Africa Imports African Business Blog

Baby Pierre

At Africa Imports, a percentage of the money we make goes towards supporting the Moukondo Orphanage in Congo. We pay for the cost of meals and expenses for about 200 orphan children. About 40 of these children live at the Moukondo orphanage; while the others only stay during the day. Here’s what a friend of ours who works with the orphanage said when she sent us this photo.

“This is Pierre (Peter) he has been at the Moukondo Orphanage for 3 weeks. His mother left him on the doorstep of a local clinic in the neighborhood. He is doing very well - he is gaining weight and loves any attention!!

Thank you for your faithful giving.”

So this is a thank you to you, because without the purchase of African-made products we wouldn’t be able to all help support this orphanage and children like Pierre. If you’d like to find out more about this orphanage and what we do in the Congo just Click Here.

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH:

Medgar Evers (1925-1963), field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was one of the first martyrs of the civil rights movement. Despite threats to his life, he continued working toward equal rights for all. He participated in many boycotts, desegregated the University of Mississippi, and continued to fight for equal rights among black and white university students. His death prompted President John Kennedy to ask Congress for a comprehensive civil-rights bill, which President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the following year.

Jojoba Oil

Many have heard of the benefits jojoba oil can give your skin, but what people don’t know is that you can also use jojoba oil to heal dry, cracked nails! It can also be used as a makeup remover and a lip balm, so be sure to keep a bottle of this multi-tasking oil handy.

Back to the point! How do you use jojoba oil to heal your nails?

Here’s how:

Step #1 - Identify splitting or peeling nails or nails with vertical ridges. Vertical nail separation or splitting indicates a lack of moisture or body oils flowing to the nails. It may also signal an aging process you can help combat using Jojoba oil.

Step #2 - Apply Jojoba oil to your nail plate and cuticle by placing oil droplets on the nail and massaging it.

Step #3 (Optional) - For even better conditioning apply a little vitamin E. Vitamin E will further condition your nails.

Step #4 - Treat your nails with Jojoba oil at least twice daily. Consider treating your nails more times a day if you routinely immerse your hands in water.

An extra tip: Keep your Jojoba oil in a bottle near the sink to apply it each time you wash your hands.

To get your own jojoba oil visit our Jojoba oil page. Find even more natural and African skin care treatments by visiting the Africa Imports web site.

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH:

Charles Drew

Charles Drew was an African American physician and medical researcher. He is most famous for inventing what we now call “blood banks”. His large-scale blood banks in early World War II saved thousands of lives of the Allied forces.

It was while earning earning his doctorate at Columbia in the late 1930s, that Drew conducted research into the properties and preservation of blood plasma. He soon developed efficient ways to process and store large quantities of blood plasma in “blood banks.” As the leading authority in the field, he organized and directed the blood-plasma programs of the United States and Great Britain in the early years of World War II, while also agitating the authorities to stop excluding the blood of blacks from plasma-supply networks. Drew resigned his official posts in 1942 after the armed forces ruled that the blood of blacks would be accepted but would have to be stored separately from that of whites. He then became a surgeon and professor of medicine at Freedmen’s Hospital, Washington, D.C., and Howard University (1942–50). He was fatally injured in an automobile accident in 1950.

“Love is that condition in the human spirit so profound that it allows me to survive, and better than that, to thrive with passion, compassion, and style.” - Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is a poet, writer and autobiographer. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adulthood experiences. With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou was heralded as a new kind of memoirist, one of the first African American women who was able to publicly discuss her personal life. She became recognized and highly respected as a spokesperson for black people and women.

Find more inspirational quotes by African Americans by Clicking Here.

Kente cloth comes in many different designs and shades

No fabric is more associated with Africa than the vibrant colors of kente cloth. This fabric is instantly identifiable to African culture, and therefore is a big hit during Black History Month. Native to the country of Ghana, kente cloth has a strong spiritual value. It is a royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance in Africa. Kente is called ‘the cloth of kings’ and over time the use of kente cloth has become more widespread.

Kente cloth is easily identified by its dazzling, multicolored patterns of lush colors, geometric shapes, and bold designs. Each color also has a symbolic meaning.

Black - Maturation, intensified spiritual energy
Blue - Peacefulness, harmony and love
Green - Vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, spiritual renewal
Gold - Royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity
Grey - Healing and cleansing rituals; associated with ash
Maroon - Mother earth; associated with healing
Pink - Feminine aspects of life; a mild, gentle aspect of red
Purple - Feminine aspects of life; usually worn by women
Red - Political and spiritual moods; bloodshed, sacrificial rites and death
Silver - Serenity, purity, joy; associated with the moon
White - Purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions
Yellow - Preciousness, royalty, wealth, and fertility

African legend has it that kente was first made by two friends who went hunting in a forest and found a spider making its web. The friends watched the spider for two days then returned home and implemented what they had seen.

You can find a huge selection of kente fabrics on the Africa Imports web site or by visiting our Kente Cloth Page.
You can also find many African garments including kente garments by Clicking Here.

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH:

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner was the first female black abolitionist. Sojourner Truth’s fight for the abolition of slavery, women’s rights, and her attempt to help former slaves, has made her a legend in American history.

Despite the scars of slavery and the inability to read, she was able to become a respected and influential public speaker and advocate for the oppressed.
Born in New York, Sojourner was sold several times before escaping to freedom with an infant daughter in 1827. She worked as a housekeeper, lived in a religious commune, and eventually became a traveling speaker and preacher.

She was a spirited evangelist who spoke out for women’s rights and against slavery. Her memoir The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (as told to author Olive Gilbert) was published in 1850 and helped establish her in the public mind. The next year, at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio, she gave her famous speech, “Ain’t I A Woman,” a short but stirring challenge to the notion that men were superior to women. During the Civil War she worked to support black Union soldiers, and after the war she continued to travel and preach on spiritual topics and as an advocate for the rights of blacks and women.

Noble Brocade Skirt Set

Celebrate Black History with styles straight from the Motherland. We’ve just added a huge selection of African and African inspired clothing to our web site so there are hundreds of choices for you to wear for all your Black History celebrations and events. Click Here to see the garment shown above, or Click Here to see our entire Clothing section for men and women.

Black Brocade Pleated Skirt Set from Senegal

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH:

A deacon in his Cleveland, Ohio Church and CEO of the Cleveland Chapter of the Red Cross, Steve Bullock became the first African American chief executive officer of the American Red Cross when he was asked to serve as Red Cross acting president in 1999. Today he continues to share his knowledge of selfless leadership to non-profit organizations around the world.

Add some African flavors to Black History Month with these tasty Ethiopian pancakes!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

- 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 2-1/2 cups warm water
- 4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Oil

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, add it to the flour, and mix well. Let the mixture stand at room temperature overnight. (In winter it takes 2 days to allow fermentation.)

2. Stir in the baking powder and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

3. Put about 1/2 teaspoon oil in large skillet, add about 1/2 cup of the batter, and fry over low heat for 1 or 2 minutes. When bubbles appear, cover the skillet for 15 seconds. Turn out the pancake to a dish. Prepare all the pancakes this way, frying on one side only.

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH:

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was a courageous civil rights lawyer during a time when racial segregation was the law of the land. At a time when most American society refused to extend equality to black people, Marshall astutely realized that one of the best ways to bring about change was through the legal system. Between 1938 and 1961, he presented more than 30 civil rights cases before the Supreme Court. He won 29 of them.

His most important case was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which ended segregation in public schools. Marshall challenged the doctrine, pointing out that “separate but equal” was just a myth disguising racism. He argued that if all students were indeed equal, then why was separation needed? The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Marshall went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history.

Find out more about Black History Month or African culture on the Africa Imports web site by Clicking Here.

Unity Handprint Wreath

Celebrate cultural unity with this easy-to-make handprint wreath. You can adjust the handprint colors for different occasions (for example, you may wish to use handprints in different shades of brown for Black History Month)

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

- Paint in various skin-tone colors. If you have brown, yellow, red and white you can mix your own colors. Children enjoy experimenting with mixing colors. Try these combinations
small amount of red + small amount of yellow + white
brown + white
yellow + small amount of brown

- Paper
- Scissors
- Glue

HOW TO MAKE YOUR WREATH:

Make between 9 and 12 handprints in various skin tone colors by dipping hand in paint and stamping it on the paper.

Let dry

Making the Dove: Trace your hand with the thumb extended and 4 fingers close together onto the center of a piece of white paper.

Glue on a beak from orange construction paper or draw one on with orange marker.

Draw on a wing and an eye with black pencil crayon or marker

Cut out the skin tone handprints and glue them together in a circle to form a wreath.

Glue the dove onto the back of the wreath (so the wreath acts like a picture frame). Trim the edges of the paper dove is on as necessary

In Honor of Black History Month:

Jack Johnson was the first ever black boxer to be the world heavyweight boxing champion. A dominating, powerful fighter, Johnson held the title for seven years, even as he was the target of constant, unrelenting racism, which often found its form in boxing promoters’ search for a “great white hope” to dethrone him. Johnson has recently garnered renewed attention thanks to Ken Burns’s 2005 documentary, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, based on the book by Geoffrey C. Ward.

Filtered Shea Butter

For years, Africa’s unfiltered, raw shea butter has been the best-selling product in our catalog. This February we just added the new filtered shea butter. What’s the difference? Filtered shea butter is manually pressed through clay pots and cheesecloth to make the butter creamier, less grainy, and to remove any natural impurities that sometimes are imparted to unfiltered shea butter.

Is there a difference in quality?

Absolutely not! The truth is, not everyone’s tastes are created equally, and some people like the unfiltered shea butter for its nutty/smoky scent and texture, while others opt for the filtered shea butter because of its smoother texture and lighter scent. Both butters will impart the same healing benefits. Our refined shea butter is filtered 100% naturally, while some other companies use chemicals to filter out the scent. The result is a butter that gives you all the incredible benefits of shea butter, with a smoother texture, lighter scent, and no graininess or natural impurities that sometimes come from the raw, unfiltered shea butter.

For businesss owners: If you put out a jar of unfiltered and a jar of filtered shea butter, you will probably have about half your customers who will prefer the unfiltered and half that will want the filtered. It’s all a difference in personal taste, but it’s nice to give your customers the option as many will strongly prefer one or the other.

Benefits of Shea Butter:
Supreme moisturization of skin for face or body
Does not clog pores
Clears stretch marks or scarring with regular use
Can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
Can be used as a diaper rash cream.
Is great for adult or infant eczema or psoriasis

To order the new filtered shea butter Click Here
For unrefined shea butter Click Here.

In Honor of Black History Month

Today we want to honor Charles Henry Turner. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner received a B.S. (1891) and M.S. (1892) from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. (1907) from the University of Chicago. A noted authority on the behavior of insects, he was the first researcher to prove that insects can hear.

Happy Black History Month! February is here, and this year there is so much to celebrate. From the accomplishments of our past heroes, to the continuing successes of modern Africans and African American’s.

Did You Know?

Garrett Morgan

The inventor of the traffic light was an African American? That’s right, in 1923 Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light. While many have heard of the great achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks, there are literally hundreds of others who have made incredible achievements in the world of civil rights, science, politics, the arts and more! Each day during Black History Month we will try to spotlight some more under-the-radar African American heroes.

Garrett Morgan not only invented the traffic light, but also the gas mask. The son of former slaves, Garrett Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky on March 4, 1877. His early childhood was spent attending school and working on the family farm with his brothers and sisters. He eventually went to work as a sewing machine repair man for a clothing manufacturer. He was extraordinarily skilled at fixing things and experimenting.

In 1907, Morgan opened his own sewing equipment and repair shop. It was the first of several businesses he would establish. In 1909, he expanded the enterprise to include a tailoring shop that employed 32 employees. On July 25, 1916, Garrett Morgan made national news for using his gas mask to rescue 32 men trapped during an explosion in an underground tunnel 250 feet beneath Lake Erie. After the rescue, Morgan’s company received requests from fire departments around the country who wished to purchase the new masks. The Morgan gas mask was later refined for use by U.S. Army during World War I. In 1914, Garrett Morgan was awarded a patent for a Safety Hood and Smoke Protector.

In 1923 Garrett Morgan invented the first traffic signal. The Morgan traffic signal was a T-shaped pole unit that featured three positions: Stop, Go and an all-directional stop position. This “third position” halted traffic in all directions to allow pedestrians to cross streets more safely. Shortly before his death in 1963, Garrett Morgan was awarded a citation for his traffic signal by the United States Government.

This month, and for the rest of the year, every time you see a traffic light remember that an African American put it there, and that this is just the beginning. Hopefully Black History Month turns into more than just a month, but a lifetime of appreciation and pride at what African American’s have done and will continue to accomplish.

To find out more about Black History Month just visit the Africa Imports web site or Click Here for more articles.

Booker T. Washington

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed. “ - Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was an American political leader, educator, orator and author. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Born into slavery, Booker T. Washington is best remembered for helping black Americans rise up from the economic slavery that held them down long after they were legally free citizens.

Find more inspirational African American Quotes by Clicking Here.