Abdul, seller of spices from the old market, chews it from the morning and gladly offers a couple.
Mzee Kai, while weaving the sisal fibers, puts some seeds under her tongue.
"Cardamom is not only a digestive - they both assure - but it brings good cheer. It is the best anti-stress for this pandemic period".
It is not an interested spot, because here dried fruits are not a precious good as in Italy, they cost little and yield a lot because they are loaded with very fragrant seeds. 
They are mainly used in tea, herbal teas or even for making sweets.
In the typical "mahamri", the local fried brioche with which most of the Kenyans of the coast have breakfast, there is always some cardamom seed.
But it is by chewing it that its antidepressant action is revealed, thanks to the presence of a substance called cineol, able to act on the central nervous system. Cineol has antiseptic properties, is useful in sore throat, pharyngitis and respiratory disorders but it is also an antidepressant, especially when it comes into contact with our saliva.
Cardamom is a spice known since the times of the Greeks and Romans, who used it to produce perfumes, and is currently known as the third most expensive spice in the world after saffron and vanilla.
The one found on the Kenyan coast comes mainly from Tanzania, a major producer in competition with the East. 
The fruits of cardamom are small oval pods (capsules) about 1 cm long, pale green in color containing many small brown-black seeds. The seeds are usually ground and used as a spice, but since they quickly lose their aroma, the entire dried pods are marketed.
Cardamom can also be included in the diet and among the natural remedies to speed up the metabolism and make you lose weight.
It has great properties and with turmeric and ginger it is an ingredient of curry, a typical Indian condiment.
In case of stomach ache and hiccups the essence of cardamom is able to promote digestion and relax the diaphragm.
To avoid the abdominal swelling caused by some foods, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, legumes, cooked vegetables in general, you can put some seeds (3 or 4,) during the cooking of food, without particularly altered the taste.
An infusion of cardamom can be used to rinse to make the breath pleasant, or chew a few pods after a heavy meal, to promote digestion and perfume the breath.
To take advantage of the beneficial properties of cardamom we can also make simple infusions to breathe with a towel on the head to free the airways. A sort of domestic aerosol.