Sustainable harvesting to protect the trees

The production of Baobab Fruit Powder uses only the fruit; the trees themselves are undamaged. Our local harvesters have for many years set the standard for best practice in Baobab harvest and fruit powder production in Africa. They manage Baobab resources tightly, mapping and recording producing trees, documenting their ages and other relevant factors. This enables them to provide accurate forecasts of production levels from year to year and to ensure harvests are conducted sustainably. All of them have implemented strategies to systematically increase the Baobab resource base.

They also ensure that fruit harvest does not adversely impact regeneration of the species. They work in partnership with local communities to establish, nurture and protect new Baobab woodlands. In doing so, we strive to preserve the genetic width of the species (i.e. propagating from a wide variety of specimens not just the most productive) to ensure that the species retains the ability to adapt to environmental changes.

And the drive for conservation is happening at all levels of the value chain. Baobab Foods and its suppliers know through experience that when a commercial value is attached to indigenous plant species and appropriate education is provided, rural communities in Africa are incentivized to protect these species for the long term.