Imagine this: You’re a Mozambican countrywoman and you have to walk quite some distance to get water from a river or find a stream to wash the family’s clothes. And then, when you get there, the water’s a funny dirty red colour and although you don’t know this, it’s poisoned with dangerous mercury. Owing toContinue reading "DANGEROUS MERCURY IN MOZAMBIQUE’S RIVERS"

They may be small – but they are powerful! A sting from one of our scorpions in the Nhamacoa is a rather agonizing event. Fortunately, they aren’t too poisonous but the fiery dart of pain in whatever part of your body they sting makes you shout and isn’t something you get over quickly. I knowContinue reading "STUNG BY A NHAMACOA SCORPION!"

We are lucky to have one of these lovely Pink Jacaranda (Stereospermum kunthianum) trees not far from our house and at the moment it’s in glorious pink blossom. It grows to the height of about 13 metres and likes rocky outcrops and hillsides. It’s also often found on the fringes of evergreen forests. The flowersContinue reading "A glorious burst of pinkblossom at Nhamacoa"

As you may imagine, when you live in a house in an African forest, you get some pretty unwelcome guests from time to time. These visitors usually make their appearance at the beginning of summer, when the warm heat of the Mozambican sun wakes them out of their winter sleep … and they get onContinue reading "Snakes Alive!"

The Chinese are now doing business all over Africa and Mozambique is no exception. It’s all about money, of course, and more often than not, it’s about who is going to get whose money! The other day when O’D went to see Danke Liu, who is hiring our tractor, he found Danke in the middleContinue reading "CHINESE-MOZAMBICAN RELATIONS!"

It’s a very satisfying thing to plant a little seed and then to watch it grow into a leafy tree, towering way above your head. It’s just as satisfying when school children or a local living near us catches our enthusiasm and starts to grow trees themselves … although this doesn’t always turn out asContinue reading "HOW NOT TO GROW A TREE!"

We’re coming into the most dangerous time of the year for the Nhamacoa Forest now - a time called The Queimadas (the burnings). The Queimadas usually take place at the end of winter and beginning of summer (August/September/October) when the vegetation is tinder dry and the grass is tall and yellow. It’s a cultural thingContinue reading "THE QUEIMADAS"

It’s taken four long years for our Forest Conservation Association to come into being and I would like to start off this blog by thanking the people who have been such a help to us over these years. First, a very big thank you to Joao de Conceicao, our friend and secretary of the Association.Continue reading "The Start of Trees4Moz"