Baobab tree (ecological, economic and cultural value) 9

A young baobab tree equipped with measurement instruments, "Listening to the Rift Valley" project.

Baobab is an iconic tree, a tropical and sub-tropical low-altitude species found along the Eastern African coastline. It is iconic in form and outlook with trunks that can grow to more than 5 metres in girth. Throughout history baobab has served the inhabitants of the Swahili coast in multiple ways. It has been used for food, its fruit and pulp rich in vitamin C (seeds are packaged and easily sold in shops and on the streets as snacks). Some communities have used the leaves of young baobabs as vegetables, also appreciating their medicinal value. Baobabs were used as physical hiding places when people felt threatened, while at other times life has been landscaped around baobabs. Baobabs have been a source of inspiration for many artists and architects. The use goes beyond the material into the spiritual, from reverence to ritual. Other species including insects, monkeys and birds have used the tree, as well as elephants looking for water within its trunks in dry seasons (some trunks are said to hold up to 10000 litres of water). These relationships with people and other species have threatened its existence from loss of habitat, clearance for cultivation and crop intensification.

For its inaugural project, the EAMAN/EDEN collaboration has chosen places and trees representative of the wealth of landscapes of the Rift Valley. Baobab became the inspiration and the source of information for the performances realized in Shela village.