It is a tree like no other, the baobab. A symbol for the African savanna, with its massive trunk and flaky crown. In Burkina Faso, they harvest the baobab leaves, dry them and put as flavoring into soups. The fruits, however, had until quite recently been completely unchartered territory to me.
One afternoon in Zebilla, northern Ghana, walking home from buying water by the main road, I met a group of children. They were all giddy, carrying around large, kind of hairy, olive-colored fruit. One of the girls asked me if I wanted to try some, she said it was from the baobab. Of course I had to say yes.
She opened it up. It was dry inside, a white powdery pulp around large stones, visually similar to the cacao fruit, but completely different in texture. Sweet. A little bit sour. Like dry candy. I understand why the kids were so happy.
After coming home to Stockholm, I started noticing it. Suddenly, baobab fruit has become one of the fashionable super foods. Now, you can even buy it in small expensive bags in Stockholm inner-city grocery stores.
I wonder if and how that might affect sweet-loving children in northern Ghana.
Katja Malmborg 