by maïmouna
nāfolo means wealth in Bambara. nāfolo is the podcast that collects and cultivates the stories of seeds related to global african-ness. It functions as a library and digital classroom of seed consciousness that highlights the biodiversity of african products. We do so by rooting ourselves in informed culture, politics, science, economy. join us to hear the stories of seeds told by their stewards. <br/><br/><a href="https://nafolo.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">nafolo.substack.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
4/22/2021
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May 25, 2026
<p>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 a global skincare trend, it was and still is stirred into rice, brewed into tea, and pressed onto wounds. It was ordinary in the best possible way. Today it is in over 150,000 products worldwide, at the center of a multi-billion dollar industry built on its healing compounds. The women who pick the leaf that makes it possible often earn below the Malagasy minimum wage. This is not a story about one bad company. It is a story about a structure, one that has always known how to steal knowledge, translate it, and leave the name behind.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nafolo.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">nafolo.substack.com</a>
May 18, 2026
<p>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 the oil by hand each harvest season, the marula has long been a tree that marks time and holds community together in southern Africa. Long before it appeared in a glass bottle with a colorful cap, it was a marriage tree, a medicinal tree, a provider. Its fruit a source of vitamin C and nourishment, its oil a practice of care passed through hands and seasons.</p><p>Today, marula oil occupies a prominent place in global skincare. A star ingredient in brands sold at $72 a bottle, built on a myth about drunk elephants, named without ceremony. This shift raises questions about whose story travels when a plant does. As the oil crosses oceans, the rituals, the women, and the 10,000 years of relationship that shaped it tend to stay behind. The marula becomes a way to think about what extraction looks like when it is called luxury, and what it would mean to let the relationship ripen before reaching for the fruit.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nafolo.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">nafolo.substack.com</a>
May 11, 2026
<p>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 in rocky escarpments and dry Acacia woodlands where survival itself seems improbable, sometimes rooting directly into solid stone. In Ethiopia, one of the most valued species is Boswellia papyrifera, recognized by its flaking aromatic bark, compound leaves with serrated leaflets, and clusters of pale pink-white flowers that bloom before the leaves appear. Frankincense is not gathered passively. Harvesters wound the trunk deeply, forcing the tree to produce a milky sap that hardens into tear-shaped resin, much like a scab forming over human skin. Every stage of harvesting carries its own terminology, with resin collected in cycles over several weeks, beginning with the clearest and purest grades before gradually becoming darker and more bark-infused.</p><p>Its history stretches across some of the oldest trade routes in the world. Frankincense and myrrh moved through maritime and caravan networks linking northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Oman, and the Fertile Crescent, forming what became known as the incense trade routes. Some historians consider frankincense among the first substances traded on a near-global scale. Its significance appears repeatedly throughout history, from Ancient Egyptian rituals and embalming practices to the gifts presented to Jesus by the three wise men. The resin was burned to perfume temples, homes, and clothing, while charred forms of aromatic resins were also incorporated into cosmetics such as kohl, the dark eye pigment associated with ancient Egyptian beauty practices. Later, the Roman Catholic Church adopted frankincense extensively in liturgical ceremonies, a practice that continues today.</p><p>Across these histories, frankincense moves between ritual, medicine, and commerce. The resin is still burned as incense, while its essential oil is used in perfumes, aromatherapy, and traditional healing practices. In Ethiopia, the resin may be chewed to strengthen gums, ingested for digestive ailments, applied to wounds, or inhaled to ease bronchitis. Many of these uses are tied to boswellic acids, compounds associated with anti-inflammatory effects. Yet the growing global demand for frankincense oil and resin has intensified harvesting beyond sustainable levels. Although some scientists argue the trees should only be tapped a few times annually, harvesting often occurs far more aggressively, leaving the species increasingly vulnerable. As the market for frankincense continues to expand, the balance between economic value and ecological survival grows more fragile.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nafolo.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">nafolo.substack.com</a>
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nāfolo means wealth in Bambara.
nāfolo is the podcast that collects and cultivates the stories of seeds related to global african-ness. It functions as a library and digital classroom of seed consciousness that highlights the biodiversity of african products. We do so by rooting ourselves in informed culture, politics, science, economy.
join us to hear the stories of seeds told by their stewards. <br/><br/><a href="https://nafolo.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">nafolo.substack.com</a>
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