In the forests between the Kasai and the Congo Rivers grow diverse species of redwood trees. The locals grind their wood and mix it with water into a thick paste. Then the form cakes from the paste and let them dry. The cakes are then stamped with a pattern. Because red color is in high demand almost all over Africa, these so-called tukula cakes were widely-used as means of payment. Tukula "money" can be used for dying cloth or wood, or as body paint or to stiffen the coiffure.