Jori Lewis on the Wisdom and Resiliency of Africa’s Baobab Trees

Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging stories. Our podcast features exclusive interviews, narrated essays, stories and more.

In this narrated essay, Jori Lewis ventures out from her home in Dakar, Senegal, drawn to the wisdom and resiliency of Africa’s baobab trees: ancient arks of biodiversity that have migrated across the landscape, enduring for millennia. As many of the oldest trees have died and younger ones struggle to survive, Jori bears witness to these elders in a rapidly changing world.

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Jori Lewis writes about the environment and agriculture mostly from the Global South. In 2018, she received the prestigious Whiting Grant for Creative Nonfiction for her latest book, Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History. She is also a contributing editor at Adi Magazine, a literary magazine covering global politics. Jori splits her time between Illinois and Dakar, Senegal. 

Beth Moon is a photographer who is internationally recognized for her large-scale platinum prints. Her photographs are housed in collections around the world and have appeared in more than eighty solo and group exhibitions in the United States and internationally. Her books include: Baobab; Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time; Ancient Skies, Ancient Trees; and Between Earth and Sky.