 |
|
|
THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE
2000 BC - Here, eat this root.
1000 BC - The root is heathen.
Here, say this prayer.
1805 AD - That prayer is superstition.
Here, drink this potion
1940 AD - That potion is snake oil.
Here, swallow this pill.
1985 AD - That pill is ineffective.
Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 AD - Here, take this root.......
- Unknown
Top
|
The abundance of sought-after seeds / seed pods / seedlings / medicinal plants aloe etc. on the land, requires initiative to get started with – this is a project that requires the focus of cultivating & harvesting in a conscious way & securing on-going seed availability that can be supplied to both local & international buyers.
Top
|
|
Indigenous systems of medicine are dynamic & adaptive. Most elderly folk in rural areas have knowledge of herbal lore & function as first-aid healers w/a family repertoire of herbal remedies or "kruierate". Blessed w/a rich cultural diversity reflected in the formal & informal systems of medicine practised in SA, we witness a growing number of people shifting f/Western allopathic medicine to the informal oral tradition medical systems of the Khoi-San, Zulu, Nguni & Sotho people. The 'matera medica' of medicinal plants, herbs, trees & roots offer enormous potential w/’Conscious Cultivation’ practices - more than 100 'commonly used' medicinal plants have been identified on the lands of Matlapeng.
|
|
|
The government has stepped in to save a tiny South African plant f/extinction after hundreds of tons were harvested for foreign drug companies, one of which has patented its use to fight HIV/Aids. Now traditional healers who have used the plant for centuries, are trying to win back the patent which they claim is rightfully theirs. At the heart of the row are three drug patents granted to German drug firm ISO Arzneitmittel for the use of extracts from PELARGONIUM to treat a wide range of dis-eases and symptoms such as pain, fatigue, depression, insomnia & all Aids related infections such as TB, herpes and pneumonia. PELARGONIUM is one of dozens of South African plants being targeted by drug companies eager to develop new medicines. Other plants successfully targeted in recent years include SUTHERLANDIA & HOODIA, a succulent used by the SAN PEOPLES to suppress appetite & thirst on long hunting journeys. The matter has become so heated, that the Eastern Cape government has banned all further harvesting of the plant PELARGONIUM –part of the geranioum family – until further notice. But illegal harvesting of pelargonium, also known as UMCKALOABO and KLAWERBOSSIE, continues in the hills around Grahamstown and Allendale and has led to dozens of arrests according to Eastern Cape researchers.
Now the Dept. of Environmental Affairs has decided to review all biological prospecting projects to make sure they conform to new regulations that protect the commercial rights of traditional healers. The pelargonium tug of wars will be dicussed next week in Canada at a special United Nations working group meeting on biopiracy & biodiversity. At the heat of the row are three drug patents granted to German drug firm ISO Arzneimitttel for the use of extracts f/pelargonium to treat a wide range of diseases and symptoms such as pain, fatigue, insomnia, depression, and all Aids related infections such as tuberculosis, herpes and pneumonia. But traditional jealers say that they have been using the plant to treat some of these conditions for hundreds of years. ISO Arneimittel has now reserved the right to apply for a South African pelargonium patent on the use of extracts of the plant to treat HIV/Aids. If successful it would South African companies using the plant to develop medicine to fight the pandemic. This means the company could make billions out of a plant that South Africans have harvested for centuries. ISO Arneimittel, linked to German giant drug company Schwabe Pharmaceuticals, has teamed up with South African firm Peceval Pharmaceuticals, which has a permit to harvest pelargonium. Extracts of the plant are contained in homeopathic remedies and sold in Germany as “Umckaloabo” and in America as “Umcka”. Existing patent law makes no provision for traditional knowledge although this is likely to change. In what is seen as a significant step towards patent reform, a group of community leaders near Allendale in the Eastern Cape this week appointed legal advisers to help protect their traditional knowledge of pelargonium which they say has started to disappear from the wild due to commercial demand.
Top
|
|
All evolving organisms undergo changes whether it be business, corporations, human beings or nations. Within these cycles occur ‘points of crisis’ – convergances in time & space of essential issues that need redefining & redeeming if the next creative cycle is to happen. Be it of a global or personal nature, it can be extremely challenging or it can herald the birth of new beginnings. If this is the case, then the PRESENT time is a unique opportunity for new thinking. Not only do we need effective & efficient sustainable technologies, we need new attitudes & understandings, for each society can only realise the potential contained within its ‘mythos’ – the cultural seed which holds the gifts & possibilities of any given cycle. If we are to work positively with the challenges of our time and heal ourselves and MotherEarth, we require a new ‘mythos’, new seeds of consciousness which will ensure the full flowering of our aspirations. It is natural for peoples to cling to the view of reality to which they are accustomed and which they feel they understand, even though such unwillingness to change might be keeping them physically, socially, intellectually & spiritually deprived. The limitations of the mechanistic world view and the values in which it is embedded have serious consequences for All!!!
Top
|
|
More and more people are realizing the importance of growing their own food. It’s not only about feeding the body & reducing one’s vulnerability to the whims of the marketplace. It’s also about building a strong immune system by eating fresh, safe, nutritious and tasty food grown on healthy soil that is packed full of life-giving minerals. More than this, the body’s natural ability to cope w/sickness & dis-ease is taxed to the extreme by the deluge of microbes & toxins from our polluted environment and the stressful lifestyles we have fashioned f/ourselves. Food gardening provides exercise, fresh air, sunshine and mental relaxation that are vitally important for boosting one’s defense systems” – extract f/Biophile Magazine Dec/Jan.2008
We facilitate 4 day Afri’Ecology experiential workshops where each participant is taught how to cultivate and maintain an organic vegetable and herb garden.
The program addresses
· food security and self-sufficiency
· organic permaculture
· recycling and composting
· rainwater harvesting
· seed collection
· establishing organic garden homes
Social mobilization through participants who become champions of food security in their communities ie. Establishing organic gardens at homes & schools, which could :
· Address the nutritional needs of the children
· Excess can be sold to generate an income for the home or school
· Students experience the cycles of life & the inter-connectedness of all living things presented as a ‘living library’
· Un-employed parents could also become involved in school gardens
· Opportunities for team-building & socializing where skills & expertise is freely shared & the benefits of the program multiplies without intervention.
Each participant receives an ‘organic start-up kit’ (organic seeds, shadecloth, piping, sprinkler-heads, 2kgs. organic compost & garden fork).
We need to implement a South African program & use our country’s most wonderful natural & human resources. We talk of creating ‘call-centres’ – they, Brazil, Cuba, India & Mexico talk of going back to the land & growing things. Brazil has targeted organics as their natural growth initiative. Cuba’s greening initiative promoted organics as the only viable alternative. Today 80% of all their fresh produce is organic. India’s “9 seed” community based program is 100% organic. It has created thousands of jobs, eliminated poverty & marginalized millions.
Top
|
|
|
Beehives maintain a careful balance between young bees & older forages .In Spring, a surge of hatching larvae tilt the equilibrium in the hive & when this happens, an amazing thing occurs. The young worker baby-sitter bees age rapidly into forager bees & in one week, they balance the hive. Mature bees often split to form new colonies, then the older forager bees balance that by reversing their age to become young worker bees yet again. The venom of the honeybee (apis mellifera) has been used for more than 2,000 yrs. in the treatment of arthritis. 16 beehives are presently producing honey, which is cleared as required and offered as 'give-away' to the community. Well-maintained hives are cleared every 2-4 weeks in Spring & Summer, or every 4-6 weeks in Autumn & Winter. Well-fed colonies can produce as much as 15kgs of honey every 2-4 weeks. In addition, we also aim to plant ‘circles’ of lavender & sunflowers in addition to the already rich flora on which they feed. Glass bottles have been collected for 4yrs. – these will be cut down & used as honey-pots.
Presently, there are great concerns about bees – many farms throughout the world, particularly in the USA have experienced devastating crop failures due to bee colonies ‘vanishing’ and pollination, on which we rely heavily, ceased. HoneyBees are saught after & needed to assist humankind in AgriEcology. The many uses of honey, royal jelly & propolis are well-known.
Top
|
|
|
WATER has memory. Our physical bodies are made-up of approximately 75% WATER, our brain some 90% water. With this understanding, it is most important, to offer gratitude to the Water Of Life, which sustains All Life on our emerald=blue Earth. The scientific studies of MASARU EMOTO has become well known – in his experiments he has shown, how water when frozen translates into crystalline formations. Water exposed to ‘negative resonance’ (sound, words or thoughts), such as heavy-metal music or words uttered “I hate you”, when frozen & then photographed, displays distorted images. Water exposed to ‘positive resonance’ (sound, words or thought) such as “I love you” or Beethovens symphonies, display beautiful crystalline formations.
|
“Philosophical concepts are eternal, they are universal! They never change in essence, but only in application”
Dr.Kagalushi Koka
|
|
|
At MATLAPENG we re-use & recycle most ‘disposable’ items such as tins, cans, jars, plastics & glass. Our present garden, fondly referred to as GAIA’s Garden sustains staff & guests. Excess is offered to the local community & guests as ‘give-away’ so as to encourage all to create small organic vegetable & herb gardens at their homes. TINS : are used to germinate indigenous trees & are handy containers in one’s tool-shed to contain nails, screws, bolts etc.
GLASS BOTTLES : Once labels have been removed, these are used as decorative containers to keep foodstuffs such as rice, lentils, quinoa, beans. Bottles can also be used to build walls f/where “live-gardens’ can grown, or incorporated in adobe structures to create light spaces.
ORGANIC FOODSTUFFS : Once separated, organic ‘waste’ can either be added to a compost heap or given to fowl such as ducks or geese.
Top
|
|