In this episode, Sumayyah Sunmade Raji speaks to Lola Pedro, Trends Researcher and Founder of Premium Ògógóró Brand, Pedro’s Ògógóró about all things Palm Spirit. The Palm is an infinitely important cash crop across West Africa, and indeed, the entire continent. We dive into the controversial colonial history of this traditional spirit and its medicinal uses, palm tapping and distillation as a gendered practice, the impact of climate change on palm spirit production, and how Ògógóró acts a vehicle for Nigerians, and Africans at large, to talk about our identity.

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:51 - Reconstructing the African narrative, the Nigerian attitude to local products, ògógóró as a dirty word, the colonial history of ògógóró vs gin, ògógóró and its many aliases, the nollywood portrayal of ògógóró drinkers

16:49 - Bush distillation and the palm wine tapping process, the differences between palm wine and spirits, the cultural significance of ògógóró, local apothecaries, herbalist practices and ògógóró's medicinal uses

29:45 - Palm wine tapping as a gendered practice, collaborating with female distillers in remote communities

38:17 - The impact of climate change on palm spirit production, the controversial history of palm plantations

44:45 - The significance of palm trees and crude oil to Nigeria's economic history, The relevance of symbols to the Pedro’s Ògógóró brand and indigenous practices

55:18 - Outro

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