Western Kenya’s Gusii region is famous for its carved soapstone products, and the native industry largely sustains the Gusii people. For a duration of eight months, this research involved field interviews to capture the economic conditions of and relationships among the people making a living off the soapstone sculpture industry. To understand the economic situation, 14 people who were engaged in the soapstone sculpture industry—carvers, polishers, decorators, shining workers, and suppliers—were interviewed about their daily income. Further, to evaluate the importance of this livelihood for the Gusii people, this research uses the case study of a decorator, his household account book, and daily activities and expenses. Analysis of the household account book reveals the actual income and expenditures incurred in this industry. Parallelly, this study focuses on the industry processes and close interactions and relationships between various industry professionals, as well as their relationships with customers. The participant observation and interviews indicated that the soapstone sculpture industry is based on diverse and subtle relationships, sometimes with mutual help and sometimes with dishonest responses and reluctance. It was found that these relationships of interdependence and engagement help the soapstone sculpture workers survive and the industry thrive.

The last national demographic and health survey in Uganda found that nearly two of every 10 women living in Kampala capital city and the surrounding urban areas in Mukono and Wakiso districts were obese. This study aimed to clarify how food consumption practices are indicated in the obesity of women in urban Uganda. Measurement of weight and height, interviews and intensive 7-day observation of 14 women in August and September of 2018 was complemented by interview data collected between February 2016 and September 2017 among 540 women. Results showed that the number of eating occasions was limited, the timing was later in the day, and both were irregular. This was associated with the difficulties in acquiring food, the time required to prepare a meal, and the chores women needed to accomplish. Daily energy intake varied from one day to the next, but the net average was high–2,430 kcal (SD = 694) and exceeded the daily energy requirements. Most of the energy came from the second main eating occasion and from large portions of the main staple foods and sauces. Perceptions of ideal food consumption practices, and of the drivers of food consumption practices, were influenced by long-standing habits in the individual homes and communities where they were brought up, and by the women’s past and present experiences of instability in food availability and access. Efforts to foster stability in food security across the life course could therefore be instrumental in neutralizing the sociocultural risk factors for obesity among women in urban Uganda.

The staple food of the Amhara people living in northern Ethiopia is generally described as lactic acid fermented flatbread (injera) made from teff (ṭef–Eragrostis tef). They eat injera every day; however, not all people consume teff all the time. The Amhara farmers described in this paper rely on finger millet (dagusa–Eleusine coracana) for their livelihoods. This study examined the value of staple cereals by demonstrating how people utilize them in their everyday lives. For them, the best ingredient for injera was teff, but this did not simply mean that finger millet was less valuable. Regarding alcoholic beverages as essential to village life, people considered finger millet the best starch source. The two types of local bread made from finger millet had different roles to that of injera. People’s values for each bread type were derived not only from its physical aspects, but also from the context in which it was served. When considering the value of cereal-based foods important to a group of people, both aspects of the cereal must be considered: as an ingredient of specific food items that can be made from a variety of cereals, and as a main ingredient used for various foods.

Malaria is nowadays recognized as one of the most deadly diseases in the world. Due to the increasing resistance of malaria protozoans to conventional drugs, traditional herbal medicine appears to be a possible solution. The present work aims at describing the knowledge of antimalarial treatment by the Baka people. Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted from January 24, 2019, to January 25, 2021, among 207 Baka informants in the East and South Regions of Cameroon. A total of 925 citations and 204 recipes were recorded, involving 119 plant species, distributed in 108 genera and 45 families. The most cited families were Apocynaceae, Annonaceae, and Solanaceae. Remedies were predominantly made from stem bark of plants (68.1% of the total citations) and prepared by boiling (46.6% of the total citations). Based on the use agreement value (UAV) and spatial use convergence (SUC), uses of Alstonia boonei, Capsicum frutescens, Picralima nitida, Annickia affinis, Drypetes gossweileri, Diospyros crassiflora, and Cylicodiscus gabunensis, for antimalarial treatment were prevalent in the study sites. However, 98 species out of 119 were cited only by five informants or less out of 207, and 51 species were cited only by one informant. These results suggest that the Baka share major medicinal plants for antimalarial treatment on the one hand, and individuals are always attempting new plants for the treatment on the other hand.