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5.4.6 Wild foods and medicines
Wild foods and medicines are harvested by the majority of households in the study area. Although
this includes both rich and poor households, according to focus group discussions, poor households
tend to harvest more. Women from all types of households tend to harvest fruits and leaves for food,
whilst men also harvest medicinal plants.
Some 23 of the more common wild food plants used in the study area are listed in Table 5-29 (based
on focus group discussions). Only three of these come from the wetland, one of which (Tswii or water
lily) is highly important. Focus groups differed in their perception of the contribution of wetland versus
upland wild food plants, with estimates being in the range of 2-7%, apart from one group that claimed
it was 85% (Gumare). The latter is highly implausible, however.
Use of wild foods various through the year, mainly due to the availability of these foods, rather than a
particular period of household shortage of food or income. According to focus groups, fruits are
mainly harvested during March – July and December – January (Figure 5-1). Wild vegetables tend to
be harvested while they are available during December-January, during the rainy season (Figure 5-1).
The availability of wild foods from year to year is also strongly dependent on rainfall (Table 5-29).
% annual harvest
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
Sehitwa: fruits and roots
Maun: fruits
% annual harvest
60
50
40
30
20
10
Sejotwa: vegetables
Maun: vegetables
Gumare: wild foods
-
-
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Figure 5-1 Relative use of wild foods over the year
A few of the medicinal plants harvested by ordinary households are listed in Table 5-30. It should be
noted that the list harvested by traditional healers would be much longer, but a detailed study of
medicinal plant use was beyond the scope of this study. One of the six medicinal plants mentioned
was a wetland species, the remainder being obtained in the uplands. It was difficult to obtain a
reasonable assessment of value and availability in these groups.
The results of this study suggest that 53 – 65% of households in the study area harvested wild foods
in the past year. Not all households provided data on the amount of use, however. Based on the
data obtained, it is estimated that at least 75 tons of wild foods are harvested from the wetland per
year, with less than 20% of this being traded (Table 5-31). This yields a net private value of just under
P100 000 to households, though the value is very small at a household level (Table 5-31). In
comparison, over 200 tons are harvested from the uplands, with a similar proportion being sold (Table
5-32). Upland foods are worth some P1.3 million to households. Thus wetland foods contribute
about 7% of the value of wild foods.
Relatively few households harvested medicines, probably based primarily on household needs.
Indeed, most of the harvest is for own use, with only about 23% being sold. Medicinal plants are
worth in the order of P280 000 to households in the study area (Table 5-33). The contribution by
wetlands was not established and is expected to be smaller than for foods.
Many households in the study area use the fruits harvested together with sorghum to brew Kgadi beer
(Table 5-34). Those households that do produce beer do so on a regular basis and produce fairly
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