Neo Babuya

Aduna brings African superfoods from village to shelf, creating sustainable livelihoods for producers. Through our baobab fruit supply chain, over 2,300 women in Upper East Ghana and Centre-Sud Burkina Faso are receiving sustainable incomes.  Here is the story of one of these women, Neo Babuya.

Married. 7 kids. Baobab Producer & Farmer. Nankum, Burkina Faso.

Money doesn’t come by easy so I try to manage every little that comes. The baobab tree is like a helpful friend. When we can’t find money to pay school fees, when we farm and the yield is bad, when everything else fails, the baobab tree comes to our rescue. We eat the leaves, which is nutritious, and we sell the fruits to Aduna for good enough money to sustain us throughout the tough season. I hope to build extensions to our house so that each child gets their own room. 

In the past, the trees were many so even if it rained heavily the leaves of the trees and the roots used to hold the water. Today, because all the trees are gone, there’s nothing to hold the water when it rains so it floods. Even the smallest rain ruins everything. I know about the Great Green Wall, and I am waiting for my share of seedlings to plant. 

Interview and photographs by Nana Kofi Acquah.