Welcome to the first episode of nàfolo. Part 1/2 of this episode is on African rice (Oryza glaberrima) domesticated in the flood plains of the Niger River. Dr. Tinde van Andel and Dr. Edda L.…
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welcome back to the return of nàfolo.nàfolo means wealth in bambara. it is a podcast that collects and cultivates stories of seeds and their connections to global african-ness. it functions as a…
We discuss the uniqueness of the bambara bean (Vigna subterranea), an indigenous West African seed, in the role it can play in mitigating the impact of climate change and malnutrition. This episode…
We discuss how nature comes together in communion to create fabrics with designs. Specifically, looking at the bōgōlanfini, a traditional Mandinga dying technique of cotton. Its iconic patterns that…
This episode is an ode to Africa day (May 25) but it is also an exploration of the name change of Acacia, an emblematic genus that was previously shared by Africa, Australia, Americas, and Asia. This…
Part 2/2 of this episode is on African rice (Oryza glaberrima) domesticated in the flood plains of the Niger River and carried across the Atlantic. Dr. Tinde van Andel and Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black…
This piece traces Centella asiatica through its Malagasy name, Talapetraka, and the 50,000 women who harvest it by hand each season along the riversides and rice fields of Madagascar. Before it became…
This piece traces the marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea) through ceremony, landscape, and extraction. From the First Fruits festivals of the Zulu and Tsonga, to the women who crack the kernel and press…
In this episode, we follow frankincense, a resin drawn from a small group of Boswellia trees in the Burseraceae family, growing across the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. These trees thrive…
