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Captivating Cape Verde: Locked in an African Wine Bar
I’m sitting in an African bar scratching a description of Praia , Cape Verde, into a notebook, sipping my third cup of passable Portuguese plonk. I don't know if it was my intense concentration on the composition, or the fact that I'd asked for the third cup of wine after the staff had already switched off the lights and bolted the door, but something clued the owner to the idea that I might be a travel writer. He introduced himself and handed me the card of his humble but friendly establishment.
I conclude that this gentleman has never met a real travel writer, because I neither asked the waitress to leave the jug, nor checked their cupboards for extra bottles. The fact that he didn’t refill my cup when he proffered his card leads me to further conclude that he doesn’t know how to get good copy out of a real travel writer – should he ever meet one.
Anyway, prior to this minor distraction, I was preparing to report that “de rigueur” rusted harbor-side cannon barrels overlook the listing skeletons of wrecked ships stuck in the oozy sand of Praia’s…umm… praia .
And that the beach itself is the color of brown beer bottles, which is not surprising considering the colossal number of empty Sagres beer bottles left there to decompose.
The upside to this alarming environmental news is that in this arid town with less grass than a putting green, where the afternoon air approaches the temperature recommended for baking a turkey, where the Sahara’s dust finally settles after its long journey from Mauritania , you are never far from a cold one.
Praia is the capital of a West African archipelago called Cape Verde , formerly part of the Portuguese empire. It fell into economic obscurity about 150 years ago when its main endeavor as a way station in the slave trade between Africa and the Americas was rendered redundant by the abolition of that activity.
Since the appellation “green” has about as much relevance to Cape Verde as it does to Greenland, the prospects for an agricultural society thereafter were hopeless. Deadly drought followed deadly drought.
Acacia Tree Africa - News
My guidebook tells me that with the help of the usual suspects, the UN, US and EU, Cape Verde has undertaken a massive re-forestation effort using a “species of acacia tree particularly adapted to the area's conditions.” The day before I got locked in
Not a sound, save for a soft early morning conversation between two laughing doves and a bokmakierie singing from the top of a spreading acacia tree. It's dawn at Bushman's Kloof in the Cederberg. “I never knew what the English word 'tranquil' really
Acacia Wood Carvings now offers authentic and beautiful African art and unique African masks from villages throughout Africa. Los Angeles, California (February, 13, 2012) - Acacia Wood Carvings just added a new line of authentic African art to their
Soon we were crossing the Nubian desert on an arrow-straight strip of tarmac flanked by acacia trees and exploded tyres. Sudan may be only half the country it used to be but the distances are still vast. We drove for 300 miles through an empty
In north-east Australia, multi-year droughts have repeatedly triggered widespread deaths of Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Acacia trees. Big trees in Africa, Asia and the Amazon have also been highly drought prone. In one Amazonian experiment, in which half
Acacia Trees Could Solve Africa's Soil Problems, Be the Future for ...
"The future of trees is on farms," said Dennis Garrity, Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre, or ICRAF, which is one of many participating organization in a gathering of over 800 experts to discuss how trees can and will save the world's farms. Particularly, the scientists are looking at the Faidherbia acacia tree that has nitrogen-fixing qualities, offering the potential to revive and sustain farms - and mitigate climate change - in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to years of unsustainable farming practices, the soil across much of Africa has been degraded. Projects to revive soil quality have been launched, and incorporating acacia trees could be added to the repertoire as an additional way to restore soil vitality.
According to the World Agroforestry Center , Garrity states, "Growing the right tree in the right place on farms in sub-Saharan Africa--and worldwide-- has the potential to slow climate change, feed more people, and protect the environment. This tree, as a source of free, organic nitrogen, is an example of that. There are many other examples of solutions to African farming that exist here already."
What makes this particular acacia tree so ideal is "reverse leaf phenology." This quality: drives the tree to go dormant and shed its nitrogen-rich leaves during the early rainy season--when seeds are being planted and need the nitrogen--and then to re-grow its leaves when the dry season begins and crops are dormant. This makes it highly compatible with food crops because it does not compete with them for light--only the bare branches of the tree's canopy spread overhead while crops grow to maturity. Their leaves and pods provide a crucial source of fodder in the dry season for livestock when other plants have dried up.