#10 Gus Le Breton - on influencing EU law, the challenges of processing wild-harvested fruit, the future power of baobab harvesters and the need for ‘courage, my son’
18 June 2024
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1 Guest Bio
2 Episode Description
3 Show Notes
4 Time Stamps
5 Transcript
1 Guest Bio
Gus Le Breton, widely known as the African Plant Hunter, is a distinguished botanist, entrepreneur and conservationist specializing in the diverse flora of Africa. With a deep passion for indigenous plants, Gus has spent decades exploring and documenting Africa's rich botanical heritage, focusing particularly on the medicinal and nutritional properties of native species.
As the Board Chair of the African Baobab Alliance, Gus Le Breton leads initiatives to promote and protect the iconic baobab tree, known for its extraordinary health benefits and ecological importance. Under his leadership, the Alliance fosters sustainable harvesting practices, supports local communities, and drives international awareness and market development for baobab products.
He is also on the board of Trustees of the FairWild Foundation, responsible for the the FairWild Standard. The standard ‘has 7 Principles and 24 Criteria addressing three themes: the ecological, socio-cultural and business requirements for sustainable wild collection’.
Gus' extensive knowledge and commitment to sustainable development have earned him recognition as a leading voice in the conservation of African plant life. Through his work, he continues to champion the economic potential of indigenous plants, aiming to create sustainable livelihoods while preserving Africa's natural biodiversity.
2 Episode Description
It is hard not to think of the Greek myth of Sisyphus when you listen to Gus Le Breton tell the unfolding story of the production and sale of the African indigenous baobab fruit. Much like the Greek king Sisyphus who was condemned by the Greek god Zeus to keep rolling a stone up a hill only to see it roll back down again when he reaches the top, Gus seems to face a new challenge just as he deals with an old one in this telling of his baobab tale.
At face value, this episode seems like an entrepreneur’s story of how to create and export an indigenous food. But it is so much more than that.
It is the open account of the struggles and successes of an almost 30-year journey to make the unique African baobabs (a keystone species of the planet) economically viable, in the hope that this can reduce poverty for its wild harvesters and lead to the long-term preservation of this ancient resource. It is also a masterclass in the details of what it takes to get to market, influence legislation and create demand for what nature has to offer, but many take for granted.
And unlike Sisyphus, Gus did manage to successfully push some big boulders over the hill, and also loves his work and does not see it as punishment, but his cautionary tale still holds. Perseverance is key.
A note on Sisyphus
In 1942 French writer Albert Camus used the myth of Sisyphus in his book with the same name ‘Le Mythe de Sisyphe’ to illustrate how absurd and meaningless life is. In it he marvels how futile the human need is to find meaning in one’s life, given the ‘unreasonable silence’ of the universe in response.
In a surprising twist however, Camus ends on an optimistic note, as satisfaction can be found in the task itself, and not in a short-term outcome. ‘The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.’ Camus writes. ‘One must imagine Sisyphus happy.’
3 Show Notes
00:00:53 Giants of Africa - The Little Big Baobab Book by Dr Sarah Venter
00:01:07 ‘The Panke Baobab in Zimbabwe, which had a circumference of 25.5 m (83 ft 7.9 in) and had nearly 400 m3 (14,126 cu ft) of wood and bark, was at least 2,450 (±40) years old when it collapsed and died in 2011. This not only makes it the oldest hardwood tree to be accurately measured but also the oldest known angiosperm (flowering plant).’
00:01:16 A guide to South Africa's biggest baobabs: The quest for quiet giants.
00:01:27 The Legend of the Upside-down Tree
00:01:35 A Savannah is a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees
00:01:46 The three-minute guide to the Boabab fruit
00:02:07 About Gus Le Breton
00:02:30 The African Plant Hunter Youtube channel
00:04:38 Traditional uses and local perspectives on baobab (Adansonia digitata) population structure by selected ethnic groups in northern Namibia and some modern uses
00:13:06 Beauty in Baobab: a pilot study of the safety and efficacy of Adansonia digitata seed oil
00:14:44 Safire is the Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources
00:15:46 'On behalf of this network, the French NGO CRIAA (later Phytotrade) commissioned specialist research into the properties of the oil. Through this process, MDA was alerted to the potentially high commercial value of marula oil as a cosmetic oil, giving scientific weight to the marketing claims regarding marula’s magical properties, also highlighting commercial potential in the pharmaceutical and food industries. This included the fact that the marula fruit contains up to four times the Vitamin C of oranges, and the oil has a range of properties that make it attractive to the cosmetics industry: Marula oil is naturally processed. This high-stability lipid is under research and development for the natural products and cosmetic sector.' in 'Bridging the Gap: A Strategy for the Commercialisation of Marula Products from the Wild: Creating Incomes for the Rural Poor’, 2001
00:16:23 Southern African Marula Oil Producers Network - no online presence found for the network, but they features in this interesting presentation: 1st Regional Workshop on Marula Sector Development, November 2019, by Cyril Lombard. Also worth a read; there's lots to learn in this pdf: ’Catalysing Market Development’ chapter 9
00:16:35 Marula Natural Products
00:16:53 Body Shop make-up made with marula oil
00:17:41 The Gods Must Be Crazy is a film by South African director Jamie Uys (1921-1996) that came under fire for its stereotypical portrayal of ‘Bushmen’, now referred to as San. In the film, a pilot carelessly throws a Coke glass bottle out the window, and it lands in the middle of a community of San in the Kalahari desert of Botswana. What unfolds is the effect that the one and only Coke bottle, symbolic for throwaway consumption culture, has on this nomadic community, depicted in the film as a group without any violence, crime, punishment or ownership. Read interviews with the director about the 1984 here and here to make up your own mind about some of the criticisms of the movie at the time.
00:21:35 EU Novel Foods Regulatory Framework. Also quite interesting, a short comparison of food regulations around the world. And, some European companies planning to launch in the US or Singapore before EU, because the approval process is quicker and more efficient.
00:21:55 A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a living plant, animal or microorganism that has been subjected to biotechnology. GMO developers use biotechnology to alter that living organism's fundamental characteristics. Biotechnology includes techniques such as using synthetic genetic sequences to change the organism's genetic material (i.e. DNA or RNA), or forcing the combination of very unrelated organisms that would not normally reproduce in nature.
00:26:06 Phytotrade Africa's aim is to create social and economic value through the sustainable use and conservation of southern African plant biodiversity.
00:26:45 The European Food Safety Authority is an agency of the European Union set up in 2002 to serve as an impartial source of scientific advice to risk managers and to communicate on risks associated with the food chain. We cooperate with interested parties to promote the coherence of EU scientific advice. We provide the scientific basis for laws and regulations to protect European consumers from food-related risks – from farm to fork.’
00:28:52 The European Food Safety Authority introduced a separate category of Novel Foods based on a traditional food
00:31:36 Wild harvested means the gathering of plants that have grown without human intervention. These ingredients are found in the wild, often in their native origin. Without resources like temperature control, fertilizers and pesticides, wild grown plants must use their own defences for survival. Read:
‘Thousands of consumer products around the world contain ingredients obtained from wild plants. Wild harvest accounts for some or all of the harvest of the majority of plant species in trade (between 60-90 percent). Wild-harvested plants often come from the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and many have been used traditionally or by local communities for generations. While these products have global markets and provide critical sources of income, they can also have deep ties to particular cultures and places.’ (Opening of Executive Summary)
00:32:42 The Fair Wild Foundation’s mission is 'to enable transformation of natural resource management and business practices to be ecologically, socially and economically sustainable throughout the value chains of wild-collected products. Our vision is a fair and wild world where biodiversity is conserved through sustainable harvesting; collectors, workers, and their communities are respected and treated fairly; and resilient businesses participate in responsible value chains'. Excerpt from the 2023 report on Fair Wild Standard.' Read the 2023 updated Fair Wild Standard.
00:34:12 ‘So you want to be a baobab processor?’Part 1: Understanding Your Market; Part 2: Powder Processing; Part 3: Oil Processing
00:40:44 African Baobab Alliance
00:41:17 Emerging research on the benefits of baobab
00:45:14 Amarula is a cream liqueur made from the marula fruit, and is sold in over 100 countries in the world.
00:48:26 Whitley Neill
Whitley Neill Gin is a premium gin brand crafted in small batches using a combination of traditional and exotic botanicals, including juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, cassia bark, orris root, and citrus peel, along with less common botanicals such as cape gooseberries and baobab fruit. One of the distinctive features of Whitley Neill Gin is its African-inspired botanicals.
00:51:48 The Acai palm is a species of palm tree cultivated for its fruit (acai berries), hearts of plam (a vegetable), leaves and trunk wood.
00:52:36 Check out ‘Revitalise’, which uses baobab puree in this smoothie
00:53:02 Look out fo this baobab Twinings superblend tea
00:53:38 'Baobab (Adansonia digitata L., Malvaceae) is a multi-purpose tree species native to Africa. Its fruit pulp of the African baobab has very high vitamin C content, fifteen times that of orange, and can be used in seasoning, as an appetizer and to make juices. Seeds contain appreciable quantities of crude protein, digestible carbohydrates and oil, whereas they have high levels of lysine, thiamine, Ca and Fe. They can be eaten fresh or dried, ground into flour and thus added to soups and stews. Processing eliminates a number of anti-nutritional factors present in the seed. Also, watch: Baobab’s superfruit, Africa’s gift to you
00:54:38 The science of superfoods: Really beneficial, or just marketing?
01:04:12 Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS)
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It entered into force on 12 October 2014. Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) refers to the way in which genetic resources may be accessed, and how the benefits that result from their use are shared between the people or countries using the resources (users) and the people or countries that provide them (providers).
01:09:38 The African Baobab Alliance
4 Time Stamps
00:00 Introduction to Baobab and Initial Reactions
00:38 Welcome to the African Optimist Podcast
00:51 The Baobab Tree: A Natural Marvel
02:06 Gus le Breton: The African Plant Hunter
03:52 Challenges in Commercializing Baobab
05:23 Early Efforts and Setbacks
07:11 The Struggle with Industrial Agriculture
10:31 The Journey to Market Baobab
20:16 Navigating Regulatory Hurdles
31:46 The Importance of Wild Harvesting
34:04 Processing Baobab: Challenges and Solutions
38:36 Challenges of Traditional Baobab Processing
39:43 Ensuring Quality and Standardization
40:35 Formation of the African Baobab Alliance
42:11 Collaboration vs. Competition
44:11 Creating Demand for Baobab
48:14 Marketing Challenges and Success Stories
54:37 The Superfood Debate
57:13 Importance of Research and Consumer Awareness
59:25 Fair Trade and Value Distribution
01:07:29 Future Prospects and Investor Insights
01:08:38 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
5 Transcript
More on Gus Le Breton
Website
Business
Gus is the Founding Partner of B'Ayoba,the only baobab producer in Africa to be Fair Wild-certified. He is also the Founding Partner of Katavi Botanicals, KAZA Natural Oils, Hutano Foods, River Brewing Co, Victoria Falls Distilling Co.
Videos
The African Plant Hunter Youtube channel
‘So you want to be a baobab processor?’:
Part 1: Understanding Your Market
Other Articles
Director's Report on the Wild Plants Dialogue, African Wildlife Economy Institute, 2022
Bridging the Gap: Phytotrade Africa's experience of the Certification of Natural Products, by Welford and Le Breton, Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 2012
Africa’s “forgotten” food crops key to support climate-resilient, healthy and profitable food systems, Food Ingredients Food, 2023
Baobab trees all come from Madagascar – new study reveals that their seeds and seedlings floated to mainland Africa and all the way to Australia, The Conversation, June 2024
How We Made it In Africa
This episode is featured on the online business publication How We Made it In Africa. Read all about it here.