Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

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.

Southwestern Morocco Making Argan Oil

Argan oil is used for cooking, making beauty products, and medicines throughout Africa's Morocco and the world. 

Argan Fruits Photo by Good Morning

The multipurpose argan tree is a very common tree native to southwestern Morocco. The trunk and branches of the tree are used for firewood, the leaves used to create medicine but the almond-sized fruits are the star of the show. The tree is prized for its fruits that contain kernels which are processed for their much-beloved oil.

Grinding Argan Seeds Photo by tomaszd

Argan oil is used much like olive oil, for cooking, beauty products, and medicines. Argan oil extraction is a difficult, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process. Berber women manually harvest the fruit between June and August, which are the hottest season in Morocco. Once the fruit is gathered it is left in the sun to dry for a few weeks. The Argan fruit covering dries out turning a brownish coffee color and the covering is now easy to remove extracting the prized oval shape seed.

Argania spinosa is the scientific name for the evergreen argan tree grown for its almond-shaped fruits that contain the highly esteemed seeds which contain the valued argan oil. In the past argan fruits were fed to goats, the nut recovered from the animal dung and the oil extracted from the seeds. However, presently in many areas, the argan fruit is gathered manually and the oil from the nut extracted by hand machines.

Did you know Goats love to climb the argan tree to eat the argan fruits

Goats are excellent climbers of the argan tree photo by Grand Parc Bordeaux France


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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.

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African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

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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.

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