Meet the people who make a living by harvesting acacia gum

If you like marshmallows or M&M’s chocolate candies, then you’ve eaten acacia gum without even knowing it. Collected from the acacia tree, acacia gum is used in the food industry as a stabilizer, emulsifier and thickening agent. It is one of those environmentally friendly ingredients that are providing jobs for farmers in the Sahel region, mostly in Senegal and Sudan, even though large-scale production extends all the way to Somalia. In February 2019, TRUE Africa sent writer Zina Alfa to Dakar and Dahra in Senegal, so that she could visit the production facilities of Alland & Robert, a family-owned company that has become one of the world’s leading exporters of acacia gum. She produced this video after observing the local harvesting methods and supply chain process. Mostly, she interviewed Frédéric Alland, the CEO at Alland & Robert who happens to be a sixth-generation owner of the 135-year-old company.