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Ngomongo Villages
Ngomongo Villages is a well-known sustainable eco-cultural tourist village in Mombasa, Kenya, which is situated 4° south of the equator. It is situated in a former coral limestone quarry, and the aim of its rehabilitation was to convert it into a sustainable development, while turning it into hospitable land with utility to community, while eliminating its hazards and improving the ecosystem. The legacy of the former mine was a sun baked, arid, barren and rocky base, the floor of which was barely above the somewhat salty water table. Dr. Frederick Gikandi, a local medical doctor started single-handedly to reclaim the quarry by planting of eighty different indigenous trees; casuarina trees later followed which were easier to cultivate. Public awareness to tree planting was raised by inviting the public to join in the reclamation process. To date, Ngomongo is fanning out its reclamation exercises to the surrounding farms by recruiting the local farmers into planting trees to mark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eco-tourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s, ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavor by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Ecotourism may focus on educating travelers on local environments and natural surroundings with an eye to ecological conservation. Some include in the definition of ecotourism the effort to produce economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources financially possible. Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components of the natura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mombasa Island
Mombasa Island is a coral outcrop located on Kenya's coast on the Indian Ocean, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Part of the city of Mombasa is located on the island, including the Old Town. History The old town of Mombasa is located at the eastern, seaward end of the island. Kilindini and Port Reitz, the modern deepwater harbour and port separates the island from the Kenyan mainland to the south. The old harbour, which is named Port Tudor and guarded by Fort Jesus, and Tudor Creek separate the island from the northern mainland. Modern residential sprawl and industrial areas now occupy the rest of the island. Mombasa is linked to the mainland by the Makupa Causeway to the northwest, by the Nyali Bridge to the east and by the Likoni Ferry to the south. A road and rail bridge also serve the mainland container port near Port Reitz. Port Tudor and Tudor Creek were named by Owen Tudor the Royal Navy captain who first surveyed the area. Geography Mombasa Island ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weevils
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). It also includes bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the biscuit weevil (''Stegobium paniceum''), which belongs to the family Ptinidae. Many weevils are considered pests because of their ability to damage and kill crops. The grain or wheat weevil (''Sitophilus granarius'') damages stored grain, as does the maize weevil (''Sitophilus zeamais'') among others. The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') attacks cotton crops; it lays its eggs inside cotton bolls and the larvae eat their way out. Other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akamba
The Kamba or Akamba (sometimes called Wakamba) people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called ''Ukambani'' and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties. Origin The Kamba are of Bantu origin.Joseph Bindloss, Tom Parkinson, Matt Fletcher, ''Lonely Planet Kenya'', (Lonely Planet: 2003), p.35. They are closely related in language and culture to the Kikuyu, the Embu, the Mbeere and the Meru, and to some extent relate closely to the Digo and the Giriama of the Kenyan coast. Kambas are concentrated in the lowlands of southeast Kenya from the vicinity of Mount Kenya to the coast. The first group of Kamba people settled in the present-day Mbooni Hills in the Machakos District of Kenya in the second half of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kigelia
''Kigelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. The genus consists of only one species, ''Kigelia africana'', which occurs throughout tropical Africa. The so-called sausage tree grows a poisonous fruit that is up to long, weighs about , and resembles a sausage in a casing. Etymology The genus name comes from the Mozambican Bantu name, ''kigeli-keia'', while the common names sausage tree and cucumber tree refer to the long, sausage-like fruit. Its name in Afrikaans ''worsboom'' also means sausage tree, and its Arabic name means "the father of kit-bags". Description It is a tree growing up to tall and it typically has spreading branches. The bark is grey and smooth at first, peeling on older trees. It can be as thick as on a diameter branch. The wood is pale brown or yellowish, undifferentiated and not prone to cracking. Foliage The tree is evergreen where rainfall occurs throughout the year, but deciduous where there is a long dry season. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asia since ancient times resulting in two types of modern mango cultivars: the "Indian type" and the "Southeast Asian type". Other species in the genus ''Mangifera'' also produce edible fruits that are also called "mangoes", the majority of which are found in the Malesian ecoregion. Worldwide, there are several hundred cultivars of mango. Depending on the cultivar, mango fruit varies in size, shape, sweetness, skin color, and flesh color which may be pale yellow, gold, green, or orange. Mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines, while the mango tree is the national tree of Bangladesh. Etymology The English word ''mango'' (plural "mangoes" or "mangos") originated in the 16th century from the Por ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut. The name comes from the old Portuguese word '' coco'', meaning "head" or "skull", after the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features. They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics. The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials, among many other uses. The inner flesh of the mature seed, as well as the coconut milk extracted from it, form a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are distinct from other fruits because their endosperm contains a large quantity of clear liquid, called ''coconut water'' or ''coconut juice''. Mature, ripe coconut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 8 Jul 2020 http://www.tropicos.org The trees have also been introduced to other regions such as Asia. The generic name honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described ''Adansonia digitata''. The baobab is also known as the "upside down tree", a name that originates from several myths. They are among the most long-lived of vascular plantsAdrian Patrut et al. (2018) The demise of the largest and oldest African baobabs. Nature Plants 4: 423–426. DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0170-5 and have large flowers that are reproductive for a maximum of 15 hours.Baum, D.A., 1995, A Systematic Revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1995, Vol. 82, No. 3 (1995), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neem
''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Africa. It is typically grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Neem trees also grow on islands in southern Iran. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil. Description Neem is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of , and rarely . It is deciduous, shedding many of its leaves during the dry winter months. The branches are wide and spreading. The fairly dense crown is roundish and may reach a diameter of . The neem tree is similar in appearance to its relative, the chinaberry (''Melia azedarach''). The opposite, pinnate leaves are long, with 20 to 30 medium to dark green leaflets about long. The terminal leaflet often is missing. The petioles are short. White and fragrant flowers are arranged in more-or-less drooping a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Latin word for "earth" or "ground". In agriculture, "humus" sometimes also is used to describe mature or natural compost extracted from a woodland or other spontaneous source for use as a soil conditioner. It is also used to describe a topsoil horizon that contains organic matter (''humus type'', ''humus form'', or ''humus profile''). Humus has many nutrients that improve the health of soil, nitrogen being the most important. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) of humus commonly ranges between eight and fifteen with the median being about twelve. It also significantly affects the bulk density of soil. Humus is amorphous and lacks the "cellular cake structure characteristic of plants, micro-organisms or animals". Description The primary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millipede
Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from the Latin for "thousand feet", no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery of ''Eumillipes persephone'', which can have over 1,300 legs. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Most millipedes are slow-moving detritivores, eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter. Some eat fungi or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salinity
Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal to ‰). Salinity is an important factor in determining many aspects of the chemistry of natural waters and of biological processes within it, and is a thermodynamic state variable that, along with temperature and pressure, governs physical characteristics like the density and heat capacity of the water. A contour line of constant salinity is called an ''isohaline'', or sometimes ''isohale''. Definitions Salinity in rivers, lakes, and the ocean is conceptually simple, but technically challenging to define and measure precisely. Conceptually the salinity is the quantity of dissolved salt content of the water. Salts are compounds like sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and sodium bicarbonate which dissolve into ions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
