Let's talk about Baobab The whole reason why
I decided to come to Madagascar was in order to see the Avenue of the Baobabs Long ago, I saw a photo of this place online
and it was so beautiful that I actually thought that the photo was fake This site has been on my bucket list for years now And I was really excited to get a chance to see it This place is located way out in the western part of the country and we flew into the east So, during my entire Trip in Madagascar I was slowly inching my way to the final destination The Avenue of the Baobabs So, I'm in Morondava right now The area is very divided So you'll see like grass shacks,
you probably see some of them But people are like living and like selling stuff
right next to like a big hotel So, there's a big hotel right behind me I feel like this was like a very rural area and then they made touristy So you have like locals living a very simple life But then you have like these beach bungalows
and like big hotels and stuff We are not typical tourists, we do not like the beach, you know? Our driver, he will try to take us to a beach bungalow
and we're like, we don't give a shit like, we don't care We're here for fruit. We're fruit nerds, not beach nerds About the reason why we're here, is that here is where the... - Hello
- Hello ...this is where the Avenue of the Baobabs is Which is like the iconic site of Madagascar This was a few occasions where... a fruit hunting destination is also
a major tourist destination at the same time So we're going to a very touristy place in order to see a site that we really want to see, because it's a really cool fruit destination as well as just like a destination for the country So we're at a Baobab shop We are going to buy some Baobabs These big ones here are 1000 Arianny, which is 30 cents I think some of them are different species We just don't know which ones are which So, we're just gonna get some,
I guess randomly... and try them This is the Baobab Check it out This is a very Interesting looking fruit and a very interesting looking tree These fruits have very long stems on them and when they hang from the tree,
they have a very bizarre appearance In Australia they call these, Dead Rat Fruits Because it looks kind of like a dead rat hanging It's a very hard shell with a very
velvety soft layer on the outside This feels like like having like a little pet It's kind of, it's kind of nice The shell on this is relatively thin At least on this variety There are some varieties with thicker shells And those, does take a lot of effort to open You might wanna crack it on something This one, let's see if I can do it without... What's just my hands? Yeah, just like that And there it is. There's the inside Very very white on the inside, very very dry This is a fruit that dehydrates when it's ripe So, this is never juicy You know, when you want to eat it,
you don't want this to be, uh... You don't want this to be wet inside at all You want it to be a nice white color
and very powdery, like it is here When these get a little too ripe, they start turning brown,
they might get moldy on the inside So, here's one little clump Just a little bit of flesh surrounding the seed And how you eat this is that, you... First you suck on it You can get that flesh off Now everybody likes this fruit But, I actually like it a lot It tastes like a little bit like yogurt and a little bit sour, like lemons Some people say it tastes like tamarind Neh! I don't really agree with that The seeds on the inside are quite small... and brown This particular variety has soft seeds,
where you can actually bite through it Other varieties they're very hard and you need to crack it with a hammer if you want to eat it It's got a little white kernel on the inside The shell, around the kernel, is quite tough So, I don't like... I think you can eat it There's nothing wrong with it But, you can't taste like nut shell, you know? So, I'm gonna just get rid of that And with the kernel inside tastes like to me
like Brazil nuts A nice fattening sort of nut flavor Like a little bit of like, uh... Acid sort of flavor the way that Brazil nuts have,
you know? Some people say Brazil nuts have like
a little bit of a vomit flavor Which I don't really think that they do,
but I get it There's like a little bit of a sourness to a Brazil nut
that you wouldn't get from another kind of nut So if you don't like Brazil nut, you probably won't like this The nut flavor is really really good The fruit flavor is really really good But, they're good separately If you just eat this whole thing like on its own Mix all flavor together It's not very tasty They don't go These are very useful.
You can do a lot of things with the Baobab The flesh on this, people will crush it
with a mortar and pestle And they'll take that powder
and they'll make a juice out of it It does have the, uh... lemony yogurty flavor to it What's interesting about it, is it's not like a very, uh... full flavor Like pear juice, or... like coconut water Not in the flavour so much But, it has like that kind of like, very like base,
like flat kind of flavor It's not like bold or sharp It's just kind of like a mild drink I say the sourness on this is like... it get two out of ten Sweetness is still quite low but, it seems like they added like a little bit of sugar So, it's like maybe like a 3 out of 10 for sweetness This is something I would get if I wanted like that replacement for water,
you know? Like instead of having like lemon water,
you can have like Baobab water Baobab seeds Those, that can be eaten raw on their own They could be roast and lightly
and be eaten like... like a peanut basically Or you could roast them a little bit further and you can grind them and make a
coffee substitute out of it And it's actually a pretty convincing coffee substitute Not exactly like coffee, but close enough It does have like a similar enough flavor
where you could do that The shell on this is also useful You can, uh... use this as a vessel, you know? You can make cups out of it or bowls I made some incense holders
out of some that I've had in the past I've seen people selling Baobab with like
carvings on the outside Those are kind of cool A nightmare to take through customs.
But, you know? They do it because people sell them
in like souvenirs shops around here The tree is incredibly useful as well They hold like a lot of water They could hold over
32 thousands gallons of water actually And people tap it for water source So, this tree here actually has some... recent damage done to it You see this is not healed over at all This is... That is the inside of the Baobab I mean. It's tragic to see this But, it does outline one thing is that sponginess inside Because this is like very... flaky... skin You can see that, like if I wanted to I could peel that probably
with my fingers and scratch out a big chunk of it The bark is used... That's when I go into complaints here... ...already You see like all the bark is missing People tear the bark off I wish you saw it for sale in the market There we have Baobab bark here We're not sure exactly what people do with it But, it's for sale at the market - Steven says that it's used for alcohol, he's heard? - Yeah. That's what Nero was saying - Eric's... hypothesis?
- I thought it was to make... fire, maybe? - To make fire?
- For charcoal - For charcoal?
- Yes - Like kindling?
- Yeah. kindling - Me. I think people just are trying to sell it
because it's cool I don't know. Who knows? So, people use the bark for something And, is not good for the tree to do that It's not gonna kill the tree But it's not healthy, you know? These trees are very fragile And that is, uh... not cool - So, you just found this on the ground - Yeah - You think this is what they're using
to strip the bark off? - Yeah - Yeah. Just like a sharp piece of metal here Well... I'm gonna make it more difficult
for the next person Yeah Sad man. Very sad The trees are can be very very big,
as well There are some places around the world that have found very interesting uses for the trees This is the largest tree... that's nearby the Avenue of Baobabs And still fairly small as far as Baobabs go - Steven said that you've actually been to a
Baobab tree in South Africa that was... how big? - Uh... I mean... there's a couple hundred feet long - That's big
- It had a... It had a bar and restaurant inside
that sat seventeen people - That's big. That's very big In another country. I forget wich...
another African country. I forget which one There is a tree known as the Leper Tree
It was growing in a leper colony Whenever someone would die from leprosy,
they would chuck the bodies in So, you can go to this tree and it's just like
full of all these bones I kinda want to go there, but I think it might give me
nightmares for the rest of my life But, you know? That's nothing new You know, there's some that have a decent hole in it So people can put stuff in it,
if they so chose This Baobab has a little hole in it And it's like totally big enough... to go inside But I'm kinda terrified of it because,
I'm imagining that people just like pee in here I mean... I would We rented a car. I've been driving around the country And I just like had on these Baobabs
the whole way eating it as like a road snack And it was just kinda like the perfect kind of thing Like if you want something sweet
or if you want something savory, You just like want... something it's like also nutritious,
you know? Like a nutritious snack while you're going Like, his is kind of perfect for that I put it in the pocket behind the seat and
just kind of been like picking at it for the past few days.
And, uh... Getting like a little bit sick of it now But, I think it's just something that I'm probably
gonna miss when I get back home These are very tricky to find outside of, uh... Africa and Australia... A few people who grow it I think in...
California and Florida It's not gonna be anytime soon where you start seeing this at markets, unfortunately Even in Madagascar, this is pretty hard to find.
Only really saw this in the West So, here we are at the Avenue of the Baobabs And... Oh my god! This is like a painting It doesn't even look real And on the side of the road there's like
Baobab vendors Selling the fruit And, uh... Little refreshments and such "Salama..." [Vendors] They all want us to buy their stuff But... Yeah Holly crap! So, this feels very surreal right now walking down the Avenue of the Baobabs After... just seeing... photos of it for so long This place is actually... Very very touristy Like we've been seeing tourists everywhere But they all come here on tour groups
for the most part And they all want to come here at sunset Right now we're alone I mean, there's locals here, but that's it There's not one other foreigner here If you come here during the day It's probably the best way if you want it to yourself If you want to get the sunset,
you get like that cool red color Come here for sunset I'm sure it's gonna be amazing For us though, we wanted not to get that We wanted to... you kown? Look at it
the more like the scientific aspect of it So, we came during the day So, fun facts about Baobabs Here it's cotton Cotton is related to Baobabs I've never seen cotton plant up close - It's a fruit, right? Eat it - You really want me to? - No. Hehehe! It's cool What are some other things that are related to Baobabs? - Uh... Okra - Okra? That's one. Same family. Right? - Mm-hm - And you said Durian? - Durian is. And so is, uh... Theobroma
Or uh... - Cacao?
- Cacao - Yeap
- And so is Kola Nut - Kola Nut! Which we have So, Baobabs are related to a lot of things So, fun fact about Baobabs is,
you see this bat here? This is known as a "popo" And it is a bat that really loves the Baobab fruit And it's one of the pollinators
of the Baobab trees So... It's not... not pollinated by bees, or flies, or lizards It is pollinated by a bat That's pretty hardcore Here are some more fun facts Some of the Baobab trees in this area are actually over... 800 years old Some people refer to the Baobab tree as the,
Upside Down tree? That's because the tops of it kind of look like roots Arabic sailors that came to this area
about a thousand years ago Actually, thought that these trees were
the product of the devil And the reason why they look the way that they do Is because the devil pulled all the trees
out of the ground, turn them upside down, and then shove them back into the earth Right. We're walking to the big one This one might actually be bigger
than the last one we saw Wow! I don't know if this one is bigger,
but it is very interesting looking Because it's like tapered at the top
and wider at the bottom It's got this bizarre shape It looks kinda like a bonsai tree So there's a little Tamarind tree And some people say that Baobab
actually tastes like Tamarind I don't think it does But, Tamarind and Baobab apparently do get along Ugh! Those big chunks taken out of it
just kind of like break my heart But... This tree is gorgeous I wana do like a selfie But, these trees are just so freaking big I can't even fit it in I almost wonder if like people climb this thing But these are like holes that holds on to This like... looks like a rock-climbing wall And my fingers fit in there perfectly Like I could climb this if I wanted to What? Look at that! It's a handle That is a total handle Look at that That cannot be an accident Somebody... climbed this I think I mentioned it. So now I have to do it, right? So... Argh! Let's climb the tree I'm not going to go very far because
if I fall I break my head open But... That can be climbed I'm developing a conspiracy theory That somebody climbed this thing
to get those Tamarind pods or.. Maybe they're just something They might just been a jerk. I don't know - Do you want to climb it? - Al right. You know? - You're supposed to say no, hell no.
You're crazy - I can't go up as far as you, though - This is total faddy, by the way We are like... Insulting the entire country by doing this. I'm sorry I mean... that's a graceful I didn't even like... think about that while I was doing it So, if that is faddy, I do apologize - Ok. As I'm climbing it you say it - Yo yo! Yo dit it. Al the way to top It's a shame that I couldn't recorded the whole thing.
My battery died But, you made it all the way those top... branches there But there's no fruit up there, huh? - Not that I can see
- All right These trees have tags on them Somebody's like keeping track of of all the trees here There's also... painted ones Which is good, you know?
They're counted them. you know? So if somebody were to chop down with these trees, as apparently they've been trying to do Then, uh... you know about it Well everyone It's time to acknowledge
the elephant in the room I built up Madagascar in my mind as this beautiful, lush place, full of incredible plants From the moment we walked off the plane It was like getting a bucket of cold water thrown at us The entire country is... Devastated by deforestation And that reality became more and more sobering As we slowly made our way
to the Avenue of the Baobabs This iconic image of Madagascar And what seemed to be... such a symbol of plant diversity Ended up being the most tragic crescendo
of what we were seeing on this trip We just like walk the whole distance. It's not that far That's the last tree and then it There's a huge stretch with none and you see like a couple,
further on in the distance there From one end to the other
it took me five minutes to walk Although we're in Baobab Avenue
all around there're Baobabs There's kids running this It's beautiful here but like... Yeah, the Baobabs go on into the distance and you see them like all over the place here They're peppered through It's just like, isolated tree like Baobab and then...
you go like a hundred feet and there's another one like there, they're very spaced out And the reason for that, is that people cut them down This used to be like a huge forest of Baobab And people just like... cut them the hell out Now I try not to make this channel like
too preachy, or political or anything like that It's all about just like eating fruit But, it is shocking how bad
the deforestation is in Madagascar It's like horrific And we drove from like one end, all the way the other And the entire way... you just see... landscape of nothing. Or it's... or farms But, it used to be all forest And what the locals do is they cut down
the trees like everywhere In order to make charcoal out of Eric is buying charcoal It's a big gigantic back They're loading it up on the top of the truck van For you? I'm just getting the bag. Yeah - So, one of those big bags costs, how much Eric? - 10,000 Ariany Ten thousand? So, it's like three dollars - But in the capital it's 50,000 Ariany - Fifty?. Oh, Ok
- Yes. Yeah And the 80% of Malagasy people is, uh... cook, uh... ...charcoal - Yeah
- ... charcoal - Most people use it?
- Most the people, yeah - So, you just bought like four bags
- Yeah - How long will four bags last you? - Four bags is around, uh... four months - For months? Ok. So one bag of month? - One bag a month. Yeah
- Ok You can't be too mad at the locals for doing this. Because, they don't have much choice People out on this villages don't have a lot of options in order to make money There are a few places where you can see
other things for sale like bricks or mangoes But, in a country where electricity is scarce People need charcoal in order to get by So, it's very common to see roadside vendors like this because, they need some sort
of income and this is accessible It's not like an evil industry It's not like palm oil in Indonesia or anything This is all local Like it's really kind of tragic seeing it All around me would have been this huge... freaking forest of these gigantic amazing trees But, now all you see are these like isolated trees Separated out like this So, it's only like a small shadow
of like what it used to be Augh!!! I'm...
I feel like so weird inside Because, I'm like... I'm enchanted Like I'm running around through here and I'm having such a great time These trees are beautiful looking and just seeing these up close after only seeing... photos for so long Is, uh... It's absolutely breathtaking But, at the same time I'm sad And it's really promising, though.
Because, there are efforts now It seems to regrow some of the Baobabs So these things here. Walking in originally Pass them off as being garbage bins of some kind But, actually, it's a far more beautiful than garbage In here are... little baby Baobab trees Aww! This is from february 2017 Look at that That's what the Baobab tree looks like After... nearly two years, right? As I film this it's November of 2018 Look at that. Look at that Almost two years of growth and that's what you get Little baby. Little baby Baobab Still adorable The side of the road here leading into
the Avenue of the Baobabs is... somewhere where they're growing little seedlings They have like a different species This is Grandidieri? And... Over here is another one.
Rubrostipa? So, that's really cool I think there's a lot that can be done... to help this. And... hopelly that's what this means This little trees are like just one step in that direction Where pretty soon Madagascar will have... all of his forest back Because right now, it's... I don't konw Is a very conflicted place to be It's absolutely beautiful But, also... argh! Really hard to see, at the same time This is the worst deforestation that I've seen and I've been to twenty one countries Steven was saying this is worse that he's seen and he's been to like over fifty So, it's uh... yeah It's a lot to take it Junnot, you are an idiot Rita Tapaka, screw you Nad, you... You're nad. Don't even need to try it for that one Saloni... you're, uh... dumb Can't even have enough insults for everybody.
There's just like too many... Look at this s***. This is terrible! This looks more graffiti than
the subways in New York City and that is a bold statement This tree is cool-looking cuz it got these... big trunk here and then these two little ones coming off the side of it But it just makes me like instantly sad Because look at all that graffiti
all over the whole damn thing - Someone hammered here - And then also they stripped off all the bark and... they hammered it too? - Yeah. It seems someone anchored it - They hammered like spikes into it Why you just piss on it, and spit on it Ugh! It makes me so mad I come all the way from the other side of the world
to look at these trees and all these people... their stupid name on it. Like they're important - This country has some of the richest... amount of native species
and ????ism of anywhere in the world and this tree, right? Here is an example of, you know? This trees been stunted - And everybody's like burning their land Like what is bad with that? You're telling me about like soil erosion before? -Yeah. So, it causes alot of soil erosion You lose what's called the O Layer,
which is the layer of hummus, on the top And then you lose your A Layer and And, uh... A lot of the soils are heavily eroded and it causes
something called Desertification so it gets drier and drier and drier And when it does rain The rain just washes off You have mass movement or landslides And a general... decrease in the happiness of people because, there's not as much... they can't produce as much food on the land they have - It looks like a desert, as you're driving through But, we're not in a desert We were like in the mountains and it looks like a desert - If you look they've got like mango trees
and like papaya trees Is no need water or anything It's because it rains all the time It's a desert because everything's been
cut down, burned and then burned again and then they burn it again just for good measure - Yeah. And then it's just getting worse and worse... The soil is just like useless then - Yeah. The soil becomes useless We went through entire valleys
where's just is stumps everywhere And they're still trying to burn it - What is something that people can do at this point? - Well, they need to practice some
sustainable agricultural techniques Systems like Permaculture Planting trees that you can use afterwards,
instead of just... cutting them down, and cutting them down, and cutting them down and cutting them down, and cutting them down There doesn't really seem to be much of any
tree planting here Or... you know? Reuse of resources. That, you know? They could produce as much wood by letting that area grew a little longer,
get a little bigger And then cut it down You know? Instead of waiting till the trees this tall
than cutting it down and then burning it - I came here expecting... like just to be this like enchanted by everything and I mean, I am. But - It's a beautiful country But we've seen a lot less nature than I was expecting - Yeah
- And even when we went to Ranomafana... the forest we went to
wheren't even original forests we went through a forest of Guava trees - We came here expecting so much diversity. And there is. But It's going fast It's like it's being chopped down and burned up
like so fast here that, you know? It's I feel like, I'm happy them getting here when I am Because, I think we came here like ten years from now A lot of the things that we found
probably not gonna be here anymore - One of the good examples of that is with the Tapia fruit There's just one village And it's the only spot, along the entire road
where there was any Tapia trees left Because, they realized that
they can sell it for 11 cents a kilo and there's also supposed to be types of
mushrooms that live on of it, that are edible They make silk out of the the worms that live in it And there's this entire economy based on it Even then you can see the edges of it
are still burning down - Yeah. Even with that there there's only... such a small amount of it You know, even though there are some sad points... it is still great to experience the world
and see all the things out there Because if you don't go then, how are you gonna know? - Yeah.
- You know, uh... You know, you heard about
the burning of the rainforest And, you know... The palm plantations of Indonesia, Malaysia But, you don't really hear about
what's happened here in Madagascar You just hear about the Madagascar movie, and... they could have made a good point and, you know? Really helped Madagascar out But instead, you know? Showed a bunch cute lemurs - It's very striking to come to a place where I expected there to be so much diversity in the plant life And then being met like with this horrible problem Which I had no idea about I was expecting like lush rainforests everywhere and not like stuff like that People like... Crazy amounts of fruit everywhere
and there's quite a decent amount But Yeah, there's there's a lot that's lost So. Uhm! Anyway, I think this is probably the last video
of this trip to Madagascar So I hope that you learned something as I have And I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you next time Say bye Steven - Bye Steven - Oh!. Terrible And I just imagine all of these 1000 years from now just Just like towering in that Avenue over there That's a nice thought. That's like that happens Well, I really hope you enjoyed that video guys If you did, you may want to check out
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