. It can even help with skin conditions like eczema.
Baobab leaves
Baobab leaves often sprout from a leafless tree during the dry season – a time when there are no other vegetables available. Salome Ttsalama Mbetsa, a Jibana in Kilifi pounds the leaves using a mortar and pestle and mixes the product with pounded cassava leaves then cooks. The mixture is very nutritious.
Figure 4 Kambe women getting ready to prepare baobab leaves and a meal flavoured with baobab pulp.
Seasonality
The tree remains leafless for most of the year. In Kenya, this tree is found from Meru and Embu counties to the coastal part of Kenya. At the coastal part of Kenya, the tree puts out new leaves in November to December. Then soon after follows the sprouting of large, short-lived flowers which open at night and are pollinated by night animals including insects and bats. The coastal people believe there are male and female baobabs, which may flower and produce leaves at different times.
Other uses
The fruit shell is made into a variety of household items, including cups and containers that are also used for tapping palm wine. The shell is also used for making traps for certain types of rodents (e.g. pingi, tali, fuko etc) that are considered a delicacy among the Mijikenda. The trunk of a young baobab is also a source of fibre used for making ropes, baskets and in construction.
Figure 5 A rodent trap made from a baobab fruit shell, Jibana, Kilif.
The live tree is a habitat for many types of animals. Decaying trunks support a type of edible fungus called zhoga muyu. After several years, the wood rots away, fertilizing the surrounding soil.
Figure 6 Zyoga muyu, a type of mushrooms that grows on a rotting baobab trunk
Potential in nutrition and food security
The baobab fruit and leaves are ready for use at a time when both fruits and vegetables are rare in both rural and urban centres.
Leaves are used fresh. Locals are not yet used to dry leaves but drying has potential to provide leaves during the dry period.
Indigenous knowledge and cultural significance
The baobab is a revered ceremonial tree associated with many types of beliefs. A number of cultural ceremonies are performed under the tree. The Mijikenda cast their evil spirits on the tree as they believe it can keep them. Caves sometimes form on the huge trunk and these may be used as shelter especially while working in crop fields. One good example is Mbuyu uliolala, a fallen but living baobab with a hollow centre in the form of a tube high enough for one to stand. It traps rain water which locals draw for domestic use.
Facts about baobab
A baobab tree can live for over a thousand years. Chivatsi Samue Kiringal, 60 a Ribe and keeper of the largest baobab in Kenya says a baobab can take up to 60 years before it starts fruiting and at that time it is only about 2.5 to 3ft (76-91 cm) in diameter.
Baobabs may fall on their own, particularly if growing on shallow soil with rock underneath. Even after falling, a baobab tree continues to send out new shoots. A cut tree may take several years before it dies off.
Diversity
Diversity in baobab can be seen in the shape of the tree crown and also fruit. The fruit may range from round to tapered.
Threats
The baobab is a tree in danger. The tree occupies a lot of space. Yet demand for land to grow crops and construction is on the increase with increasing population. In Kilifi, the author has witnessed trees being cut. They are often ringed and then burned.
Figure 7 Baobab researchers, Lucy Kariuki and James Kioko examine a felled baobab tree in Rabai, Kilifi. Sept 2022.
New uses like the use of the wood to make ceiling boards are putting this age old tree in more danger.
Protecting indigenous trees from biopiracy
In October 2022, at about the time of the seed fair held at the National Museums of Kenya, a story on baobab biopiracy appeared in local and international media showing pictures of uprooted baobab trees cushioned in a metal cage, branches sawn off but the trunk and roots intact, ready for shipment to the US. The sight was reminiscent of a caged elephant ready for translocation. The reason given by the contractors was to save the trees. Did they really have to be saved out of their habitat?
The baobab is a sacred plant to many communities and the very act of uprooting and exporting it is against local belief systems.