Africa Factbook

South African food This is a traditional South African Apricot Potato Cake made from russet potatoes, mixed with fresh apricots and a mixture of spices. Apricot South African Potato Cake African Recipes by African Gourmet   Apricot South African Potato Cake is a delicious rich cake that gets its moist texture from Irish potatoes, cream and butter.  Prep time: 30 min Cook time: 20 min Total time: 50 min Ingredients 4 large russet potatoes 1 cup fresh apricots, chopped 2 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup cream 6 large eggs 1 cup sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups plain bread crumbs Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel and boil the potatoes then mash. Add cream, milk, salt and vanilla. Whip eggs with the sugar and blend slowly and uniformly into the potato mixture, add apricots. Butter an 8x8 baking dish, add 2 cups of breadcrumbs evenly and then add potato mixture. Cover with remaining bre

Giant African snail species are on the list of the 100 most harmful invasive alien species in the world, but the Giant African snail is easily adapted to life in regions outside its natural habitat and is considered one of the biggest land snails. Freakish Giant African snails live on all continents except Antarctica. Scientists consider the giant African snail, Lissachatina fulica, to be one of the most damaging snails in the world. It is known to eat at least 500 different types of plants, including breadfruit, cassava, cocoa, papaya, peanut, rubber, and most varieties of beans, peas, cucumbers, and melons. The shell is generally reddish-brown in color with weak yellowish vertical markings but coloration varies with environmental conditions and diet. A light coffee color is common. In Africa, from Morocco to Mozambique it lives along the edges of forests but can live on the banks of rivers and streams, shrublands, agricultural areas, plantations, gardens, wetlands and in v

Smiling faces in Africa African proverbs and quotes. A very ancient African method prescribed for sadness is smiling joyful laughter. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. The teeth are smiling but is the heart? Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine they see all day. Eritrean child smiles for the camera. The smile on my face doesn't mean my life is perfect, it just means I appreciate what I have and what God has blessed me with. Mursi girl in Omo, Ethiopia smiling. A smile confuses an approaching frown.   Ghana school boys smile. The world always looks brighter from behind a smile. Smiling village women from Ouagadougou, Kadiogo, Burkina Faso returning home from a community well with containers full of water. Cover your mouth when you cough. Never cover it when you smile. Sierra Leone smile. A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you’re at home. B

Things your ancestors want you to know. When somebody suddenly leaves you Regretful tears are shed over graves for words left unsaid. Ancestral spirits talk to you everyday guiding, protecting and soothing their loved ones. With loved ones who have died, you can not pick up the phone and communicate. By Chic African Culture We all want to feel comforted knowing that the spirits of our loved ones are attempting to connect with us. Our ancestors like to place things over and over again in our path that they what us to know. 15 messages the spirit of your ancestors want you to know. Take no notice of the stupid things people say. For a good appetite, there is no hard bread. Plenty breed pride. Two in distress makes sorrow less. You are suffering the consequences now. The person who is not patient cannot eat well-cooked dishes. If you heal the leg of a person, do not be surprised if he uses to run away from you. The one who does not ask doe

Africa's Urban Populations and Six Biggest Cities In Africa Six Biggest Cities In Africa Chic African Culture Africa's urban populations​ are booming, six of the 10 countries with the highest urbanization rates in the world in 2013 are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Six Biggest Cities In Africa Country City Population Nigeria Lagos 21 million Egypt Cairo 20.4 million Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa 13.3 million Angola Luanda 6.5 million Kenya Nairobi 3.5 million Somalia Mogadishu 2.1 million Africa's urban populations​ are booming By Chic African Culture Sub-Saharan Africa is urbanizing, but at lower levels of per capita GDP than other regions. Urban areas in Africa comprise 472 million people. That number will double over the next 25 years as more people are pushed to cities from the countrysid

ECOWAS Established on May 28, 1975, learn all about the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, History, 15 Members, and Core Policies. Economic Community of West African States founded in 1975 Headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture About the ECOWAS ECOWAS History Established on May 28, 1975 via the treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS is a 15-member regional group with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries.  The treaty of Lagos was originally touted as an economic initiative, but emerging political events led to its revision and therewith the expansion of scope and powers in 1993. The region’s cultural, linguistic and ecological diversity presents both opportunities and challenges for the integration process.  The longing to combine forces politically and economically has always been recognized as a step forward in the desire to engender co-prosperity in the area.

24 hours of Darkness There were regions across the African continent when the night lasted for more than 24 hours. Great storytelling of the short story began in Africa with the African folktale also known as African folklore. Folklore storytelling is the most ancient art form of the African Community. Just as someone expresses their ideas and the form of music, painting, dance and sculpture folklore takes the ideas of an ancient story and creates with words a picture that enchants the listener with a rich auditory environment. In Africa, in the earliest times before there were pictures or written words there was the African folktale. For centuries, stories were passed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. As Africans traveled across the African continent, they took their stories with them. In this African folklore short story, there were regions across the African continent when the night lasted for more than 24 hours. What is it like to live in a place with 24 h