All across the world, people add condiments to their cooking to make it taste better. In West Africa, many sauces are prepared using a condiment made with seeds from the Néré tree, also known as the African locust bean. In Mali, this condiment is called soumbala. Due to excessive tree cutting in the Sahel region, soumbala has become a scarce and expensive product. Although stock cubes are often used, some women in Mali have developed a good alternative by making soumbala from soya beans.