Category Archives: about plants

97 – 98 It is hard, though. This thing about going to faraway places and claiming knowledge about them. Taking the right to tell those stories. It is walking a fine line between sharing an understanding, and turning it into something exotic, appropriating, taking advantage of my multiple layers of privilege to be in aContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (x-xi)”

96 In the cool evening breeze, a man is dyeing cotton fabrics indigo in a dyeing pit using the fermented leaves of the garga shrub (Indigofera tinctorial / true indigo)*. This technique of indigo dyeing is a centuries old tradition in West Africa, as is the cultivation and weaving of cotton. These dyed fabrics areContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (ix)”

95 Boy weaving pitri grass (Andropogon gayanus / Gamba grass)*. Together with wood, the woven grass is used to construct granaries. The granaries are used to store sorghum, millet and other grains during the dry season. The pitri grass grows wild and could be considered a weed. However, if it takes root in the fields,Continue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (viii)”

94 The keglega tree (Balanites aegyptiaca / Desert date)* is drought-tolerant and has a date-like fruit that tastes sweet and bitter. It can be eaten as it is, or the oil from its seeds can be used to make soap and ointments. The leaves are also used to feed animals during the dry season. TheContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (vii)”

93 The tanga tree (Vitellaria paradoxa / shea tree)* grows wild on the savannah. The fruits are eaten, but their main value lies in the nut. It is used to make shea butter, both for eating and for cosmetics like soap, ointments, and lotions. Shea butter, made from the nut of the tanga tree, hasContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (vi)”

92 The kanga tree (Acacia macrostachya)* is a plant of great cultural and spiritual importance in Burkina Faso. It often grows in sacred groves and cannot be harvested or cut down there. The groves are seen as the place where ancestors of people in a village reside and are therefore protected. Kanga trees growing outsideContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (v)”

91 The bangandré (Piliostigma reticulatum / Camel’s foot)* is a shrub that is used in many ways. Its leaves are added to sauces and stews as a leafy green and the pods are ground to a flour and used as a nutrient supplement for animals during the dry season. The bark and leaves have provenContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (iv)”

90 In rural northern Burkina Faso, certain wild trees, shrubs and herbs are actively being managed as integrated parts of the agricultural landscape. They are important for food, income, fodder, medicinal uses, crafts and construction, especially during years when cultivated crops fail. These pockets of wild vegetation therefore support the resilience of the communities, whileContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (iii)”

89 The village landscapes in the Sudano-Sahelian belt of Burkina Faso are used in many ways by the people living there. A majority of the population are subsistence farmers, and combine cultivating dryland crops with animal husbandry. As a master student, I joined a project about exploring the connection between ecosystem services and local livelihoodsContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (ii)”

88 To start off this new year, I want to do something a little bit different. Over Christmas break, I’ve been thinking about traveling. What it has done with me. Six years ago, I returned home from my first visit to Burkina Faso in West Africa. I had been there for almost three months, doingContinue reading “Ethnobotany in Burkina Faso (i)”