Residents of Vithura panchayat nestling in the foothills of the Western Ghats no longer rush to the hospital to treat common ailments. They instead turn to their homestead garden for a simple yet effective remedy.
The medicinal plants assiduously cultivated in the garden are used to prepare herbal combinations to treat most common ailments like cold, cough, stomach ache, inflammation, and cuts and bruises.
Long-neglected local health practices and traditional home remedies are making a comeback in the village, under a novel initiative launched by the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI).
Titled Herbs for All and Health for All, the participatory programme promotes home remedies based on traditional practices and endemic medicinal plants as an element of health management.
It also focusses on conservation and cultivation of plants traditionally used for food and medicine. Revival of traditional dietary habits is another major objective.
As many as 70 women in the panchayat have received training in epidemic prevention and conservation and sustainable exploitation of plants used for food and medicine. They are taught to farm medicinal plants and prepare herbal combinations in the form of oils, creams, and extracts to treat common ailments.
All the medicines are prepared by hand in the traditional method using pestle and mortar, grinding stone, and firewood hearth.
The project is being implemented with the help of Ayurvedic physicians, tribal healers, members of Kudumbasree units, public health experts, agriculturists, and scientists from the TBGRI are helping the local people in implementing the project.
L.V. Vipin, panchayat president, said the project had received good response from the families in the village. “Most of the families today depend on home remedies for minor ailments. We are sure the project will help improve the health profile of the community.”
A medicinal plant garden has been established at Government Lower Primary School, Kallar, under the project. The garden was handed over to the Vithura grama panchayat at a function held on Wednesday.
P.G. Latha, Director, TBGRI, handed over the documents. Senior scientist and project head S.Rajasekharan, who explained the significance of the initiative, said the project could be replicated in the other panchayats. “The programme has been designed exclusively for women who are the custodians of the health of the family,” he said.
Dr. Latha distributed saplings of wild, edible fruit trees, and medicinal plants at the function. She also released a handbook on the project. Ward members and chairpersons of standing committees also attended the function.
The garden established by the TBGRI at the school located near the entrance to the eco tourism centre, Kallar, is planted with more than 100 medicinal plants and wild edible fruit trees.
Spread over an acre, the garden sports landscaped grounds and biofencing. All the plants and trees have been provided with boards showing the botanical name.
Mr.Vipin said the garden would be maintained by the Vana Samrakshan Samithi and the panchayat with the help of the schoolchildren.
