Latest articles

Ngalawa boats at Zanzibar
Ngalawa boats are extended log boats with double outriggers and lateen sails used by artisanal…

Spearing of African blue swimming crabs
Africanan blue swimming crabs (Portunus segnis) are speared by beachcombers in the lagoons of Zanzibar.…

Conch collection in the lagoons of Zanzibar
Humpbacked conch shells (Gibberulus gibberulus) are true conchs based on the type species Strombus gibberulus.…
Our topics

Creating fire with a magnifying glass
A magnifying glass has been used to start fires since ancient times. Greek and Roman writers recorded the use of…

Water disinfection by UV-rays from the sun
One method of disinfecting water from biological hazards is utilizing UV rays from the sun, known as SODIS (Solar Disinfection).…

Top 10 rare snakes of Southern Africa
We often get asked what the rarest snakes in southern Africa are. This is hard to quantify, as some species…

Stingless bee honey collected by Hadza people
The Hadzabe people eagerly collect stingless bee honey all year long. They do this destructively by cutting open the hives…

Dema fish traps in Zanzibar
Large basket fish traps, with a hexagonal shape and one inverted end, are typically used in Zanzibar and are called…

Bamboo rat for dinner
Bamboo rats are a common rodent in bamboo thickets in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam. Hmong tribal people in remote…

Fruits eaten by Hadzabe people
Besides honey, meat, Baobab fruits, and tubers, berries are one of the significant food classes that the Hadzabe people eat.…

Spearing of African blue swimming crabs
Africanan blue swimming crabs (Portunus segnis) are speared by beachcombers in the lagoons of Zanzibar. These crabs, however, are not…

Datoga huts
The Datoga are pastoralist people living in various regions of northern Tanzania. Their estimated population is about 30,000. One of…

Determining cardinal points by trees
Determining cardinal points by trees in Southern African savannas (Southern Hemisphere) is a standard procedure. It is helpful in case…

Ngalawa boats at Zanzibar
Ngalawa boats are extended log boats with double outriggers and lateen sails used by artisanal fishers on the East African…

Datoga spears
Datoga spears have a long history but were replaced for hunting by bows and arrows in modern times. Nowadays, their…

White Ginger Lily for cleaning hands
White Ginger Lily (Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig) belongs to the Zingiberaceae (Ginger) botanical family. Mentawai people use the crushed stem…

Red-tailed pipe snake
The ‘Red-tailed pipe snake’ (Cylindrophis ruffus) was recently renamed ‘Jodi’s pipe snake’ (Cylindrophis jodiae), which we are talking about here.…