Chic African Culture Blog

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.

African Culture is World Heritage

Appreciate Africa through African art, food, proverb sayings, folklore, biographies, spirituality and African living history.

Guinea-Bissau is the 5th largest cashew nut producer

Guinea-Bissau is the world's fifth-largest cashew exporter behind India, Vietnam, Cote d'Ivoire, and Brazil and a major exporter of illegally logged African Rosewood. 

Cashew Nut Tree
Cashew Nut Tree

Cashew Nuts and Rosewood from Africa's Guinea-Bissau

Average daily consumption of the Guinea-Bissau people is .85 cents, which means the average amount of money people live on in Guinea-Bissau, is .85 cents per day. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on no more than $1.25 per day. It is not surprising to see a potentially profitable illegal logging of African Rosewood emerges in a society with such high levels of poverty.

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau exports cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn timber particularly illegal logging of African Rosewood. Guinea-Bissau is one of the world's biggest producers of cashew nuts, however; profitable illegal logging of African Rosewood caused a decrease in the price of cashews, which is Guinea-Bissau’s main export.

The country's vital cashew nut crop provides a meek living for most of Guinea-Bissau's farmers and is the main source of foreign exchange. During the March-May cashew nut harvesting season, nearly 80% of the country’s 1.6 million people are involved in cashew nut production. The country is the world's fifth-largest cashew exporter behind India, Vietnam, Cote d'Ivoire, and Brazil.

In November 2009 and August 2011 Gibson Guitar Corporation in Nashville was raided by agents with the Fish and Wildlife Service federal authorities for its alleged use of making guitars from illegally sourced endangered trees. Henry Juszkiewicz, the chairperson and the chief executive of Gibson Guitar stated, "The wood the government seized Wednesday, August 2011 is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier.”

Other Facts about Guinea-Bissau:

  • Portuguese is the official language of Guinea-Bissau

  • The median age 20 years old

  • Guinea-Bissau is slightly less than three times the size of US Connecticut

  • Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval.


Together we build awareness that boost harmony, education, and success, below are more links to articles you will find thought provoking.

  1. African Country Names Your Saying Wrong
  2. What do Waist Beads Symbolize in Africa?
  3. About African Healers and Witchdoctors
  4. Hurricanes are Angry African Ancestors
  5. Highest Temperature and Lowest Temperature in Africa
  6. About African Night Running


Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

This Week’s Best Posts and Pages

Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa

Image
African Country by Size List. Africa Which are the top twenty largest, smallest, and territorial country in Africa by land area? 1. The continent of Africa is the world’s second largest based on land area and population just after Asia. 2. Top five largest countries of Africa are Algeria, Congo Democratic Republic of the, Sudan, Libya and Chad. 3. Top five smallest African countries and territories are Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Saint Helena and Mayotte. African Country from largest to smallest Area sq mile Area sq km Algeria 919,595 2,381,740 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 905,568 2,345,410 Sudan 718,723 1,861,484 Libya 679,362 1,759,540 Chad 495,755 1,284,000 Niger 489,191 1,267,000 Angola 481,354 1,246,700 Mali 478,767 1,240,000 South Africa 471,011 1,219,912 Ethiopia 435,186 1,127,127 Mauritania 397,95
Learn More

Better Cooking With Shea Butter

Image
Womens Gold ▏Shea Butter Oil ▏ Cooking ▏ Shea butter is a multi purpose cooking oil when food grade oil is used in this baked mixed nut recipe. Using shea butter oil for cooking is healthy. Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. Shea Butter is rich in Vitamins A, D, E, and K and is high in essential fatty oleic, stearic, linoleic and palmitic acids. Shea Butter, also known as Women's Gold in Africa plays a very important role in cooking and earning living wages for millions of African women. Shea butter is a multi-purpose cooking oil when food grade oil is used in the recipe. It takes approximately 20 years for a tree to bear fruit and produce nuts, maturing on average at 45 years. Most trees will continue to produce nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity. Shea tree nuts Eight African countries produce high quantities of Shea nuts; they are in order Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Guinea.
Learn More

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

Image
How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali and
Learn More

Using Amen and Ashe or Ase

Image
Usage of Amen and Ashe or Ase Ashe to Amen learn about the custom of using the words Ashe and Amen historically. Where did the word Amen and Ashe come from why is it said and what does it mean? In Judaism, 3,500 years old and Christian religions 2,000 years old, Amen, means may it be so. In the African Yoruba language among the Yoruba people whose culture is as old as time, Ashe or Ase means may it be so. Ase or Ashe means power, commandment, and authority, the ability to make whatever one says happen from the spiritual to the physical realm. In the Yoruba language, Ashe is omnipresent spiritual energy. Followers of Judaism and Christian religions use the word Amen. It is the word utilized to end prayers as an affirmation for the requests to be provided by God. Yoruba is as old as time, Ashe refers to the life force within all living things, the spark that animates life. It is used as a term used in the same manner as Amen at the end of appeals and prayers as an affirmati
Learn More

African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

Support African History and Culture

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet are dedicated to discovering, collecting and sharing African history and heritage celebrating 14 years of service in 2021. Share and support in the pride of being part of an important cultural and educational resource.


Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

Chic African Culture

Be better than average and support African history and culture. Since 2008 Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet highlight Africa through her food and culture. Contact us culture1africangourmet@gmail.com

More LOVE from Africa to Read About

Tasting African History Through Street Food African proverbs are to speech what salt is to food What is a person from Africa called