Baobab Oil: Zimbabwe’s Tree of Life and the Women Behind It

I was born in Zimbabwe, so when I say the baobab feels like home, I mean it. It’s the tree behind our newest carrier oil, and the journey from savanna to shelf is worth knowing.

Ahuva Founder and the tree of life, Zimbabwe, 2018

Meet the Tree of Life

The baobab (Adansonia digitata) grows across Africa’s dry savannas. It’s called the “tree of life” because it has fed, sheltered and watered people and animals for generations. Its huge trunk can store up to 120,000 litres of water and some trees live for over 1,000 years.

Fun fact: for much of the year the baobab has no leaves, so it looks as though it’s been planted upside down with its roots in the air. That’s why it’s nicknamed the “upside-down tree”.

From Fruit to Oil

Baobab fruit grows in large pods, with seeds inside a powdery pulp. In Zimbabwe the fruit is

harvested from April to September, in the dry season, when little else is growing. The trees take over 20 years to start fruiting and aren’t farmed, so everything is gathered from the wild, ideally from the ground, not by climbing.

The seeds are cleaned, dried in the sun and cold-pressed, then filtered. The result is a light, golden oil.

Meet Our Partner: KaZa Natural Oils Our baobab oil comes from KaZa Natural Oils, a producer founded in 2016 that works with rural producer communities across Southern Africa to supply natural oils and plant ingredients

Photo Credit : KaZa Natural Oils

Working with communities matters because raw baobab fruit often sells for very little. Fair, steady buyers make that work worth more. You can see KaZa’s range at kazanaturaloils.com.

How to Use It

• Face and body: a few drops on damp skin.

• Hair and scalp: warm a little between your palms and smooth through your ends, or massage into your scalp.

  
  

Quick FAQs “Is baobab oil the same as baobab powder?” No. The powder comes from the fruit pulp and is a food ingredient. The oil is pressed from the seeds and is for external use only. “What does it smell like?” A light, faintly nutty scent, and the colour runs from pale to golden yellow.“ How should I store it?” Away from heat and light, so it stays fresh.

Ready to meet it? Shop our Baobab Oil 🤎

Sources: KaZa Natural Oils, ZimTrade, Trade Zimbabwe, Associated Press. For external use only. Not medical advice. Always patch test new products.