Desert Foraging · Wild Melon
!Nara Melon Seeds
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A single spiky !nara melon can hold up to 300 seeds, and for the Topnaar people of the Kuiseb Delta the plant's name literally translates to 'more than enough food.'
The spiny, football-sized fruit of a Namib Desert-endemic vine is halved, its seeds strained from the pulp, then sun-dried and eaten raw, roasted as a nutty snack, or ground into porridge and pressed for oil.
Why it's made this way: For centuries the !nara has been the staple food and water source of the Topnaar (ǂAonin) people who live along the lower Kuiseb River near Walvis Bay, and vendors still sell dried !nara seeds at Swakopmund's markets today.
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