Reviving indigenous knowledge of the Mungomu tree in Mozambique

Nuts from Mungomu trees have been a staple food for the Kung Khoi-San tribe for many years. In Mozambique, indigenous knowledge of the Mungomu nut remains strong, despite people being displaced and isolated by the recent civil war. However, nut consumption has been declining due to the difficulty of traditional preparation methods and the availability of other products.

The Mungomu tree provides up to threequarters of the dietary needs of the Kung Khoi-Santribe in the Kalahari Desert. It is widely used in sauces, to accompany maindishes and also to provide oil for cooking and even cosmetics. Wood from thetree is also used for construction

Surveys by the Red Cross in the 1990s showedthat during the civil war, indigenous knowledge and use of the Mungomu nutsurvived within isolated communities in Central Mozambique. But due to theprimitive technologies used in processing the nut, and the increasedcompetition from other products (such as sesame or peanut oil), consumption ofthe Mungomu nut has been declining.

Research from the United Nations Food and AgriculturalOrganization reviews local knowledge of the tree in Macossa district in CentralMozambique. The research examines who uses the nut and how they use it. Keyfindings from the survey in Macossa reveal that:

• The Mungomu tree is very commonand indigenous knowledge of it is widespread, more so amongst older people andwomen, and less so at official levels.
• The Mungomu nut faces competitionfrom other oil and food crops, especially because, unlike these other crops,processing technologies remain primitive and slow.
• Nut consumption has beendeclining because of the primitive processing methods, migratory movements anddifficulty of access to the tree for some communities.
• Community leaders wereinterested in both improving the processing methods of the Mungomu nut andlearning about other crops.

The authors hoped to stimulate theproduction of non-timber forest products from all forests to boost foodsecurity and incomes for communities in the area. These findings were discussedwith the communities involved, resulting in the following recommendations:

• The value of Mungomu nuts needspromoting through pamphlets, education about nutritional value (for example in schools),inter-community visits to exchange experiences and food fairs, including a‘Mungomu Day’ in Macossa.
• More Mungomu trees should be planted,including in community nurseries.
• Small projects to plant,process and commercialise Mungomu nuts will increaseconsumption, possibly including a pro-Mungomu organisationin the area.
• Organising competitions and looking at similar cases (for example theMacadamia nut in South Africa) will improve Mungomu processing technology.
• Researchers should focus on thebiology and social use of Mungomu trees.
• Studies on other wild plants, inaccordance with community wishes, will further contribute to food security.
• In 2006, as part of a project onfood security and nutrition, the FAO is carrying out a micro-project to producea machine for extracting the oil from Mungomu.