Archive for September, 2008

Inhambane to Vilanculos

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Summer Rayne Oakes in front of a baobab

Walking in front of a Baobab – a very Dr. Seuss-like creature of Africa. It’s actually not a tree, but the largest succulent plant in the world. The cuts in the side are steps for the locals to crawl up. Fruit, when ripe are quite good eating.

 

We dropped off our photographer-videographer-African adventurer, Jeff, yesterday at the Inhambane airport around 2pm and headed northward to Vilanculos. It was about a four hour journey, half an hour longer than usual due to pitted roads and a couple quick stops for some shots of Baobabs (the largest succulents in the world), a photo crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, and a roadside chat to discuss how the landscape has gone from high-value Miombo biome to low-value dry savannah over the course of 35 years.

We crashed a friend’s pad as a stop-over before we continue the maddening journey northward to the Mezimbite Forest Centre between Beira and Dondo, thus completing my equally mad journey from my trip last year in Mozambique. That’s traversing the entire country from top to bottom- (the same length as the eastern coast of the United States), giving me a good overview of the ecological and cultural issues and solutions happening throughout Mozambique.

Summer Rayne at the Tropic of Capricorn

We are officially in the Tropics! Tropic of Capricorn.

local village in Mozambique doing slash and burn

Slash-and-burn in a local village. Mozambicans have heavily changed their landscape in the past 35 years, turning a high-valued Miombo biome resource into a low-value dry savannah.

View more photos from Coconut Oil Mozambique in Inhambane HERE at Discovery Earth Live.

 

 

Sneak peak at coconut oil processing in Mozambique

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

The last couple days I’ve been in Inhambane, Mozambique. Yesterday we paid a visit to Coconut Oil Mozambique, Lda where Allan is venturing into personal care products. I took a look at what it takes to process coconut oil. Here’s a sneak peak, but I promise I’ll fill you in more later.

Drying grated coconut

drying grated copra (coconut meat) on a Habachi-style grill in Inhambane

Pulling the lever to squeeze out the coconut oil

Yes, squeezing out the coconut oil in the press is as hard as it looks!

Discovery Earth Live: Maciene, Mozambique

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

Allan and Dulcie in Maciene

Allan, architect, and Dulcie, Maciene Project Manager stand on hilltop of Maciene where the new community sustainable development site and arts cooperative will be.

Read, view and watch videos and posts as they happen HERE on Discovery Earth Live.

Rio Tinto in Maciene

Allan, the Maciene Community Manager and I hiked up this hilltop. Part of this land has been charred by a fire, but to the right of this forest is a sacred site. It’s considered sacred because of a freshwater spring that feeds the lake below. The community leader has asked us to help with the forest conservation of this area as part of the Maciene Sustainable Community Development Project. Off in the distance is a building belonging to Rio Tinto, the mining company. They have recently found mineral deposits in the area and are now planning a major mining operation. Allan said, “Rio and the community will get half and half. Rio will make all the money and the locals will do all the work.”