Locals cash in on marula harvest
A bakkie meanders through the scorching late morning heat of the bushveld carrying more than a dozen white sacks filled to the brim with marula fruit.
Source: Wikipedia
Ludi Maganye and William Madiye have been up since 4am, scouring the bush around their village for the fruit. By 9am they had already filled up 19 bags, which were loaded onto the bakkie and taken to the production plant of Amarula Cream Liqueur in Phalaborwa, Limpopo.
The mid-summer months of January and March are harvest time for marula in the Lowveld, where the fruit grows in abundance in the bushes around the rural villages. The fruit they collect is weighed and sold to the company that produces internationally-renowned Amarula Cream liqueur.
The ingredients are then taken to Stellenbosch, Western Cape, for distillation.
This harvest season marks the time for residents like Maganye and Madiye to earn a living. "What this company is doing is really amazing. We are able to feed our families with the money we make from freely picking up marula fruit from the bush," said Maganye.
Amarula brand manager Lavish Mhlarhi said the marula tree holds a special place in local culture and folklore.
"The tree is known as the 'marriage tree' as most local couples prefer to get married under its shade.
"It is also believed that if a bride's lobola negotiations were held under this tree, the couple will have a prosperous marriage and be blessed with many children," explained Mhlarhi.
It is also believed to possess special powers to make couples fertile. Not only that, animals do get tipsy from overindulging in the ripe fruit.
Interesting marula facts:
- Elephants are quiet territorial with the marula trees as they can smell the ripe marulas from 30km away. At the end of the season, the elephants destroy the tree as it has nothing more to offer.
- A marula tree takes about 15 years to produce fruit and only female marula trees can produce fruit.
- The marula harvest season starts from mid-Jan to the end of March.
- The smoother the bark, the younger the tree.
- The marula tree only grows in sub-equatorial Africa.
Source: Sowetan
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