Nibbles: Coca to cacao, BXV, Chinese gardening, Forest conservation, Amazon, Soil bacteria, Prairie, Genetics, Wildcats, Milk product

Drugs on the tube

I’ve been alerted to the existence of a new television series from the BBC of definite agrobiodiversity interest, called “Grow your own drugs.” It is presented by James Wong, a young ethnobotanist who trained at Kew and now lectures at Kent University. There’s a book that goes with the series. James “passionately believes that safe, natural remedies can be made from the everyday plants you find in hedgerows, the back garden or local garden centres.”

”Nowadays we think of plants as pretty objects, as soft furnishings in an outdoor room,” he says. “But just two generations ago they were your hardware store and chemist all rolled into one.” In Malaysia, where Wong grew up, everyone treated themselves with natural remedies. Food, too, was used as medicine – not only herbs, but ginger, chilli and garlic to ward off the symptoms of a cold. “My grandmother had a tiny patch of garden,” says Wong, “which to anyone else would just look like a bunch of flowers, but she could make soup, or a face pack, or something to treat insect bites, in a matter of minutes. It was magical – real Harry Potter stuff.”

Sounds intriguing. Has anyone seen it? Drop us a line. And thanks to Tom for the tip.

LATER: Of course, traditional medicine is going mainstream in some places.

Go Local recognized by CDC

We’ve often referred here to the sterling efforts of Lois Englberger and the Go Local team in Pohnpei in promoting agrobiodiversity-based solutions to the many, grave health and nutrition problems afflicting Pacific Islanders. The karat banana story is only one example.

Now we hear that the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have listed the Go Local campaign as one of their success stories in reducing the burden of chronic disease across the U.S. The full list is online. Look under Federated States on Micronesia (p.29). Congratulations to the Island Food Community of Pohnpei, the NGO behind Go Local. Some of the other success stories also look interesting.