Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Tommy Trenchard

Sharing the revenue from South Africa’s roobios tea with the indigenous Khoisan people

8 minutes

South Africa’s Khoisan people have long been marginalised and landless. But now, a historic benefit-sharing agreement for the money generated by rooibos is offering a step in the right direction When Barend Salomo was a boy in South Africa’s Cederberg Mountains, his father would take him on walks through the rugged terrain to teach him about local flora and fauna. By the … [Read more...] about Sharing the revenue from South Africa’s roobios tea with the indigenous Khoisan people

How a simple treatment could end the misery of clubfoot for millions

9 minutes

A relatively simple treatment is changing the lives of children born with the common defect clubfoot When Patience Kanyangarara’s father saw his newborn baby’s contorted feet for the first time, he felt certain the child had been cursed. Otherwise entirely healthy, the baby’s feet were twisted inwards at right angles from the ankle, a sure sign, he thought, that her … [Read more...] about How a simple treatment could end the misery of clubfoot for millions

South African villages are being ravaged by illegal chrome mining

8 minutes

Industrial-scale illegal mining is destroying villages in South Africa and now accounts for ten per cent of all chrome produced by the country – the world’s biggest supplier of the ore, which is essential for stainless steel production Amid the din of heavy machinery, a dozen men and women wearing Wellington boots and balaclavas slowly pick their way along the edge of a … [Read more...] about South African villages are being ravaged by illegal chrome mining

Cambodia’s Tonlé Sap Lake is running out of fish

8 minutes

While a dwindling number of people continue to eke out a life fishing in Cambodia’s once bountiful Tonlé Sap lake, many more have been forced to leave for the sweatshops of nearby Phnom Penh or hard labour on plantations in Thailand It’s early morning in the village of Oakol on Cambodia’s Tonlé Sap lake and the chatter of children’s voices mingles with the rhythmic swish … [Read more...] about Cambodia’s Tonlé Sap Lake is running out of fish